Abstract
The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, which drew attention as the “first year of
volunteerism,” led to the institutionalization of disaster volunteer centers and the enactment of
the Act on Promotion of Specified Non-profit Activities in 1998 and the emergence of the third
sector, which was considerably behind that of other advanced countries. The volunteers and the
third sector, which responds to disasters, have developed institutionally differently from volunteers
and third sector active in other areas because of the characteristics of disasters, which “come only
occasionally to a certain area.” Unlike the government, which responds in a hierarchical manner,
the volunteers' and the third sector 's disaster response is based on “coordination” to optimize the response according to the situation, and the system has been refined with each disaster.
