田近荣治、宫崎武：从金融角度看日本灾后重建系统

1、田近荣治、宫崎武：从金融角度看日本灾后重建系统2010年09月22日来源:省政府办公厅【字体：大 中 小】发邮件推荐给朋友摘要 对日本的历次灾害进行回顾。近年来，由风灾、水灾引起的死亡及失踪人数虽然在逐渐减少，但是因地震引发的损失在阪神大地震中却达到了极为严重的程度。同时一般认为，今后在大城市中发生大地震的机率很高。 对于在灾后恢复?复兴方面日本所做的努力，我将从实物?现金补偿、复兴基金、基础设施重建等方面进行说明。日本有各种各样的帮扶援助制度，我们来看一下这些制度都是怎样建立起来的。 根据以上内容，我将对于灾后恢复及复兴工作中的政府角色，从恢复?复兴的优先顺序、事前工作的意义、以及中央政府与

2、地方政府的角色分配等角度进行论述。I. Introduction It is quite difficult for us to think about and be prepared for disasters at ordinary times. This is true of the national and local governments as well as individuals. Fukuzaki (2005) points out that Japan has gradually established its systems and programs for provid

3、ing governmental financial assistance from emergency aid to rehabilitation and reconstruction through various large-scale disasters which caused the necessity of creating new measures to meet the needs of each disaster. That is, the systems have been reviewed subsequently to disasters, and the revie

4、w consequent upon a disaster has been more actively carried out since the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake that involved more than 6,000 deaths. As a result, the Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid for Victims Law was enacted (in May 1998) as a new program. Afterward the Law was followed by the 2004 amen

5、dment that approved housing-related expenses and by the amendment that significantly alleviated approval requirements for housing-related expenses as the first legislature enacted by the so-called “divided parliaments” in 2007. The 2007 amendment was retroactively applied to the cases of disasters c

6、aused by the 2007 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, Typhoon No. 11 and front, and Typhoon No. 12. The Reconstruction Fund established at the time of the volcanic eruption of Mt. Unzen was expanded to a scale of 900 billion yen fund after the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake wi

7、th projects totaling to 350 billion yen. This program was originally established with the aim of assisting the reconstruction of the living of victims (Hayashi 2007), but it was inherited to the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake although the Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid for Victims Law had been already

8、 enacted. The purpose of this paper is to explore how financial support should be at the time of disaster based on the programs that have been established and their problems. The following sections will discuss each program in the order of its application to disasters; Disaster Relief Law, Condolenc

9、e Grant Program, Law for Financial Aid for Major Disasters, Program for Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid for Victims and Reconstruction Fund. This paper will also look into the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction after the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake as a case study by comparing with the Han

10、shin-Awaji Great Earthquake in order to show how each program has been put into practice. Various studies have focused on specific issues such as the amendments to the Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid for Victims Law and on the measures to be taken to address an individual case of disaster in urban

11、earthquakes including a near-field earthquake in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. On the other hand, an overall perspective on the way that financial support should be at the time of disaster has been neglected. This paper aims for paving the way for the future development of such perspective and offers

12、 the authors opinions as to the practical application of the programs based on the field studies at the sites of disasters. The section 2 discusses the systems and programs of financial aid for rehabilitation and reconstruction at the time of disaster in Japan. Section 3 looks at retrospectively the

13、 damage caused by the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, and section 4 shows how each system and program presented in section 2 has been translated into action in the field. Section 5 points out specifically the views which have been missed in the past discussions on the way that Japans financial aid shoul

14、d be at the time of disaster and discusses the importance of enhancing exploration from a new perspective based on our discussions in the above sections.? Systems/Programs for rehabilitation and reconstruction at the time of disasterII-1 Emergency measures for disasters and rehabilitation Disaster R

15、elief Law The Disaster Relief Law prescribes how the national government should carry out post-disaster emergency measures. The primary purposes of the measures are that “the national government, in cooperation with local governments, the Japanese Red Cross Society, other organizations and individua

16、ls, carries out necessary emergency relief activities, protects victims and maintains social order at the time of disaster (Article 1).” Emergency relief shall be provided under the responsibility of the national government, but in the field of disaster, the prefectural government represents the nat

17、ional government and carries out relief activities with the help of municipal mayors. The expenses of the relief activities shall be paid by the prefecture. However, when the expenses exceed a given rate of the general tax revenues of the prefecture, the national government shall pay up to 90% of th

18、e expenses. The types of relief activities carried out under the Disaster Relief Law include the “provision of shelters and temporary housing,” “provision of foods through cooking at emergency kitchens and provision of water,” “provision or lending of clothes, beddings and other daily necessaries,”

19、“medical care services and midwifery services,” “rescue of victims,” “temporary repairs of damaged houses,” “provision or lending of fund, equipment and supplies necessary for business,” “provision of school supplies,” “burial,” “search and treatment of bodies,” “removal of sediments and woods/bambo

20、os that interfere greatly with daily living” (Article 23 of the Disaster Relief Law and Article 9 of the Enforcement Ordinance of the Law). In practice, such relief activities embody the features that a high percentage of the expenditure is spent for the provision of temporary housing, emergency mea

21、sures for houses, provision of foods through cooking at emergency kitchens, etc., and establishment of shelters and that in-kind support is offered to victims by way of emergency relief. In recent years, it has been argued that it is necessary to explore the ways in which relief activities should be

22、 carried out based on the vision of our society, that is, the way that the city should be and the way that the region should be, and also based on social policies. It has been also pointed out that the conventional relief activities with in-kind support have limitation by imposing restraint on where

23、 people should live.Law concerning Payment, etc. of Disaster Condolence Grant (Condolence Grant Law) One of the laws that were enacted with the aim of offering cash to victims as a financial aid measure for the livelihoods of victims is the Condolence Grant Law. Under this Law, cash is given to pers

24、ons who have been killed or seriously wounded by disaster. An amount of 5,000,000 is paid to the death of a person who is the main bread-earner (disaster condolence money) and 2,500,000 to the deaths of others. Likewise, an amount of 2,500,000 or 1,250,000 is paid to each victim who has been serious

25、ly injured (disaster disability consolation payment). Besides, a “loan as disaster aid fund” is granted under the Condolence Grant Law. The requirements for receiving the loan include; a wounded head of a household, loss of household effects, and total or partial destruction of or loss of a dwelling

26、. The municipality, as the implementing entity, grants a loan up to 3,500,000 predicated upon a certain restriction on the income of a household (for instance, 4,300,000 per two-member household). Ordinarily a grace period is set for three years and the loan shall be repaid within ten years from the

27、 day of borrowing. The national government pays two-thirds of the loan and the prefectural government pays its one-third. The municipal government is held responsible for its repayment. The disaster condolence grant, disaster disability consolation payment and disaster relief fund are paid as emerge

28、ncy financial support based on necessary prerequisites such as death or severe disabilities caused by disaster, a degree of damage and income. In the case of the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake it was expected that the disaster aid fund would be smoothly repaid after a grace period of five years foll

29、owing its lending. A matter of fact, however, is that bad debts pose a problem. It is reported that the irrecoverable loans amount to 25.1 billion (Kobe Newspaper dated Jan. 11, 2008). In Kobe-shi where the problem looms particularly large has requested the national government to extend or review th

30、e time of repayment.Program for Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid of Victims In the aftermath of the volcanic eruption of Mt. Unzen (1991) prior to the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake, compensation for damaged individuals houses was paid out of the fund which was originally developed from donations. S

31、uch indemnity for individuals houses was possible because the damage caused by the eruption of Mt. Unzen was far much smaller than the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake in terms of scale and amount. After the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake, people repeatedly alluded to the indemnity for individuals hou

32、ses paid in the aftermath of the eruption of Mt. Unzen, and there was a mounting demand for compensation for houses which were personal property at the time of disaster. As a result, the Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid for Victims Law was passed with a concurring bipartisan vote in 1998 after reque

33、sts from citizens and Governors Association and discussions in the Diet. This Law allows the disaster victims who have lost their houses to receive an amount up to one million yen to buy their daily necessaries. Subsequently, it was amended on April 1, 2004 to institute a housing stabilization suppo

34、rt program with the aim of helping victims reconstruct or repair a house, or to rent a house. The program increased the upper limit to three million yen in total together with living-related expenses from one million yen. The maximum amounts provided under the Program for Socioeconomic Rehabilitatio

35、n Aid for Victims, etc. are shown in Table 1 below. The categories from (1) to (4) are related to living-related expenses and the categories from (5) to (8) are provided to support victims in repairing their houses. The ceiling was raised to three million yen in total, one million yen for living-rel

36、ated expenses and two million yen for housing-related expenses. The qualifications of households to receive the money include (1) houses which have been “totally destroyed” or “partially damaged and forced to be dismantled” by natural disasters, (2) households that have been forced to take shelter f

37、or a prolonged period of time by pyroclastic flows and the like, or (3) households of which houses have been partially damaged and which find it difficult to live without extensive repairs (partly but extensively damaged). ? Table 1: Upper limits and target expenses of the Program for Socioeconomic

38、Rehabilitation Aid for Victims (2000 Amended Law) Income and age-limit of the household head No. of persons in household Maximum amount of financial aid Living-related expenses (1)(4)(Notes) Housing-related expense (5)(8) (Notes) Income of 5,000,000 or less Multiple 3,000,000 1,000,000 2,000,000 One

39、-person 2,250,000 750,000 1,500,000 The age of household head is 45 or higher with an income of 5 million yen or more and 7 million yen or less Multiple 1,500,000 500,000 1,000,000 The household head is 60 year old or older or in need of protection with an income of 5 million yen or more and 8 milli

40、on yen or below One-person 1,125,000 375,000 750,000 (Note) (1) Expenses to buy or repair daily living necessaries: (2) Medical expenses for persons who have been wounded by natural disaster or persons who have become sick: (3) Expenses for moving or transportation: (4) Gratuity for renting a house:

41、 (5) Rent for privately-owned house and expenses for temporary dwelling (up to 500,000): (6) Expenses for dismantling (taking away), removal and leveling of ground; (7) Interest on loans to construct or buy a house: (8) Various expenses related to loan guarantee fee and rebuilding a house. The house

42、holds of which houses were partially but extensively damaged become the target of (5) (8) (with a limitation of one million yen and including interest on loans for repairs). The expenses pertaining (1) and (3) shall be provided within a limitation of 700,000 to a household that needs to take shelf f

43、or a prolonged period of time. When a household moves to a different prefecture, the half of each item from (5) to (8) shall be paid. (Source) Data published by the Cabinet OfficeThe 2004 amendment approved that the money would be spent as living-related expenses. However, controversy continued as t

44、o the fact that no compensation money was paid to cover the expenses for the house proper although financial support was provided to loans necessary for the construction/purchase of a house. Amidst the controversy, on December 12, 2007 the Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid for Victims Law was enacted

45、 as the first legislature that passed the so-called “divided parliaments,” thereby making it possible to provide monetary aid directly to the construction and purchase or repairs of a house (Table 2). This amendment also abolished all the requirements on the income and age of the household head when

46、 the Law would be applied.? Table 2: Requirements and amounts under the 2007 Amendment to the Socioeconomic Rehabilitation Aid for Victims Law (1) Monetary aid provided depending upon a degree of damage to house (Basic monetary aid) Total destruction, dismantling, or prolonged displacement 1,000,000

47、 Partial but extensive damage 500,000(2) Monetary aid provided according to the reconstruction method of house Construction/purchase 2,000,000 Repair 1,000,000 Renting (except for public housing) 500,000 (3) Limitation on income and age of the target household The limitation on the income and age ha

48、ve been abolished for the target households; totally destroyed house, dismantled house, prolonged displacement, and partly but extensively damaged house. (Source) Prepared by the authors from the data published by the Cabinet OfficeThus, these amendments made the program “user-friendly .” On the oth

49、er hand, there are apprehensions about potential failure of the system when a gigantic earthquake strikes. The financial source is the Support Fund for Reconstructing Livelihoods of Disaster Victims offered by the prefectural government, but it is so designed that the national government will supple

50、ment the half of the monetary aid when a greater fund is necessary. The reserve fund which has been accumulated by prefectures amounts to 113 billion yen as of now. The Cabinet Office (Professionals Committee for Near-field Earthquake in Tokyo) estimates that approximately 13,000 persons will be kil

51、led and more than 850,000 houses will be totally destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent fires in the worst case, thereby amounting to monetary aid of 3,400 billion yen in total (estimated by Asahi Newspaper). Hence, it has been pointed out that the system itself will not function if such a large-

52、scale earthquake occurs. II 2 Measures for rehabilitation and reconstruction Major Disaster System The System for Financial Aid for Major Disasters is a program in which “if a disaster takes place that will inflict a far-reaching and serious effect upon national economy and when it is deemed necessa

53、ry to alleviate the local financial burden caused by the disaster or to provide special subsidies to its victims, special measures shall be taken, such as increasing the assistance rate of the national government for post-disaster recovery projects, thereby reducing the burden of local public bodies

54、 and victims.” This system is based on the Law concerning Special Financial Aid to deal with Major Disasters (hereinafter referred to as the Major Disaster Law) and has been enacted with the aim of a national long-lasting system for post-disaster recovery jointly under the Law on Temporary Measures

55、for Subsidies from National Treasury for Expenses for Project to Recover Facilities for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Damaged by Disaster (hereinafter referred to as the Temporary Measures Law) aiming for contributing to the maintenance and stable management of agriculture, forestry and fisher

56、ies and the Law on National Treasurys Sharing of Expenses for Project to Recover Public Civil Engineering Works Damaged by Disaster (hereinafter referred to as the Sharing Law) aiming for ensuring public welfare. Under this system there are two standards to be applied depending upon a degree of dama

57、ge: Major Disaster Designation Standards (Major Disaster) and Localized Major Disaster Designation Standards (Localized Disaster). In the Major Disaster a nationwide standard is applied to the damage, thereby creating a situation in which the Major Disaster is not applied because the damage does not

58、 go beyond the standard even though a localized area suffers serious damage. Hence, the Localized Major Disaster Designation Standards (Localized Disaster) were set up in 1968 to adopt the damage in a municipality as the standard for designation. As a result, the Major Disaster designates a disaster itself, whereas the Localized Disaster declares a major disaster by municipality. However, the Major Disaster may declares a major disaster, but all municipalities do not necessarily receive the same special measures. Instead, only areas th