Different disasters throughout history have prompted Japan to develop diverse approaches to recovery, revitalization, and local resilience. The current global COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. In this project, we argue the need to study its impacts on Japan’s rural areas, which were already experiencing socioeconomic decline. Rural Japan, including Ishinomaki has also been undergoing extensive post-disaster reconstruction after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), notably through diverse bottom-up approaches, often initiated by volunteers and migrants bringing new, creative ideas to community revitalization. These efforts continue to shape the social life of its residents during COVID-19, making Ishinomaki an important case study in both disaster reconstruction and rural revitalization. This research examines also other interesting examples in which creativity played a key role in revitalization, recovery, and community resilience. The project proposes suggestions for the future based on lessons learned from the past decade and hopes to illuminate how Japan’s rural areas are adapting to a new normal in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More information and updates can be found here:
https://www.researchgate.net/project/Rural-Creativity-in-Japan