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https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2020.p0212 Hiroi, U et al. Paper: Questionnaire Survey on the Difficulty of Attending Work for Commuters After the 2018 Osaka Earthquake UHiroi∗, Naoya Sekiya∗∗, Shuntarou Waragai∗∗∗, and Fusae Kukihara∗∗∗ ∗Department of Urban Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan ∗∗Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan ∗∗∗Social Information Department, Survey Research Center Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan [Received September 6, 2019; accepted November 25, 2019] This paper presents the results of a questionnaire sur- dangers inherent in outdoor urban spaces, such as dam- vey conducted on those who had difficulty commut- age due to the collapse of concrete block walls, but it also ing after the 2018 Osaka earthquake. As with the created a situation where many people found it difficult Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, serious traffic con- to commute to work or school due to the suspension of gestion occurred in downtown Osaka following the various public mass transit services immediately follow- 2018 disaster. Based on the questionnaire survey on ing the earthquake, which occurred on a weekday morn- those who had difficulty commuting, which is consid- ing. For instance, according to Yomiuri Shimbun newspa- ered to be a factor of traffic congestion, it was found per and the Jiji Press news service, the traffic congestion that 60–70% commuted as usual after the earthquake; that occurred due to the suspension of rail services and about half of the commuters who usually take the train other public transportation lasted approximately 14 hours. changed their method of commuting, one-quarter of At its peak it was 7 times the scale of normal conges- whom used automobiles; there were very few who ex- tion, preventing Governor Matsui from reaching the Dis- perienced problems in their work because they had not aster Response Headquarters and lengthening the arrival gone to work or their workplace had closed down for time of ambulance cars to 42 minutes, 6 times the normal the day; and many felt that it would be better to re- rate [2, 3]. ceive instructions on work attendance in the aftermath Such phenomena, in which many people encounter dif- of an earthquake. The present study points out the ficulty in commuting because of the suspension of trans- need for companies and society to adopt rules so that portation services following a disaster, have occurred sev- those who find it difficult to commute will refrain from eral times in recent years, and individual phenomena have going to work and remain in their local communities been subjected to social surveys to study their profiles. to help others, except for those in certain occupations For instance, following the March 11, 2011, Great East or positions. Japan Earthquake, which occurred on a weekday after- noon, approximately five million people are said to have had difficulty returning home in the Tokyo metropolitan Keywords: difficulty of attending work for commuters, area, producing overcrowded spaces on some sidewalks, the 2018 Osaka earthquake, questionnaire survey such as in the vicinity of bridges, and traffic congestion on roadways that lasted until early in the morning of the following day. In this case, Hiroi et al. [4], for instance, 1. Introduction conducted a survey immediately after the earthquake on approximately 2,000 people who had commuted that day In the 2018 Osaka earthquake, which occurred at to the Tokyo metropolitan area, asking them in detail around 7:58 a.m. Japan Standard Time, June 18, 2018, whether and how they had returned home, what their rea- peak seismic intensity slightly below 6 (JMA Seismic In- sons were, and what routes they took, to examine its out- tensity Scale) was recorded in Kita ward, Takatsuki city, line [4]. Furthermore, from April 3 to 5, 2012, Japan was Hirakata city, Ibaraki city, and Minoh city in Osaka pre- visited by a giant low-pressure system that was close in fecture. According to the latest damage report released scale to a typhoon (explosive low-pressure system), as a by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, there were result of which public transportation was suspended due 6 deaths (including 1 earthquake-related death) in Osaka to wind and flood damage, thus preventing many people prefecture and 462 injured in 7 prefectures, where hous- from returning home. Hiroi et al. [5] conducted a social ing damage amounted to 21 completely collapsed houses, survey with a sample group of 2,158 people on the diffi- 483 partially collapsed houses, and 61,266 partially dam- culty of returning home due to the arrival of the explosive aged houses [1]. This earthquake can be characterized low-pressure system, discussing the behavior of return- by its occurrence during commuting hours in a major ur- ing home and the situation of disaster information collec- ban area. For this reason, not only did it point out the tion, or the different environments of those who encoun- 212 Journal of Disaster Research Vol.15 No.2, 2020 © Fuji Technology Press Ltd. Creative Commons CC BY-ND: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/). Questionnaire Survey on the Difficulty of Attending Work for Commuters After the 2018 Osaka Earthquake tered difficulty returning home following earthquakes or a method that relies on traffic control will not function im- wind and flood damage [5]. Meanwhile, the 2018 Osaka mediately after an earthquake” [11]. Yet, the term “those earthquake occurred early on a weekday morning, as men- that encounter difficulty in commuting (shukkin kon’nan- tioned earlier. Therefore, overcrowding only occurred on sha)” is not used in these papers, nor has it been given some bridges in the evening, after some time had passed, a clear definition so far. According to the Central Disas- while a greater problem was posed by the traffic con- ter Prevention Council, “a person having difficulty return- gestion on the roadways during commuting hours. This ing home (kitaku kon’nan-sha)” is often defined as “a per- pointed out many issues related to commuting immedi- son who has given up trying to go home or who attempts ately after an earthquake, and subsequently, Osaka prefec- to walk over a considerable distance to return home, be- ture expanded its guidelines for disaster response, which cause public transportation has been suspended due to an had previously only considered a scenario in which a dis- earthquake or some other cause.” Since roadway conges- aster occurred during working hours. It now considers tion during commuting hours can also pose problems, as three patterns of disaster occurrence – during commuting pointed out by the above sources, in this paper, we shall hours, during working hours, and when returning home define, following the above definition, “a person who en- – and has set rules according to those different times [6]. counters difficulty commuting” to be someone who “re- For this reason, the present authors conducted a social sur- frains from commuting to work or attempts to commute vey of the effect that the suspension of transportation had over a considerable distance by means other than the one on morning commuters following the 2018 Osaka earth- normally used because public transportation has been sus- quake, instead of focusing on the difficulty of returning pended due to an earthquake or some other cause.” home in the evening. Thus, the objective of this paper is to report the detailed findings of this investigation. The phenomenon of people encountering difficulty 2. Status of Transportation Services on the Day commuting after a large-scale disaster and the need for of the Earthquake and an Outline of the countermeasures were discussed prior to the 2018 Osaka Survey earthquake, such as by the Review Committee on Com- panies and Disaster Response held by the Cabinet Office Before presenting an outline of the survey, we will re- in 2002, where it was pointed out that “while measures view the status of public transport on the day of the earth- for those having difficulty returning home are important, quake. Centered in Osaka city, much of the transporta- measures for those who encounter difficulty commuting tion services in the Kinki region were suspended immedi- are also necessary” [7]. Furthermore, although not a re- 1 ately after the earthquake. According to the daily news- cent event, there were reports of a phenomenon in which paper Asahi Shimbun [12], operation was suspended on fire engines and ambulances were unable to reach their all non-Shinkansen (zairai) lines operated by JR Nishini- destinations because of the large-scale traffic congestion hon (West Japan) and JR Tokai in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, that occurred immediately following the Great Hanshin- Hyogo, and Shiga prefectures. Operation was resumed Awaji Earthquake [8–10]. According to Nakagawa and on most lines by the time of the first train the next morn- Kobayashi [11], large-scale traffic congestion took place ing, except for certain areas where the effects of the earth- from 7 a.m. on the 17th at the traffic inflow section on the quake remained. Furthermore, the private (i.e., non-JR) east side of the area that received the most severe damage operators Hankyu, Nankai, Hanshin, Keihan, and Osaka (National Route Nos. 2 and 43 near the border of Higashi Metro also suspended operation on all lines (Kintetsu sus- Nada ward and Ashiya city), where they point out that pended operation on some of its lines) but resumed oper- “the congestion was probably caused by commuting ve- ation sometime between the afternoon and night of the hicles, since this time zone was too early for most emer- same day.

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