Foreign Residents Risk Perception and Disaster Preparedness (FRIENDS) in Kobe City

This report provides a summary of foreign residents' risk perception and their disaster preparedness, as well as lessons learnt from a disaster preparedness activity in Kobe, Japan. In a globalised world, the awareness of risks in a new environment and the capacities to adapt and respond to those risks has become increasingly important. It is seen as an important issue in Japan where there are a large number of foreign students and residents.

The project includes preliminary research with the main objectives as follows: 

• To increase the level of preparedness of Nada Dormitory residents in particular and other international students in Kobe City, as the project strongly aims to expand its scale;
• To disseminate and promote Japanese-based disaster preparedness knowledge and information, which might also be transmitted to the foreign residents’ home countries;
• To conduct an action research on “FRIENDS in KOBE CITY: Foreign Resident’s Risk Perception and Disaster Preparedness in Kobe City.” 

The research showed that the foreign residents living in Kobe City experienced difficulties dealing with the possibility of disaster and felt vulnerable to the risks around them. The study showed that there is a room for improvement in disaster preparedness and that “FRIENDS in KOBE CITY” could be a first step to actively involving foreign residents in local disaster management planning.