People in disaster-stricken areas need support for debris removal, shelter management and other operations that require a lot of labor. Also needed is support from volunteer professionals in various fields, such as medical care.
About a week after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, Mr. Nozaki inquired about volunteer opportunities at the Higashinada Ward Office, and was surprised to be told that they badly needed support from first-class registered architects. That was the moment he started steering himself in a new direction.

The earthquake evokes fervor that marked the old days

In addition to directing the Kobe City Development Research Institute, Mr. Nozaki also serves as Representative Director of the U-Space Workshop Corporation, which mainly specializes in the design of residential and public buildings, town development, and architecture consulting.

“Since I didn’t plan to take over my father’s company, I majored in architecture at college and then joined a real estate developer based in Tokyo. In Tokyo I experienced the movement against the renewal of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in 1970. I was among many young people who threw themselves into it, barricading themselves into university buildings and having discussions with each other. The atmosphere at that time was highly charged with energy.”

After about 10 years in Tokyo, Mr. Nozaki joined the building materials import company in Osaka run by his father. Having left his satisfying career as an architect, he was caught in the cycle of working in the trading business on weekdays and playing tennis on weekends to relieve stress. It was on one such day that a massive earthquake hit the Hanshin-Awaji region.

What role is expected of a first class registered architect at a disaster site?

Mr. Nozaki was at home in Higashinada-ku, Kobe City, when the earthquake struck. His apartment building was partially destroyed, but the strong jolt caused catastrophic damage to Higashinada-ku. When the affected JR train line was brought back into service on part of its route only after a week or so, Mr. Nozaki resumed commuting to the office in Osaka by riding a bicycle three stops away from his closest station to Ashiya station, to take a train from there.

Mr. Nozaki was at home in Higashinada-ku, Kobe City, when the earthquake struck. His apartment building was partially destroyed, but the strong jolt caused catastrophic damage to Higashinada-ku. When the affected JR train line was brought back into service on part of its route only after a week or so, Mr. Nozaki resumed commuting to the office in Osaka by riding a bicycle three stops away from his closest station to Ashiya station, to take a train from there.

Mr. Nozaki was entrusted with the task of inspecting damaged houses to advise residents on whether their houses only needed to have the foundations jacked up for re-levelling, or where retrofitting work should be conducted, or whether they should be rebuilt.

“Residents offered warm thanks to me for advice I gave them as a first class registered architect. It was a great feeling to know that I had a real contribution to make. During that period I really looked forward to a weekend.”

While his old zeal for architecture was being rekindled, Mr. Nozaki received a request from a friend who was the chief of an on-site disaster headquarters established at Uozaki Elementary School, which also served as a regional evacuation center, to help evacuees return to their houses of which safety has been confirmed.

Mr. Nozaki decided to take on the task, and asked for the cooperation of the “Kansai Architect Volunteers,” a group of young Kansai-based architects.

““I will leave the company to focus on post-quake reconstruction””



Mr. Nozaki held large-scale architectural consultations at Uozaki Elementary School, while about 20 member architects from “Kansai Architect Volunteers” carried out an on-site diagnosis of damaged houses every weekend. Relieved by a guarantee given by specialists, evacuees returned home one after another. As it turned out, the number of evacuees at Uozaki Elementary School was reduced from about 2,000 to about 700.

The architectural consultations made Mr. Nozaki aware of the necessity for consensus building among residents, to prevent disorderly reconstruction activities. He organized the “Uozaki Town Development Symposium” as an opportunity to have discussions with evacuated residents. After three months of deliberations, they formulated the “Uozaki Town Development Charter,” comprising 11 chapters. At that time Mr. Nozaki devoted himself to supporting post-quake reconstruction, even on weeknights. Developing such a strong sense of commitment, he made a solid determination.

“In mid-April, I told my father I wanted to devote my career to reconstruction work. Unexpectedly, he accepted my decision to leave the company without much argument. My wife was also supportive of my idea.”

For Mr. Nozaki, having a real sense of helping others took precedence over the stability of his livelihood. This decision set his life in a whole new direction.

First independent reconstruction of an apartment building completed!

His first job was to provide consulting support for rebuilding an apartment building with 30 residential units. Reconstructing a building incurs initial costs, such as design and consulting services. The first consultant for this project suggested to his clients that they involve a real estate developer to have it temporarily cover the expenditures incurred during the period of reconstruction.

“When the consultant knew that the residents of the apartment building would raise the necessary money by themselves, he withdrew from the project. The estimated project cost was about 40 million yen. The residents united in making up the sum and set the reconstruction project in motion at no additional cost.”

Mr. Nozaki provided detailed advice taking into consideration the wishes of each resident, which contributed to the completion of the first independent reconstruction of a quake-hit apartment building. With this as a start, he worked on reconstruction projects for five apartment buildings in total. In order to obtain an overall picture of the post-quake reconstruction process, he also attended various symposia and forums, where he met people who have similar interests as him. They kept close contact with each other, attracting more like-minded people, and created a study group named “Kobe Restoration Study Group”.

Understand the whole reconstruction process and apply it to the next disaster site


Kobe Restoration Study Group organizes a walking event named “Kobe Ai Walk” for fund-raising. The first event was held in 1999. Participants walk through Kobe and make donations. “Kobe Ai Walk 2015” was held on Sunday, January 11, 2015 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

Members of the “Kobe Restoration Study Group,” which was established in April 1996, include specialists as varied as journalists, medical doctors, a director of a shopping street, a chair of a town development association, architects, urban planners, and university researchers. They have shared the desire to gain their own understanding of the big picture of the post-quake reconstruction process in Kobe.

They began studying the Law Concerning the Promotion of Specific Non-Profit Organization Activities (the NPO Law) from one year prior to its enactment in 1998. The inaugural meeting of the “Kobe City Development Research Institute” was held in 1999 and the Institute was authorized as an NPO in March 2000.

Currently, the Kobe City Development Research Institute is engaged primarily in assisting with reconstruction efforts after the Great East Japan Earthquake. What they have learned through the overall recovery process in Kobe forms the backbone for their support activities in the Tohoku region.

Recovery standstill — what should be done in the third year after the disaster?


A meeting held in Shishiori, Kesennuma City, Miyagi Pref.

Before going to the quake-stricken areas in the Tohoku region, Mr. Nozaki and his peers make a point of looking back through the records of reconstruction in Kobe. Progress towards recovery may plateau at any stage. So, what did Kobe see during a reconstruction standstill in the third year after the earthquake?

“In our third year, efforts by local residents seemed to be making little progress while government-led programs kept going.”

To break through that difficult phase, Mr. Nozaki and his associates decided to create a platform to discuss the future path toward reconstruction, from the perspective of local residents. Separate discussion groups were set up by subjects, including welfare, town development, the rebuilding of houses, and a community network. The outcome of their meetings was compiled into a book entitled “Shimin Ga Tsukuru Fukko Keikaku (Post-quake Reconstruction Plan By Citizens).”


“Hanshin Awaji Daishinsai; Shimin ga tsukuru fukko keikaku; Watashitachi ni dekirukoto (The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake; Post-quake reconstruction plan by citizens — what we can do)” by the Executive Committee of the International Forum for Disaster Prevention by Citizens and NGOs (1998)

“This book is still of great value to me. Putting ourselves in a position of the government or a leader of the reconstruction project benefited our discussion a lot. In that way, we will also be able to explain what modifications we think are necessary to reconstruction plans devised by the government. Even if we lag behind in planning, we will still be able to make the plans even better.”

Admitting of people who are active in quake-hit areas to a study tour named “a field trip for adults” in Kobe

Earlier, on January 17 this year, Mr. Nozaki talked about the book to members of the Kitakami Area Reconstruction Support Team, who wanted to know what to do next, having got over the busiest phase of their activity. Inspired by his idea, they are currently working on a book with the same concept.

“We still go to the quake-stricken areas in the Tohoku region two or three times a month. We have also launched a study tour program named ‘field trip for adults’ to provide people who are engaged in support activities in the Tohoku region with an opportunity to exchange views with us in Kobe.”

The greatest lesson learned from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake is the importance of community

School children get experience of preparing meals with local residents at an emergency kitchen in a field learning program on earthquakes

The Kobe City Development Research Institute offers field learning programs on earthquakes, to junior and senior high school excursions. The programs are available through travel agencies. Half the income the institute receives from the travel agencies in commission is used for community revitalization.

In the programs, participating school students are divided into small groups in order to to get hands-on experience, such as preparing meals at an emergency kitchen set up outside, and pose prepared questions to local residents who experienced the earthquake.

“Some residents talk about their post-quake experience, for example, saying with an accompanying gesture, ‘When excrement was piled up in a toilet, we covered our hands with plastic bags and removed the heap like this.’ And kids respond with, ‘Oh!’ Many of the residents who join our programs are elderly women. They become energized, remembering those days while answering questions from kids.”

Looking back to 20 years ago, Mr. Nozaki said he was also spurred on by his belief that all the residents should unite to overcome obstacles through trial and error, to achieve a recovery. In the future, in his opinion, Kobe should develop into an “advanced city” in terms of the openness of local communities, so as to encourage citizens to be involved in community activities with pride, and facilitate the administrative support extended to them.

“Just after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, we were only halfway toward building an open local community where everyone can discuss their own issues with others. I want to realize what we aimed for and make the city of Kobe proud of itself.”

Twenty years after the earthquake in Kobe, there are many “city seniors,” who have extensive know-how and profound insight about town development and reconstruction. Working with Mr. Nozaki and his peers would be a great horizon-broadening opportunity for young people who are engaged in activities for town development or post-quake reconstruction.

Interview and written by Kyoko Sugimoto
This article was created with the cooperation with greenz.jp.