"Stealth" for Combating Disasters

Stophe Pomeroy (SP): You have given your answer to meeting disaster conditions the name "Stealth Approach^*." Why this naming and what is the concept behind this?

Associate Professor Masashige Motoe (MM): The word "stealth" is often used to mean not being easy to detect, though imagewise it might appear to have negative connotations, too martial-sounding. However, the word also brought to mind the status of a technology under development while awaiting completion of the patenting process.

Tohoku University is situated in a Japanese region which has been plagued with a variety of problems ranging from big earthquakes and devastating tsunamis to agricultural adversities and weather issues. Perched on Japan's Pacific shoreline, the city of Sendai particularly highlights the role of citizenry in view of the long history of coping with worst-case conditions.

Here, I saw a need to offer potential disaster victims a recurrent yet unobtrusive reminder that subtly nudge preparedness through design, rather than constantly prodding them with fear. Emergency food supplies hidden away in neat cubbyholes, easy-to-carry kits for use upon evacuation in proximity of the desk, fireproof curtains useful in smothering fires... all would fit the description.

* The "Stealth Approach" to disaster prevention was born from collaborative activities between FDC and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT).