In March 2025, 14 years after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, a global dialogue on disaster risk reduction (DRR) was hosted in Sendai, Japan. The World Bosai Forum, held from 7–9 March, brought together researchers, NGOs and private sector representatives under the theme “What’s Up With Climate Change?” The forum aimed to explore how we can collectively reduce growing risks and promote the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The forum featured a wide array of sessions, poster presentations and booth exhibitions. SGI contributed through a flash talk presentation that spotlighted the importance of daily collaboration between local actors and residents to enhance the effectiveness of the early warning systems, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres promoted worldwide at COP27 in 2022. Drawing from real-life examples—such as neighbors checking in on one another during emergencies, SGI emphasized the value of fostering local leaders who are prepared to respond swiftly in times of crisis.
The presentation also introduced community drills jointly conducted at Soka Gakkai facilities in Japan as a practical example of local collaboration in action.
SGI’s booth exhibition at the World Bosai Forum in Sendai.
Concurrent with the forum, the local 2025 Sendai Symposium for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Future, hosted by the City of Sendai on 8 March, welcomed approximately 5,000 participants, including representatives of academic institutions, NGOs, community leaders and youth. A total of 146 organizations and groups took part in the event. In a booth exhibition, Tohoku Soka Gakkai showcased its regional future research initiative, which included conducting surveys in six cities and towns across the Tohoku region and holding community discussion meetings in each area.
Session titled “Mutual Support for Better Recovery” at the Sendai Symposium for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Future.
In a dedicated session titled “Mutual Support for Better Recovery,” speakers including Miwako Kitamura, Specially Appointed Research Fellow at Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science; Tetsuo Kondo, former Director at the UNDP Representation Office in Japan; and Shuichi Minami, Chair of the Soka Gakkai Youth Peace Conference reflected on Japan’s progress and remaining challenges in the decade since the adoption of the Sendai Framework. The discussion highlighted the evolving role of mutual aid in both local and international disaster contexts.
SGI also took part in a session co-hosted by the Japan CSO Coalition for DRR (JCC-DRR) titled “Five Years to Go – Learning from Civil Society Practices for the Sendai Framework and SDGs.” Akiko Benimura of SDGs Tohoku opened the session by sharing how lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake have been applied to recent disasters, such as wildfires in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
Nobuyuki Asai of SGI speaks at the session on the private sector’s contribution to SDGs and DRR, organized by SDGs Tohoku.
Panelists—including Hiromi Sawada from Wakka, a women-led local disaster education initiative in Sendai; Kotomi Murakami of Keio University and a former intern at CWS Japan; Takeshi Komino, General Secretary of CWS Japan; and Nobuyuki Asai from SGI—shared insights from a diverse range of initiatives.
The panel discussion underscored a shared message: DRR is not a static field. As risks evolve, so must our responses. Key takeaways included the importance of lowering barriers to engagement, adopting “phase-free” approaches (which bridge everyday life and disaster readiness) and amplifying civil society voices.
SGI also joined a session on the private sector’s contribution to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), representing JCC-DRR, and shared its view on overall progress toward implementing the SDGs from the perspective of disaster relief. Points of discussion included progress in infrastructure building and slow progress in achieving gender equality in running shelters and selecting disaster committee members at various levels.
