On December 1st, FUKKO DESIGN, a reconstruction support organization that brings together volunteers from across organizations, held an event called "FUKKO STUDY" at Twitter Japan headquarters.


In light of the frequent earthquakes, typhoons, heavy rains, and other disasters occurring throughout Japan, perhaps we need to reconsider the way reconstruction support is currently conducted. Based on this idea, the "FUKKO DESIGN" project, which aims to "design reconstruction," was launched by founders Daisaku Kawase (Representative Director of FUKKO DESIGN General Incorporated Association, NHK Enterprises) and Mitsuyoshi Kimura (Director of FUKKO DESIGN General Incorporated Association, TBWA HAKUHODO).

This was the second "FUKKO STUDY" event since the kickoff event on September 1st, and the first of its kind. The theme of this event was "How can we use social media in disaster preparedness and emergencies?" A guest speaker was invited to speak in a talk session. This report covers the contents of talk sessions #1 through #3.


Starting with a greeting from Daisaku Kawase, Representative Director of FUKKO DESIGN, who spoke about the background to the founding of FUKKO DESIGN and its activities to date, the event then moved on to the main topic of discussion, discussing this fall's Typhoons No. 15 and No. 19. This historic disaster caused levees to collapse on many rivers in the Kanto, Koshinetsu, and Tohoku regions, resulting in extensive damage. What activities did FUKKO DESIGN undertake and what realizations did it gain from this historic disaster? Fellow founder Mitsuyoshi Kimura also took the stage, along with Tomomi Oka (Tateyama City Regional Revitalization Support Team member) and Tetsuya Akeshiro (JVOAD Secretary General), to kick off Talk Session #1 on the topic of "CtoC Volunteer Recruitment."

Daisaku Kawase (Representative Director of FUKKO DESIGN General Incorporated Association, NHK Enterprises)
Photo: Volunteer Photo Project

Mitsuyoshi Kimura (Director of FUKKO DESIGN General Incorporated Association, TBWA HAKUHODO)

Tomomi Oka (Tateyama City Regional Revitalization Support Team) and Tetsuya Akeshiro (JVOAD Secretary General)

The following Session #2 featured Kentaro Araki (Researcher and Cloud Researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency) and Akiko Shirai (Senior Manager, Lawson Promotion Department). In addition to working at the Japan Meteorological Agency, Araki supervises the film "Weathering with You" directed by Makoto Shinkai and writes books, as well as observing clouds and snow crystals using social media. He spoke about the citizen-participation "#KantoSnowCrystalProject," which collects data from around the country through social media posts, and his own ingenious ways of using social media to get people interested in meteorology.

Kentaro Araki (Researcher and Cloud Researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Meteorological Agency) and Akiko Shirai (Senior Manager, Promotions Department, Lawson)
Mr. Shirai, who is in charge of managing and operating Lawson's official Twitter account (commonly known as Lawson Crew Akiko-chan), which has 4.57 million followers, spoke about the process behind the announcement of store closures via the official Twitter account following Typhoon Hagibis, and reflected on the reaction. They discussed the unusual decision to close stores in advance, the pros and cons of tweeting disaster prevention and disaster information on the official Twitter account, which is primarily used to promote new products and announce campaigns, and the appropriate use of the company's website and Twitter accounts, as well as the new roles that corporate accounts have taken on through trial and error.

Due to the impact of Typhoon Hagibis, as of 9:00 AM on the 12th, 435 stores, primarily in the Kanto region, are scheduled to close. As the typhoon approaches, the number of store closures is expected to increase. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and thank you for your understanding. We will update our official Twitter account with any typhoon-related store information as soon as it becomes available. #Lawson

— Lawson (@akiko_lawson) October 12, 2019

In Session #3, Yuki Kubota (Director and Coordinator of the Nagano Prefecture Disaster Management Headquarters Office) took the stage to give a talk titled "Typhoon Hagibis: What Nagano Prefecture Disaster Management Did on Twitter." He spoke about the background behind the encouraging replies sent by the official Nagano Prefecture Disaster Management account to victims after Typhoon Hagibis caused the Chikuma River levee to collapse, resulting in flooding. He also explained the rescue request processing flow and what he keeps in mind every day to ensure that the official local government social media account is trusted and visited by users.

Rescue operations will be primarily conducted in the Toyono and Akanuma areas. If you see search teams, wave your light, shout or let them know where you are. They will search even at night. Never give up. Cherish the connections between your neighbors, appeal to them and face the disaster head on!
They will definitely help you! They will definitely help you!

— Nagano Prefecture Disaster Prevention (@BosaiNaganoPref) October 13, 2019

Yuki Kubota (Director and Coordinator, Nagano Prefecture Disaster Management Headquarters)

The next FUKKO DESIGN activity report is scheduled for spring. FASHION HEADLINE will continue to introduce trends in future reports.