Masahito Fushimi, M.D., Ph.D.

The Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, was one of the most severe earthquakes ever recorded in Japan. It led to a tsunami that devastated large portions of coastal Japan, particularly Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. In response to this event, firefighters of the Fire Department of Akita City were dispatched to the affected communities (Yamada Town and Miyako City in Iwate prefecture and Minamisanriku Town in Miyagi prefecture).They worked to support these communities from the time of the earthquake onwards. The Akita City Fire Department requested that the Akita Prefectural Mental Health & Welfare Center conduct a mental health examination for the dispatched firefighters to assess levels of critical incident stress. I have reported the results of this mental health assessment in the paper (1). In sum, posttraumatic stress morbidity was not prevalent; the firefighters assessed were in good mental health.

In 2013, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and prefectural governments are to begin operation of a common disaster information support system based on the actual activities of mental health care teams across Japan at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The system is designed to facilitate mental healthcare and medical care services by the Ministry and the prefectural governments during disasters. It will be operated via the Internet, and it aims at pre-registering support structures, sharing information about support needs and performance, and providing analysis of activity records. Following its operation launch in 2013, the system is to be used for practice simulation of major disasters. Future plans include participating in this simulation and cooperating in the operation of the system.

1. Fushimi M. Posttraumatic stress in professional firefighters in Japan: rescue efforts after the Great East Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Dai-Shinsai). Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012; 27: 416-8.