Japan: disaster response and relational capital

Quote

"Fall down seven times, get up eight" Japanese Proverb 

News

Few can be unmoved by the events of the last seven days in Japan, which are being reported on from a variety of points of view. These include:

- the physical perspective, which focuses on the power of the tsunami, destruction of property and the wiping out of whole towns;
- the humanitarian perspective, which concentrates on the numbers of people killed, missing, or homeless; it emphasises the need for food, water, fuel and shelter, and highlights the logistical challenges;
- the environmental perspective, which is focused on the Fukushima nuclear power station and the battle to cool the reactors fuel storage pools, in order to reduce radioactive emissions and prevent a much more serious disaster.;
- the financial perspective, which highlights the costs of reconstruction, the insurance loss and effect on GDP, stock market changes and the impact on Japan’s government debt.

Alongside all these is the relational perspective. This is not only about the raw, emotional side – the breadth and depth of human suffering caused by the disaster – but it also sheds light on one of the most significant factors determining the speed and effectiveness of the response: relational capital. This might be defined here as the sum of trust, knowledge and shared experience in a relationship, leading to empathy, goodwill and perhaps a measure of obligation.

The evidence of strong relational capital in Japan can be seen at different levels. In the extended family, people are going to great lengths to rescue and care for loved ones. Various companies and organisations have contributed generously to the rescue efforts. Then the general efficiency and preparedness for disasters is brought about by the high level of social cohesion in Japanese society.

But it is on the international plane that the evidence is most striking. Japan has long been one of the most generous nations in responding to disasters. They gave $500 million to Indonesia after the 2005 tsunami (nearly as much as USA, UK and China combined), and pledged $5 billion to Afghanistan, one third of the total international response. Japanese rescue teams were at the forefront in Christchurch, New Zealand, and regularly assist in other emergencies.

It is no wonder, then, that offers of assistance have been pouring in from around the world – despite the fact that Japan is financially wealthy. The mayor of Khandahar in war-torn Afghanistan promised $50,000 to the relief effort the day after the quake, and New Zealand promptly dispatched one third of their own search and rescue teams to Japan. In all 113 countries have offered to help.

As people invest in relationships of all kinds, they are building relational capital. When a crisis comes, and help is needed, then that capital is translated into the spontaneous outpouring of help such as we've witnessed this past week.

Read on...
Hugo Slim wrote an insightful article on relationships between relief workers and the survivors of disasters - with particular reference to the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. You can read his paper, "The Grammar of Aid" here.

Walk the talk

Where might it be wise or good for you to invest in building up more relational capital, either personally or on behalf of an organisation you are part of? And are you aware of any person or group who might want to draw on the relational capital they have invested in you?
 

The last word
From the Bible, 2 Corinthians 8, verse 14, “At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality…”