History of Japan's Disaster Relief Program

Previous Experience

Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) teams have consistently throughout history helped multiple nations recover from historically significant disasters. Showcasing a long-standing history of providing crucial support to these areas of need. Throughout decades of experience, multiple teams have established Japan as a global leader in humanitarian aid and disaster recovery by consistently responding to global crises with efficiency and expertise.

The start of the JDR program dates back to the 1970’s. This started with the Cambodian Refugee crisis, which was the result of the devastating regime by Khmer Rouge’s policies (1959-1979) and the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1979. Rougue’s policies led to widespread famine, mass killings, and forced labor, and resulted in about 1.5 to 2 million deaths. As a result of this, hundreds of Cambodians fled their country seeking refuge in neighboring nations like Thailand. This caused an overpopulation of Cambodian refugee camps, resulting in an overcrowded, displaced population suffering from shortages of food, water, and medical care.

Japan responded to this by sending JDR teams to the Cambodian refugee camps. Providing the population with with medical care to address; malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and injuries. This initial step created a turning point in Japan’s global disaster relief assistance and set the tone for their push toward national humanitarianism.

In order to maintain organization in these “rescues”, Japan enacted the JDR law in 1987. The "JDR Act" in 1987 refers to the "Law Concerning Dispatch of the Japan Disaster Relief Team" Japan sends its disaster relief teams to provide help and medical care in major disasters happening overseas, focusing on developing regions, as requested by affected governments or international organizations.

The law was then extended in 1992 when Japan extended the JDR law to include Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to help address complex emergencies. The combined forces between the JDR and SDF provided nations under extreme disasters with search and rescue operations, advanced medical care, and logistical support.

In 2015, Japan expanded the JDR to include the prevention of epidemics and pandemics by creating the Infectious Disease Response Team. This was a response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The team’s goal is to provide advanced medical assistance to victims while considering logistic capability. The team was then used in 2016, to assist a yellow fever outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.