Rising to the Challenge The Japanese Disaster Relief Experience in the Great East Japan Earthquake: Implication for National and International Security

06-07 November 2012 River Room King’s College London, Strand, WC2R 2LS, London, UK For Information, please contact: Ms Helen Bhandari | Department of War Studies | King’s College London | Strand WC2R 2LS | London | war.events@kcl.ac.uk | Tel. +44 (0) 7848 2178 | Fax +44 (0) 7848 2026

Rising to the Challenge Investigating the Security Impact of 3/11 The Great East Japan Earthquake that took place on 3 march 2011 represented one of the most devastating natural disasters occurred in the history of modern Japan. The Japanese armed forces, formally known as the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF), stood at the heart of the country’s response to this event, with the single largest military mobilisation in their history. How effective was the JSDF response to this disaster? What are the main implications of this event for Japanese defence policy and national security? What are the lessons that the JSDF have drawn from it? Has the Japanese response to the disaster contributed to change perceptions in the region about the nature and potential of Japanese defence capabilities? This conference draws upon a pool of international scholars and uniformed practitioners to address these questions. In the past two decades, the JSDF gained considerable public and international attention for the deployments in operations overseas as well as for their potential contribution to Japan’s role as a security player in East Asia. In these deployments, the JSDF’s limited operational experience raised questions about their military effectiveness. This conference intends to explore this issue against the experience in the earthquake and in its aftermath. It investigates how the JSDF organised and conducted their operations, coordinated with civilian authorities and local communities, worked with foreign militaries, and how civilians and uniformed personnel at the Japan Ministry of Defence adjusted national policy in light of that experience. This project is funded by the Japan Foundation and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.

Conference Programme Day 1: 06 November 2012 9.15-10.00: Conference Registration 10.00-10.30: Opening Addresses • Prof Mervyn Frost, King’s College London • Minister Noriyuki Shikata, Embassy of Japan 10.30-12.15: The Operational Response • Prof Chiyuki Aoi, Aoyama Gakuin University • MGeneral Kimihiko Kishikawa, Japan Ground Self-Defence Force • VAdmiral Izuru Fukumoto, Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force 13.30-15.15: The Domestic Impact • Prof Ian Neary, Oxford University • Prof Noboru Yamaguchi, National Defence Academy • Dr Yee Kuang Heng, National University of Singapore 15.45-17.30: The Regional Impact • Sen. Colonel Wei Ouyang, People’s Liberation Army • Dr Natasha Kurst, King’s College London • Mr Ian Bowers, King’s College London 18.30-20.00: Saki Dockrill Memorial Lecture ‘The Long Shadow’: The Legacy of World War II in Contemporary East Asia Prof Carol Gluck, Columbia University Day 2: 07 November 2012 10.00-11.45: Japanese Security Beyond 3/11 • Prof Richard Samuels, MIT • Dr Paul Midford, Norwegian University of Science and Technology • Prof Christopher Hughes, University of Warwick 12.00-12.15: Closing Addresses

Conference Registration Fee: £ 20 (There are 8 scholarships available to postgraduate research students to attend the conference. Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of the relevance of the doctoral topic to the conference theme. Please include a motivation letter with your request for registration.) Coffee, biscuits, light refreshments, and lunch will be provided during the conference. Deadline for Registration: 26 October 2012

Rising to the Challenge

For More Information and Registration: Ms Helen Bhandari | Department of War Studies | King’s College London | Strand WC2R 2LS | London | war.events@kcl.ac.uk | Tel. +44 (0) 7848 2178 | Fax +44 (0) 7848 2026 Access to the Strand Campus: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/campuses/directions/strand.aspx

This conference has three primary goals: 1. To identify and assess the impact and the legacy of the earthquake on Japan’s national security structure and

defence policy; 2. To examine the impact of this experience in the wider regional context, exploring how perceptions of Japan as

an international security actor changed among main regional actors including the United States, China, the Republic of Korea and Russia;

3. To explore the ways in which the lessons learned by Japanese defence policy-makers and JSDF authorities in matters of disaster relief can help improve the approach to this type of operations at the international level.