Supporting Disaster Victims and Rebuilding Communities: A Case Study of Collaboration After the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

Futaba-machi in Fukushima Prefecture was designated as a difficult-to-return area due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear accident of 2011. As of February 2026, approximately 24 310 people remained evacuated. This case study describes the activities of a cooking class held in collaboration between The Ajinomoto Foundation (TAF) and Futaba-machi and how it contributed to (1) revitalizing communities in the disaster-affected areas as well as places to which evacuees relocated and (2) improving the dietary habits of disaster victims. The project’s activities were organized into a logic model by TAF staff and the evaluation team. Based on a logic model, residents involved in the project, Futaba-machi public health nurses, TAF, and researchers summarized how the project supported disaster victims and rebuilt the community. We used evaluation reports, records of project activities, and interview data for analysis. To deploy the project in the community, public health nurses coordinated with the neighborhood association and related organizations. To address issues such as resident isolation and health and dietary problems among older adult residents, organizers developed a concrete implementation plan with long-term outcomes in mind. The cooking classes, centered on the “cook together and eat together” theme, strengthened connections among participants. Collaboration was sought in other activities (eg, of the neighborhood association), thus deepening bonds among participants. Furthermore, sharing meals naturally created a space for conversation, encouraged participants to vocalize their feelings, and provided a place for emotional nourishment. Building on the insights gained from this project, we will continue to address community challenges and conduct similar analyses, including additional case studies, for application to other regions.

In March 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Eastern Japan, leaving 20 000 people dead or missing. ¹ This disaster was followed by an accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, forcing the evacuation of approximately 160 000 people. As of February 2026, approximately 24 310 people remained evacuated. ² These evacuees include not only residents but also government officials and other individuals who provide support to the affected areas. Furthermore, the disaster destroyed communities and local networks, particularly in the coastal towns of 3 Tohoku prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima). Consequently, both mental and physical care for victims became critical necessities. Rebuilding the lives of older adults while preventing social isolation remains a substantial challenge.^3,4

Amid an unprecedented combination of global disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear power plant accidents, Futaba-machi in Fukushima Prefecture was designated as a “difficult-to-return zone.” ⁵ A difficult-to-return zone is an area designated around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant where radiation levels remain high following the 2011 nuclear accident, making it unsafe for residents to return. Access and habitation in these zones are strictly restricted to protect public health. However, evacuation orders for some areas in the town were lifted in 2022 (Figure 1). Despite the lifting of evacuation orders, many residents who were evacuated across the country continue to live in shelters and face an uncertain future: 3790 evacuees remained in the prefecture, and 2677 remained outside the prefecture as of September 30, 2024. ⁶

Figure 1.

Status of evacuation orders in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, as of October 2024, following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. Figure provided by Futaba Town.

Prolonged evacuations have led to the isolation of residents, health and dietary issues among older adults, and challenges in rebuilding communities in evacuation centers. Additionally, the disaster caused severe shortages of facilities and spaces for activities, staff, equipment, and funds to address these problems.^{7 -9}

To address these concerns, Futaba Town collaborated with the Ajinomoto Group^{10 -12} and The Ajinomoto Foundation (TAF) (https://www.theajinomotofoundation.org) to conduct participatory cooking classes under the theme “cook together and eat together” at neighborhood associations where the evacuees had settled (The Red Apron Project). ¹³ The project, launched by the Ajinomoto Group, aimed to address the dietary and nutritional needs of disaster victims and revitalize local communities devastated by disasters. The project was implemented in 3 affected prefectures—Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima—where project staff were stationed from October 2011 through February 2020.

A total of 3771 cooking classes were held across 51 cities, towns, and villages involving 54 434 participants (Figure 2). Various partners, including the local government, social welfare councils, private organizations, neighborhood associations, universities, and other groups supporting residents, collaborated to conduct the project. ¹³

Figure 2.

Flow of cooking classes conducted by the Ajinomoto Group in 3 affected prefectures (ie, Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima) after the Great East Japan Earthquake, from October 2011 through February 2020. Figure provided by The Ajinomoto Foundation.

These classes encouraged active participation by assigning roles to all attendees rather than leaving the cooking to a few selected, skilled attendees. Simultaneously, the project staff prioritized hygiene and safety, carefully supervising the entire session to ensure that all participants could take on a role during the activity. In 2017, the Ajinomoto Group transferred the project to TAF and continued to provide direct support by holding cooking classes with partner organizations in the region. After terminating the classes in March 2020, TAF focused on providing logistical support in the background, such as assisting organizations that have continued to run the cooking classes independently and sharing recipes from the 8.5 years of cooking classes. A third-party evaluation of the project described it as “an innovative intervention model that energizes people’s minds and bodies.” ¹²

Purpose

Among the numerous initiatives in Futaba Town, this case study focuses on the case of Kennan Sōju-kai, a neighborhood association that has sustained cooking classes for 6 years. We examined the collaboration among local governments, residents, and private companies in supporting disaster victims and rebuilding communities through cooking classes.

Methods

This case study used an action research methodology, analyzing the project’s impacts and challenges in collaboration with participants, partner organizations, TAF, and the evaluation team.

For the analysis, the project’s activities were organized into a logic model by TAF staff and the evaluation team (Figure 3). Resources for the project included people, materials, and funding sources. The objectives were the implementation of cooking classes, division of roles, and frequency and duration of the classes, with the number of participants serving as the output. Short-term outcomes included providing a stable food supply, fostering connections among participants, and improving dietary awareness and behavior. Long-term outcomes focused on revitalizing communities and restoring community resilience. Based on the logic model, residents involved in the project, Futaba-machi public health nurses, TAF, and researchers, summarized the impact of the project on supporting disaster victims and rebuilding the community.

Figure 3.

Logic model of the cooking classes (The Red Apron Project) ¹³ conducted by the Ajinomoto Group in 3 affected prefectures (ie, Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima) after the Great East Japan Earthquake, from October 2011 through February 2020.

Surveyors collected information from the project evaluation report, records of project activities (April 2012 through February 2020), publications, websites of each organization, and interview data gathered for the evaluation report. The surveyors conducted in-person interviews in August 2023 with 3 staff members of Kennan Sōju-kai to verify the content of the initial interviews and to ask additional questions. Written consent for the publication of the case study was also obtained from Kennan Sōju-kai.

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tohoku Seikatsu Bunka University and Tohoku Seikatsu Bunka University Junior College (approval no. R4-14).

Outcomes

Status of the Local Government in Developing the Project

To develop the project in the local area, public health nurses in Futaba-machi coordinated with neighborhood associations and relevant organizations. They regularly visited the meetings of each neighborhood association to introduce and explain the project.

At the start of the project, public health nurses collaborated with the Japan Dietetic Association to purchase ingredients, print menus, and explain the day’s menu during cooking classes. However, they faced challenges in procuring ingredients at evacuation sites and were unable to store them at the venue because the facility was temporarily rented. Consequently, TAF took over the responsibility of preparing the ingredients. The menus initially prepared by Futaba-machi were also replaced with menus provided by TAF.

Challenges Specific to Nuclear Power Plant Evacuations

Evacuees from Futaba-machi were dispersed across a wide area, both within and outside the prefecture. As a result, public health nurses had to coordinate with relevant organizations in the regions where evacuees had relocated to introduce the project and organize cooking classes. They also needed to consider the rules and regulations for each region. Additionally, the time required to travel between evacuation sites made it difficult to efficiently prepare and conduct cooking classes. Although the goal was to provide equitable support to evacuees, the limited number of staff spread across such a large area posed a substantial challenge.

Furthermore, public health nurses were overwhelmed by health-related duties and struggled to find sufficient time to organize the project. Following the earthquake, they were responsible for administrative tasks in addition to specialized public health work. Hence, they found it difficult to conduct health-related activities that often did not produce immediate observable results.

Residents at the evacuation sites required new communities that differed from those that existed before the disaster. To address issues such as resident isolation and health and dietary problems among older adults, organizers developed a project plan with long-term outcomes in mind. They provided support by reaching out to potential leaders in each neighborhood association.

Overview of Kennan Sōju-kai

Kennan Sōju-kai is a neighborhood association composed of evacuees who relocated from Futaba-machi to the Kennan region of Fukushima Prefecture. The sample population comprised 54 registered households. Some association members purchased new homes in the evacuation area but chose not to join the local neighborhood association; instead, they continued their participation in Kennan Sōju-kai. In addition to cooking classes, the association organized exercise sessions, study trips, and meetings with Futaba-machi evacuees, both inside and outside the prefecture. In October 2015, public health nurses from Futaba-machi introduced cooking classes and incorporated them into the association’s activities.

Activity

The chairman of Kennan Sōju-kai coordinated with TAF to implement the cooking classes, which were held 4 times a year. The chairman and officers of the neighborhood association developed an annual plan in advance and prepared flyers every 3 months to inform participants. These flyers were distributed to all households by the chairman and officers of the neighborhood association, as many residents were older adults, providing an opportunity to check in with them directly. Cooking classes were held at the Shirakawa City Industry Plaza Training Center in Shirakawa-shi, Fukushima Prefecture, where evacuees had relocated. Kennan Sōju-kai reserved the venue, while TAF provided the ingredients, recipes, and equipment, with TAF staff also serving as instructors in the cooking classes.

Activity Results (Outputs)

Kennan Sōju-kai held cooking classes 34 times from March 2014 through February 2020, with a total of 495 participants. Outside of Kennan Sōju-kai, 16 cooking classes were held in Futaba-machi, with 178 participants.

Activity Impact (Outputs)

Short-term impact (individual level)

Eating as a group encouraged greater food intake, with some participants commenting that the taste of the food was better when it was shared with others. Sharing meals also helped improve participants’ nutritional status. A few participants reflected on how their approach to cooking and eating had changed, saying, “When I was cooking alone, I felt it was dangerous to use a knife, but I have learned new things,” “My cooking repertoire has expanded,” and “I have discovered that the same vegetable can taste delicious if you put in a little effort.”

The cooking classes, centered around the “cook together and eat together” theme, provided participants with an opportunity to express the emotions they had been carrying since the disaster. Sharing meals naturally created a space for conversation, encouraging participants to vocalize their feelings. As a result, participants eased their minds and softened their expressions, supporting their physical and mental recovery. Many participants also felt a sense of relief by speaking openly to TAF staff and other outsiders rather than just to fellow residents or local government officials.

Mid- to Long-term Impact (Community and Organization Level)

Participants were able to deepen their connections with one another by cooking and eating together in groups. The strengthened ties went beyond the cooking classes, with residents interacting with one another while consulting members of their neighborhood associations. Furthermore, a community gradually formed among the residents as they became more communicative and emotionally nourished through cooking classes.

Lessons Learned

In Futaba town, the local government faced substantial challenges in supporting residents due to the prolonged evacuation caused by the nuclear power plant disaster. Consequently, residents, TAF, and the local government collaborated to support the victims and rebuild communities through cooking classes. This initiative contributed to participants’ physical and mental recovery, shifted their dietary awareness, and formed a community through strengthened connections among residents.

Factors That Enabled Kennan Sōju-kai to Continue Its Activities

When introducing the project to Futaba-machi, we approached several neighborhood associations, including Kennan Sōju-kai. One key difference between the associations that continued their activities and those that ceased activities was effective leadership. In Kennan Sōju-kai, the chairman proactively introduced the project and personally encouraged members to participate. The chairman was popular among the members and worked closely with the association staff to manage the organization. It has been proven that reliable leadership is essential for the success of many activities.^14,15 Such effective leadership may have also been a crucial factor in the continued success of this project in Kennan Sōju-kai.

Additionally, the organizers worked with TAF to prepare annual plans and hold cooking classes at regular intervals, which helped sustain the project for a long period. This structured approach enabled the association staff to prepare well for each upcoming event and may also have encouraged residents to look forward to future events. When publicizing cooking classes, the staff personally distributed flyers to all households while actively engaging with residents. These face-to-face interactions likely motivated many residents to continue participating in these events. ¹⁵

TAF’s long-term support system also played a crucial role in sustaining the activities of neighborhood associations such as Kennan Sōju-kai. While local governments were overwhelmed by the aftermath of the disaster and struggled to support all residents, TAF’s outreach-based approach to direct support proved to be highly effective for both local governments and residents. The TAF system substantially contributed to rebuilding the community and fostering social capital within the region, efforts that require sustained, long-term commitment.

Challenges and Lessons Learned in Health Activities

When introducing the project, the Ajinomoto Group was aware that its support would lead to continuous sustainable activities in the future. Therefore, the group developed project plans from a long-term perspective. Additionally, the group actively encouraged potential leaders within each organization to help develop an organizing body for the project. However, many organizations struggled to continue the classes the way Kennan Sōju-kai did, which made it challenging to sustain the project. Moreover, as the organization leaders and staff advanced in age, training future project organizers became a critical issue, even for Kennan Sōju-kai. ¹⁶

Futaba-machi faced a uniquely difficult set of circumstances with the combined effect of a nuclear power plant disaster and tsunami, followed by widespread evacuation. Even within the same town, residents’ experiences varied greatly. The same event can be perceived differently depending on the individual, highlighting the need for careful and individualized support. This project created an opportunity for local supporters to reach out to residents, adjust the way in which they provided support, and build relationships with them. It also allowed the identification and engagement of residents in need of assistance. While the results of health-related activities may not have been immediately visible, the cooking classes provided tangible outcomes to the community, such as seeing residents smiling after cooking and eating together. The introduction of the project helped empower local supporters to continue assisting residents, which is especially important because long-term support is crucial for disaster victims. ¹⁷

The impact of the disaster, along with the activities of local organizations, varied across regions. To effectively apply the project findings to other regions, it is essential to conduct similar analyses, including additional case studies. The Red Apron Project has strengthened bonds among evacuees and proven effective in rebuilding communities. More importantly, this case study demonstrates the creation of “transformative resilience” ¹⁸ rather than the mere restoration of predisaster social structures. In short, given that many residents have not yet returned to Futaba Town, what is required is a form of resilience that differs from simply restoring the town to its original state.

Futaba Town has 2 distinct community-building needs. The first need involves integrating returning and new residents, and the second need requires supporting those who could not return and must continue living in evacuation areas. These 2 problems highlight the need to form “new communities” (ie, communities that extend beyond conventional neighborhood- or locality-based ties) that transcend traditional frameworks. These new communities cultivate a hybrid form of social capital that transcends traditional local ties. The communities enable residents, private companies, and local governments to co-create social value. Ultimately, this model provides a strategic framework for addressing social isolation in postdisaster situations worldwide. The insights gained from this project constitute a valuable blueprint for tackling future community-building challenges. We aim to further develop our efforts based on this accumulated experience.