[U-11] Compound Disasters across Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Geosphere

[U11-01] Prospects for International Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction from U.S. President Coolidge's Assistance to Japan Immediately after the Great Kanto Earthquake and Fire in 1923

★Invited Papers

*Yuichi ONO¹ (1.International Research Institute of Disaster Science)

Keywords:President Coolidge, Disaster Risk Reduction, Kanto Earthquake and Fire

In 1923, 100 years ago, when the Great Kanto Earthquake occurred, Japan-U.S. relations were deteriorating, as evidenced by the passage of an anti-immigration bill in the U.S. that primarily targeted Japanese immigrants. President Coolidge immediately took a broad stance in support of Japan in response to the Great Kanto Earthquake, which occurred soon after his inauguration, and implemented it. He called for relief efforts across the United States through radio broadcasts, launched a fund-raising campaign for donations under the slogan "One minute sooner, one more person can be saved." $8 million was raised in a short period of time, far exceeding the goal of $5 million, and $12 million was eventually sent to Japan. Eighty-eight years after the Great Kanto Earthquake, the United States conducted "Operation Tomodachi" in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and it is said that President Obama was inspired by President Coolidge. We would like to clarify how President Coolidge was able to take such an action through records at the Coolidge Foundation in Vermont as well as the designated museum and library in Massachusetts in the U.S., newspaper articles, and interviews. It will be discussed how to provide assistance to disaster-stricken areas, whether in Japan or abroad, which would suffer tremendous damage in the event of a major catastrophe which might exceed the disaster management capacity of its country.