On March 11 2011 the North-East of Japan was hit by a massive magnitude 9 earthquake. The
earthquake was followed by a tsunami that destroyed farmland cities factories and the
infrastructure of the coastal regions and also caused the nuclear meltdowns in the Fukushima
Daiichi Powerplant. In media as well as in research the disaster was perceived as a national
catastrophe overlooking itstransnational character. Japanese diasporic communities worldwide
organized support and fundraising events to support the devastated regions and thus showed
their solidarity with the homeland. In both transient and permanent Japanese communities being
active often became a means to overcome the global local and personal shockwave of the
catastrophe and overcome feelings of insecurity. Yet the broad variety of activities also
furthered diasporic civil society and helped to integrate members of Japanese communities more
into the surrounding society. By bringing together disaster studies and diaspora studies and
analyzing the reactions of Japanese transient and permanent communities in Ghent Brussels
Dusseldorf Sao Paulo Honolulu and London following the Triple Disaster this volume will help
to get a better understanding of how catastrophes effect diasporic communities.
