In recent years, the spread of inaccurate information (misinformation) called "demagoguery" and "rumors" on social networking services (SNS) in the event of a major disaster has become a problem.

This study clarified the situation of the spread of misinformation by analyzing Twitter posts about the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake, and also clarified how citizens use Twitter from the results of an Internet-based questionnaire survey. Based on these matters, this study found that the sending of corrective information by public agencies is effective in converging misinformation. Next, this study proposed a method for understanding the situation of misinformation spread in real time by using general characteristics of misinformation.

Furthermore, based on the results of questionnaires and interviews with local governments in Hokkaido, this study identified the situation of dealing with the spread of misinformation of the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake. This study found that the lack of manpower and time of local governments is a problem in dealing with misinformation during disasters, and also found that local governments that have experienced major disasters in recent years have tried to solve these problems.

This research reveals the impact of repeated disaster experiences on survivors through an internet-based questionnaire survey. This survey focused on feelings of misery and apology. The survey was conducted in late December 2022 among 1,000 residents of 19 areas in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures that were especially hard affected by three earthquakes, the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011) and the Fukushima Prefecture Offshore Earthquake (2021 and 2022). The survey revealed that 597 people were repeatedly affected by the disaster and that their recovery was inhibited by the accumulation of damage, which made their lives more difficult and fatiguing. Repeatedly being affected by a disaster causes more damage to sufferers than just material and economic damage. Specifically, it breaks down the will to recover and causes discouragement. The survey also showed a small number of references to embarrassment, such as feeling misery and apology, in the open-ended responses. Embarrassment is a feeling of shame, and its disclosure to others is often avoided. Therefore, the results indicate that feelings of embarrassment may be more widespread among survivors who have suffered a repetition of disasters. In a future society where disasters are expected to be more frequent, such repetition of disasters is likely to increase. Given the results of this research, support for the effects of such damage is likely to become more important.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has repeatedly provided new Weather information on Disaster Mitigation and reviewed its operations since 2004, when a series of storm and flood disasters caused numerous deaths and damage. As a result, the number of types of information has increased, making operations more complex. There is a possibility that the system and names of Weather information on Disaster Mitigation will undergo major changes in the coming years.

Therefore, this paper provides an overview of recent improvements and issues in Weather information on Disaster Mitigation related to heavy rain (2004-2023), we used Japan Meteorological Agency press releases, reports from various study groups, and past research.

As a result, it was found that the direction of information improvement is to (1) provide information with a stronger connection to the disaster, (2) be more detailed in terms of time and space, and (3) extend the forecast time. And we also found that there were some issues.

When evacuation information is issued over a wide area during a heavy rain disaster, residents who determine that they can ensure their safety indoors by moving to an upper floor or staying on a higher floor are not necessarily required to evacuate. However, it is not fully grasped what percentage of residents need to evacuate as a matter of fact. In this study, we estimated the number of people who would need to evacuate during heavy rains in Japan and each prefecture, considering the areas with disaster risk and the number of building floors where residents live.

The population living in areas at risk of flood disasters and landslides was 57% and 22% of the total population, respectively. By excluding "residents of buildings with three or more floors" from the population of areas at risk of flood disasters, the population decreased from 57% to 42% of the total population. By excluding "residents of buildings with three or more floors" from the population in landslide warning areas, the population decreased from 22% to 17% of the total population. The population living in areas at risk of either flood or landslide disasters was 69% of the total population, but this decreased to 52% by excluding residents of buildings with three or more floors. It was estimated that the number of people who would need to evacuate during a heavy rain disaster is about half of the total population, especially in metropolitan areas, which is about 25 to 40% of the total population.

There are many active faults in Japan. These active faults can cause earthquakes with very large damage, as exemplified by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. On the other hand, earthquakes at active faults occur with long intervals between their activities. Therefore, the long-term evaluation of active faults involves a large uncertainty. To examine how information on active faults with uncertainty should be provided, we conducted a web-based questionnaire survey for residents in the areas where the Byobuyama, Enasan and Sanageyama-North fault zones are located and in municipalities in Gifu Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture where seismic intensity of 6- or higher is expected. The survey looked at the level of awareness of the faults, what information the residents pay attention to, and their reactions to earthquake risk information such as the 30-year probability. The results revealed the following. 1. the awareness of these fault zones is low. 2. the seismic intensity prediction map is useful to attract attention to educational flyers. 3. The percentage of people willing to access the QR code on the flyer decreases with age group. 4. If information on the 30-year probability of a specific active fault is presented to residents as a comparison to the 30- year probability of encountering other crisis events, there is a risk that the sense of urgency for the comparison may also be diminished. 5. showing the probability immediately before the occurrence of a past earthquake disaster increases the sense of crisis about future earthquakes.

The Great East Japan Earthquake caused the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster. This study aimed to investigate the role that a reporter of a national newspaper’s local branch played when the accident occurred.

The articles by Asahi Shimbun, a major national newspaper in Japan, from March 12 to 18, 2011, also focused on articles with a byline by reporters from the local branch in Fukushima prefecture. The study involved the following steps: (1) Identifying the reporters working at the Fukushima branch of Asahi Shimbun; (2) Calculating the number of articles written by local reporters according to the pages in the national aspects where the articles appeared; (3) Calculating the number of articles written by local reporters according to the pages in the local aspects where the articles appeared; (4) Identifying the news sources of the articles and classifying them; and (5) Making a map of pictures signed by the reporter.

The study demonstrated three points: (1) There were a few articles written by local reporters printed on local and national pages; (2) Many reporters from outside Fukushima prefecture helped with coverage, and a professional cameraperson from a photography department took many pictures; and (3) Although the local reporters were near the nuclear plant, they were not at a vantage point to cover the accident. The characteristics and structural limitations of the coverage of the nuclear accident are apparent. This study reinforced a previous study (Yanai, 2021a).

In light of climate change, population dynamics, and the prospect of future seismic disasters, the traditional trajectory of ever-improving disaster prevention is becoming untenable. Katada (2020) argues for a shift from the belief that disasters can be completely prevented, a concept known as the "perception of disaster controllability," to a disaster prevention philosophy based on resignation. Building on this argument, this paper analyzes the factors of modern and contemporary disaster prevention to explore ways to relinquish the perception of disaster controllability. Modern disaster prevention resists and predicts external natural forces, revealing factors of externalization of nature and an emphasis on inherent capabilities. Contemporary disaster prevention further externalizes the human subject. In this context, the focus on inherent abilities in contemporary disaster prevention makes the subject disappear and obscures the possibilities arising from the lack of capability. While modern and contemporary disaster prevention focus on life, they paradoxically miss the inseparable bond of life and death. In order to shift from a perception of disaster controllability to a resigned sense, we must search for a different kind of “subject” than before. It is not life as an object to be protected, but life as a subject, a subject who renews the indeterminacy of the world and one's own actions.