2023 Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 133-145
1934 Muroto Typhoon hit the society where disaster prevention information such as warnings and evacuation orders didn’t in place, and caused extensive damage. Japanese modern meteorological services, which started in the Meiji era, was forced a fundamental review, and that became the origin of the weather waring system to this day. At that time, how did the mass media report disaster prevention information, which has become one of the most important issues in today's disaster management? This study aims to examine the viewpoints of the mass media by the content analysis of newspaper and magazine articles regarding disaster prevention information, relying on the media frame theory.
It was found that the top agenda of the media coverage was not the issue of information itself, but "spread of meteorological knowledge" to people. Muroto typhoon should be reconsidered not only as a turning point in the history of meteorological administration, but also as a milestone in risk communication. While the mass media of the time contributed to it, they also gave privileged legitimacy to meteorological officials. That may have distracted people from the true nature of information, which involves uncertainty.
Through that event, typhoons were transformed from "danger" to "risk", and the debate about warnings arouse among the public. The mass media served as a forum for the discussion of warnings, but at the same time, the issue was limited to the damage to schools, so the mass media failed to broaden the scope of the discussion about evacuation. The results of this study serve to review journalistic activities of today.
