When the earthquake and tsunami hit the coast of Japan on March 11, it was clear the scale of this disaster, compounded by the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, was unprecedented — even for natural disaster-prone Japan, where some 20 percent of the world's earthquakes occur.
Beyond the level of destruction, the Japanese response to this crisis reveals unique characteristics of Japanese social dynamics, and the role of the third sector in Japan — spanning from local level community-based groups and parent-teacher associations, to national-level non-profits and even international nongovernment organizations (NGOs) like Save the Children. The absence of a strong independent third sector in this country is possibly one of the major factors that results in the lack of cohesion and creative policy debates and the absence of dynamic political leadership.
Read Full Article »