Empirical Analysis of the Long-Term Life Recovery Process from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Using the Life Recovery Calendar Method

This study visualized the long-term life recovery process of survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) using the life recovery calendar method, based on a large-scale random-sampling survey conducted 13 years after the disaster. Moreover, it conducted a comparative analysis with the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake (GHAE). The results indicated that most survivors grasped the overall impact within several days, recognized the protracted nature of recovery within weeks, restored work and school conditions within approximately two months, and regained housing, household finances, and a sense of safety within six months. Road restoration, community activity recovery, and reduction in self-identification as “disaster victims” were observed within one year. In contrast, regional economic recovery required approximately seven years, and even after 13 years, approximately one-quarter of respondents continued to perceive themselves as victims and reported persistent risk awareness. Greater levels of housing damage significantly delayed recovery in victim identity, suggesting the importance of damage-based support design. Compared with the GHAE, employment, housing, and daily life recovery progressed relatively rapidly in both disasters, whereas psychological recovery, perceived safety, and regional economic recovery were more prolonged following the GEJE owing to its characteristics as a wide-area, multi-hazard (compound) disaster, underscoring the need for long-term, phase-specific support.