Greetings from the Director
I have been appointed as the founding Director of the Chiba University Research Institute of Disaster Medicine, established in October 2021. This Institute aims to contribute to building disaster-resilient communities capable of protecting the safety and health of their residents in the event of severe natural hazards and emerging virus pandemics.
These crises can cause enormous immediate and long-term damage to human lives and social infrastructures. Ten years have passed since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant and its nuclear accident forced residents to evacuate their homes and stay in remote temporary housings for many years. Many are still struggling to adapt to their changes in socioeconomic conditions and are suffering from health impairments induced by maladaptation and stress. It is anticipated that the Tokyo metropolitan area will face a massive earthquake in the near future. This earthquake will have long-lasting, catastrophic consequences to Japan in terms of social infrastructure damage, immediate casualties, and secondary psychological and mental health effects on survivors.
Natural disasters cannot be eliminated completely. The importance of disaster preparedness and efforts to mitigate immediate primary damage cannot be overemphasized. It is also important that we have legislative and administrative measures installed in advance to minimize long-term secondary health damage. However, the mechanisms underlying secondary health damage are complex in nature, and the scarcity of information required for their analysis prevents developing effective strategies to prevent secondary health damage. Furthermore, the novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) has been raging around the world since the turn of 2019, with no end in sight. Experts warn that the confluence of COVID-19 and a natural disaster can compound their impacts.
Against these backdrops, Chiba University has established the Research Institute of Disaster Medicine. This Institute has gathered researchers with various expertise from many departments of the university to enhance interdisciplinary research. It will also promote social applications of research outcomes in tripartite collaboration between industry, academia, and government agencies. Our research programs focus on maintaining and improving people's health and living conditions in the aftermath of severe disasters. We sincerely ask for your understanding, partnership, and support.
April 2023
Tomoaki Tanaka
Director, Research Institute of Disaster Medicine, Chiba University
