The 2011 Triple Disaster in Japan and the Diaspora: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

The catastrophic March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami not only devastated that region of Japan but also triggered several potentially even more disastrous Fujishima nuclear power incidents. Even as geological specialists, nuclear physicists, economic advisors, political pundits, sociological analysts, and humanitarian organizers grapple with these tragic events and their aftermath, a Christian response includes both asking why such a disaster could occur and determining how best to serve those individuals and communities directly affected. This book drawn together by Enoch Wan and Elton Law does not fall into either trite or simplistic Christian approaches to the 2011 Tokoku disaster. Instead, the approach here is a constructive combination of honest research, Christ-like compassion, and forward-looking suggestions for Christian communities who want to serve people effectively in the aftermath of the kind of catastrophe that Japan has recently experienced. The book exhibits a necessarily particular approach to Tohoku's unique situation by using a case-study of how one Christian community has been ministering, as well as by sensitively exploring the intricacies of Japanese cultural realities. The diaspora missiological approach that is employed only adds to seeing the complex events associated with the effects of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters in a requisite multifaceted fashion inherent to an appropriate Christian response.