ABSTRACT
This chapter elucidates the theme of loss and grief from the specific case of the Great East Japan Earthquake, March 11, 2011. The earthquake of March 11 was the strongest that had hit Japan since the measuring of earthquakes began, and was preliminarily the fifth strongest in the world since the year 1900. From reflections of the autoethnographic memory scenes and conversations with people from the March 11 disaster, it can be concluded that loss is a universal concept that needs to be studied further in social work when encountering people suffering in and from disasters. Loss and grief are something that stays with the people who have experienced them, becoming part of their life course. Loss and grief are core issues for social work in the globalized condition where disasters have consequences for the lives and well-being of people in local communities, but also for the re-building supported from national and international organizations.
