53rd Sogo Bousai (Integrated Disaster Risk Management) Seminar “How did small businesses overcome the COVID-19 pandemic? Strategies and Challenges for Business Continuity from Case Studies in Japan and the United States”

Date and time: 9:00 – 11:30 AM, Friday, April 22, 2022 (JST)/ 8:00-10:30 P.M., April 21 (EDT)
Method: Online seminar via Zoom (Registration REQUIRED)
Other: Simultaneous interpretation in English and Japanese available
Registration Form:
https://kyoto-u-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAof-yorz0sGtPRIAeks1H-Fc7juzZTo5WF
 
Purpose of the event
This seminar aims to share the recovery process on how small businesses in Japan adapted to the pandemic disaster, based on interviews conducted with small businesses in Japan and the U.S. from the following three perspectives. (1) Social norms: How did small businesses respond to social norms (e.g., self-quarantine, mask mandate) brought about by new behavioral restrictions and infectious disease countermeasures? (2) Support systems: How did small businesses utilize the new institution (e.g., benefits, loans) and what did they invest in? (3) Adaptation: How did small businesses adapt to the pandemic and new restrictions (e.g., emergency declaration) and in what ways did Japanese and U.S. businesses use different strategies? Based on the above, the panel discussion with three owners, who are running sightseeing, design, and restaurant businesses, will dive into the practical knowledge and institutional system for rapid recovery of local economies in disasters such as pandemics and climate change.
 
Schedule, presenters, and content of presentation
9:00 – 9:10
Opening (Dr. Katsuya Yamori, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University), Explanation of the purpose (Hiroaki Daimon)
9:10 – 9: 30
Presentation 1 – Social norms
　Dr. Yu Matsubara (Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University)
　”The Search for Business Owners during Unstable Social Norms
9:30 – 9: 50
Presentation 2 / Support System
　Dr. Cox Zachary, University of Delaware, Disaster Research Center
　”How U.S. Businesses Overcame the Corona Disaster”
9:50 – 10:10
Presentation 3 – Adaptation
　Dr. Hiroaki Daimon (Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; University of Delaware)
　”Differences and similarities in the Response of Small Businesses in Japan and the U.S.”
 
(10:10 – 10:20 Break)
 
10:20 – 11:20
Panel Discussion
　”Wisdom and Institutional Challenges in Surviving a Pandemic”
Moderator: Dr. Cox and Dr. Daimon
Panelists:
　　Mashu Ohashi (CEO, "Uokusa": Fish shop with a standingbar)（https://www.uokusa.jp/）
　　Madoka Hatano (CEO, Miyazu Machi-ya Restoration Network)(https://www.miyazu-machiya.net/)
　　Kenji Fujimoto (CEO, Japan Exploration Tours JIN-仁) (https://jet-jin.com/en/)
 

11:20 – 11:30
Closing remarks (Dr. Masamitsu Onishi, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University), Closing
 

Acknowledgement: This seminar was supported by the Kansai Research Foundation for Technology Promotion.