Pacific Consultans ConcludesPartnership Agreement with Tohoku University IRIDeS to Promote Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shigenori Takaki) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement on “coordination and cooperation to promote the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction” with Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science (Director: Fumihiko Imamura; “IRIDeS,” hereafter).

A signing ceremony for the agreement took place on Saturday, November 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the office of the IRIDeS director. The event was attended by Director Fumihiko Imamura, Professor Yuichi Ono and General Manager Yoshinori Sone representing IRIDeS, and by President Shigenori Takaki, Tohoku Branch Office Manager Tsuguo Ueno, and Tokyo Headquarters Office Marketing & Sales Department Manager Koji Ono.

During the ceremony, Director Imamura expressed his belief that “through work to recover from the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and at third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction, IRIDeS and Pacific Consultants have truly pursued their activities in tandem by way of cooperation between industry and academia, and I have great hopes for further coordination moving forward,” while President Takaki indicated the company’s intention to further deepen coordination in the future, noting that “we hope to launch an in-house working group to pursue further coordination and cast a wide net in exploring the ways in which we can work together.”

　　　　　　Left: Fumihiko Imamura (Director of Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science)
　　　　　　Right: Shigenori Takaki (President of Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd.)

■ Background of the Agreement
Pacific Consultants and IRIDeS have had various points of contact in the course of recovery and restoration from the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and have coordinated to further reconstruction of the disaster-affected areas.
Moreover, through experiences with many disasters including the Great East Japan Earthquake, Pacific Consultants and IRIDeS have developed a shared awareness that the disaster prevention knowledge Japan has accumulated needs to be disseminated throughout the world. Both entities provided lateral support for the running of the third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai in March 2015, worked jointly on the planning and operation of public forums and various other events to disseminate disaster prevention knowledge. Through coordinated support for the smooth operation of the conference, they contributed to adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which incorporated many of Japan’s approaches to disaster risk reduction.
Later, IRIDeS launched the Global Centre for Disaster Statistics with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supporting the development of database on damages due to disasters around the world in order to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and advanced the planning and conceptualization of the “World Bosai Forum,” which aims to share disaster risk reduction knowledge and solutions to disaster-related issues. The first World Bosai Forum was recently held in Sendai from November 25 to 27, 2017.
Since October 2014 Pacific Consultants has supported IRIDeS in these initiatives by providing staffing assistance to its administrative offices and also backed the World Bosai Forum as a top sponsor.

■ Overview of the Agreement
Pacific Consultants and IRIDeS will utilize their respective knowledge and expertise while advancing coordination and cooperation regarding the Global Centre for Disaster Statistics and World Bosai Forum in particular, and contribute to promotion of disaster prevention activities in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
In addition, to coincide with conclusion of the agreement, Pacific Consultants and IRIDeS will establish a cooperative structure and promote activities by pursuing the following initiatives.
- Share information on international disaster risk reduction strategies such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 　
　Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Share knowledge and expertise concerning disaster risk reduction technologies
- Promote cooperation between industry and academia, including human resource development