Economic Damage from the Great East Japan Disasters and Fukushima Nuclear Accidents

抄録

The Great East Japan Earthquake that struck in March 2011 was a disaster unprecedented in terms of its magnitude and the extent of areas affected by the earthquake and the resultant tsunami and nuclear accidents. Recovery and reconstruction efforts are under way to restore the lives of the victims and revive the disaster-stricken regions. However, one cannot engage in such efforts without proper investigation. This would involve questions on the definition of reconstruction, the setting of goals, and determining how the goals are to be achieved. To answer these questions, the theoretical basis of the policy for post earthquake disaster reconstruction must be clarified. If post-earthquake disaster reconstruction is approached as the recovery and improvement of the people’s quality of life, the appropriateness of such a policy can be judged by applying the sustainable development theory. This is because sustained improvement of quality of life − or per capita well-being − is the primary goal of sustainable development. Sustainable development can be assessed through the productive base, which is a determinant of quality of life. A societyʼs productive base is the source of its wellbeing (quality of life). An economyʼs productive base includes not only manufactured capital, human capital, natural capital, and knowledge, but also its institutions. Trends and changes in the productive base can be used to assess the sustainability and effectiveness of the reconstruction policy.