ABSTRACT
This chapter provides empirical accounts of the social roots of disaster risks among persons with disabilities (PWD) following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. It considers the theoretical accounts of their difficulties, constraints and limitations from a social model of disabilities, and provides an action framework to deal with their root causes. The Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities passed Japan's parliament in 2013. This Act was formulated in response to calls from civil society. The chapter considers that PWD shall be included, and emphasises the augmentation of reasonable accommodations to meet life functioning needs that arise during disasters. It requests that everyone include PWD, and stresses strength building, demands that social institutions include PWD. Green social workers demand PWD inclusion in statutory responses as integral to empowering just practices, and their work is also evidence based.
