Faculty Introduction
SAITO, Yasunori professor
Specialized fields
Regional sociology, disaster sociology
Subjects Taught
Disaster sociology, disaster volunteerism and NPO theory
About Department of Policy Design
Disasters are events that occur in ways we could not have anticipated. Between the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (1995) and the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011), various legal systems were established, but even so, many gaps remained in existing laws and systems during the Great East Japan Earthquake. As a result, volunteers and NPOs carried out support activities and made policy recommendations, which led to the creation of new laws and systems.
Let's study this dynamic process together, taking into account past and present disaster relief efforts.
Introduction to specialized fields
I have been conducting research on disaster recovery and reconstruction using a socio-scientific approach. My own areas of interest are broadly divided into two areas.
One area of focus is community building in temporary housing and disaster-relief public housing. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, I have been researching not only prefabricated temporary housing and disaster-relief public housing, but also "deemed temporary housing" utilizing rental apartments and condominiums, and "hometown salons" where evacuees from outside Sendai City and Miyagi Prefecture gather. In the event of future earthquakes such as the predicted Tokyo Inland Earthquake and Nankai Trough Earthquake, Sendai's experience as both a disaster area and a place of evacuation will become crucial.
Another area of focus is the recovery and reconstruction of agriculture and rural areas affected by disasters. Using areas such as Asakura City and Toho Village in Fukuoka Prefecture, which were hit by the Northern Kyushu Heavy Rains (2017), Uwajima City in Ehime Prefecture, which was hit by the West Japan Heavy Rains (2018), and Nagano City in Nagano Prefecture, which was hit by Typhoon Hagibis (2019), as field research, we are investigating agricultural volunteer activities undertaken after the disasters and the subsequent progress of farmland restoration.
Introduction to Exercises I and II
Theme: Sociology of Regions and Disasters
The regions surrounding us are facing various challenges, including population decline, a low birthrate and aging population, and natural disasters. In this situation, diverse entities such as government and corporations, as well as volunteers, NPOs, and social entrepreneurs, have been working to solve and improve these problems. In my seminar, we explore the sustainability of the "local" areas in which we live by reading specialized books and academic papers, and sometimes by actually going into the field.
Message to high school students
Pay attention not only to the "big problems" reported in newspapers and on the news, but also to the "small problems" that happen around you. And cultivate the imagination to connect one event A with another event B. When you do this, society will surely look different to you than before.