Andrew DeWit, Professor of comparative public policy at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, speaks to Japan Up Close on the subject of urban resilience – the ability for a city or a society to absorb damage from a disaster and rebound quickly. As he explains, the need for greater consideration of urban resilience is growing with the increasingly severe weather patterns resulting from global climate change.

Looking at how Japan in general and Tokyo in particular handled the recent typhoon Hagibis, he identifies what makes Japan stand out from the rest of world in terms of resilience. Professor DeWit also looks into how the Japanese government has approached disaster preparation, from local to national level, by integrating the various systems that are vital to keeping cities and towns functioning. These measures have made Japan the global leader on disaster risk reduction.