Aum Shinrikyo Sarin Attack. First, the Japanese political system is designed to be cautious
Aum Shinrikyo Sarin Attack. First, the Japanese political system is designed to be cautious. After World War II, “coordination and integration functions of the administration were carefully constructed to ensure checks-and-balance systems in the inter-rivalry compartmentalization of bureaucratic organizations.”73 The combination of relatively weak authority and massive bureaucracy foster slow and deliberate decision making, which can be problematic in a crisis situation.
Second, the new response plan shown above assumes a “top down” structure in which national-level agencies coordinate the immediate disaster response. However, local and regional governments are almost inevitably the first responders in a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. This is true primarily because of proximity to the disaster site, but also because local and regional response agencies are often better equipped to handle disasters because they routinely respond to natural disasters and because they possess the primary legal authority to respond. Thus national agencies should not presume that circumstances or knowledge will permit them to dictate the terms of the response from the top.
Third, the response plan is designed for national agencies. According to the Cabinet Office for National Security and Crisis Management, comparable response plans for terrorism do not widely exist at the prefecture or local level.74 Local response plans tend to be generalized to apply to all disasters, although specific contingency plans for earthquakes typically exist. The national cabinet office is encouraging prefectures to emulate the national model establishing specific contingency plans for terrorism as one potential type of disaster.75 Because local and regional personnel will arrive at the scene before national agencies, response plans must be developed at the local and regional levels, not just at the national level. Moreover, national response plans should be based on — or at least designed to work in concert with — local plans.
Consequence Management in the 1995 Sarin Attacks on the Japanese Subway System. February 2002
Aum Shinrikyo Sarin Attack. First, the Japanese political system is designed to be cautious. After World War II, “coordination and integration functions of the administration were carefully constructed to ensure checks-and-balance systems in the inter-rivalry compartmentalization of bureaucratic organizations.”73 The combination of relatively weak authority and massive bureaucracy foster slow and deliberate decision making, which can be problematic in a crisis situation.
Second, the new response plan shown above assumes a “top down” structure in which national-level agencies coordinate the immediate disaster response. However, local and regional governments are almost inevitably the first responders in a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. This is true primarily because of proximity to the disaster site, but also because local and regional response agencies are often better equipped to handle disasters because they routinely respond to natural disasters and because they possess the primary legal authority to respond. Thus national agencies should not presume that circumstances or knowledge will permit them to dictate the terms of the response from the top.
Third, the response plan is designed for national agencies. According to the Cabinet Office for National Security and Crisis Management, comparable response plans for terrorism do not widely exist at the prefecture or local level.74 Local response plans tend to be generalized to apply to all disasters, although specific contingency plans for earthquakes typically exist. The national cabinet office is encouraging prefectures to emulate the national model establishing specific contingency plans for terrorism as one potential type of disaster.75 Because local and regional personnel will arrive at the scene before national agencies, response plans must be developed at the local and regional levels, not just at the national level. Moreover, national response plans should be based on — or at least designed to work in concert with — local plans.
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