Sunday marks the seventh anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the triple disaster that led to tens of thousands of lives lost and incalculable damage to Japan’s Tohoku region. There are many legacies of 3/11, and while most are derivative of heartbreak and hardship, the legacy of solidarity in disaster relief operations between the U.S. military and Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) serves as a bright spot in an otherwise tragic event. The U.S.-led Operation TOMODACHI and Japan-led Joint Task Force (JTF) Tohoku saw unprecedented real-world operational coordination, and every success and mistake made in the wake of the disaster offered lessons learned that have had a lasting impact on the U.S.-Japan alliance. The achievements and shortcomings of U.S. support to the Japan-led disaster relief operation following 3/11 are well-documented, though specific progress on incorporation of alliance lessons learned are worth review. Chief among those included (1) the need for conducting bilateral exercises in preparation for major disasters; (2) for establishing guidelines and a mechanism for alliance coordination on disaster response; (3) for the Japanese government to communicate clear requirements and requests for U.S. support during disaster relief operations; and (4) for the U.S. military to take measured action related to those requests. The intervening seven years have seen much progress based on these lessons learned, as detailed below.
<p>Michael Bosak reflected on Great Japan Earthquake and the triple disaster that ensued seven years later. While most reflections were rooted in tragedy, the collaboration between the JSDF and U.S. forces was an otherwise bright spot. While the achievments and shortcomings of U.S. support were being documented following 3/11, specific alliance lessons required review. Among them were (1) the need for conducting bilateral exercises in preparation for major disasters; (2) for establishing guidelines and a mechanism for alliance coordination on disaster response; (3) for the Japanese government to communicate clear requirements and requests for U.S. support during disaster relief operations; and (4) for the U.S. military to take measured action related to those requests. Specific progress based on these lessons learned were explored in greater detail.</p>