ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the recent trends in international cooperation for disaster management and Japan's contribution to this issue with special reference to disaster laws, regulations, and rules. It examines the characteristics of Japan's disaster management system with special reference to its legislative and financial system. It has been said that the most important result of the Kobe Conference was the declaration of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (HFA). The chapter briefly reviewed trends in international cooperation pertaining to supporting countries affected by natural disasters. It shows that the UN played an important role in establishing objectives and general rules for international cooperation in this field as no clear international laws on this matter had existed. Thus, the main idea and objective undergirding the international cooperation framework has gradually shifted from humanitarianism to economic rationality.
