2015 年 36 巻 2 号 p. 62-78
Food security has become increasingly discussed as a matter of concern in some developed countries, including Japan. Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, many people had to spend several days without any food and water due to the slow delivery. This delay can be interpreted as a failure of the food security policy in Japan. In order to meet the needs of the times, the food security policy should be changing like in Britain and other Western countries. Japan realized this fact after the failure of the Great East Japan Earthquake at last, and recognized the importance of humanitarian logistics. However, the most difficult part of humanitarian logistics is the local “last mile.” It is still unknown whether food assistance could reach remote rural areas smoothly. We studied Typhoon Haiyan as a case study of this “last mile” problem. The results confirmed that there was severe food and water shortage immediately after the typhoon struck, but at the same time, the results indicated the resilience of rural areas. These findings can serve as useful basic information for further food security in Japan and other countries.
