Abstract
In the field of disaster risk reduction research, there have not been many studies that have
collected quantitative data and analyzed the issues related to commissioned welfare volunteers,
who are positioned as one of the entities involved in disaster response according to the Disaster
Countermeasures Basic Law. Therefore, in this study, a questionnaire-based survey was
conducted in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, to clarify the actual situation regarding the
response behavior and awareness of commissioned welfare volunteers in urban areas during
disasters. The results showed that there was a bias in the attributes of the commissioned welfare
volunteers, and that about 10 to 30% of them were not able to respond immediately to earthquakes
and typhoons in 2018. In addition, many of them do not know the number of persons requiring
special attention in their areas of responsibility, and about 70% of them answered “unknown”
(or did not respond) regarding patients with intractable diseases. Furthermore, less than 20% of
the respondents were positive that they would be able to provide support for people with special
needs in the event of a huge Nankai Trough earthquake. Based on these results, this paper
discusses how the functions of commissioned welfare volunteers should be enhanced in the
future from the perspective of an inclusive society.
