Norio Okada

Prof. Dr. Norio Okada

Senior Fellow (Alumni)

Norio Okada was Director of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), at Kyoto University from 2009 to 2011 and is now Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University. He currently acts as an adviser to a disaster governance research institute (IDiARRG) at Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan. Norio Okada studied infrastructure planning, water resource management, and systems methodology at Kyoto University, gaining a B. Eng (1970), an M. Eng (1972), and a Dr. Eng (1977). As a researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria from 1978 to 1980, he carried out conflict analysis of water resource development and published widely on cost allocation methods with reference to cooperative game theory. Since then, conflict analysis and game theory have been his major research interests, particularly in relation to urban planning, environmental management, and water resource development. Okada has long been engaged in scientific support for citizen-led participatory community management, especially in rural areas of Japan. During his time at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) from 1991 to 2012 he participated in several initiatives to explore a new cross-disciplinary research area called Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM). In the context of leading an extensive international research initiative to promote IDRiM, he has organised a series of international conferences and workshops in collaboration with IIASA. This research initiative resulted in the formation of the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM Society). Okada was president of this Society until April 2017. Norio Okada is currently attempting to extend the scope of integrated disaster risk management, by taking governance, systemic risks, sustainable management, and climate change into account.

  • 2017 to the present: Senior Fellow at the IASS
  • 2009-2017: President of the IDRiM Society
  • 2016 to the present: Adviser, IDiARRG, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan
  • 2013-2016: Director of IDiARRG and Professor of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan
  • 2012-2013: Director of IRESC and professor at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Japan
  • 1993-2012: Professor of Kyoto University, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI)
  • 2009-2011: Director of DPRI, Kyoto University
  • 1988-1993: Professor of Tottori University, Dept. of Social Systems Engineering
  • 1978-1980: Research Scholar, IIASA, Laxemburg, Austria
  • Integrated disaster risk management
  • Risk governance of cities and communities
  • Community management and participatory processes
  • Systemic risk of cascading disasters
  • Conflict management of disaster-area revitalisation

Publikationen vor der Tätigkeit am RIFS

  • Samaddar S., M. Murase, N. Okada: Information for Disaster Preparedness: A Social Network Approach to Rainwater Harvesting Technology Dissemination International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 95-109, 2014.
  • Okada, N., Jong-Il Na, Liping Fang: The Yonmenkaigi System Method: An Implementation-Oriented Group Decision Support Approach", Journal of Decision and Negotiation, 22, pp. 45-52 2013.
  • Okada, N., Liping Fang, D.Marc Kilgour: Community-based Decision Making in Japan, Journal of Decision and Negotiation, 22, pp. 57-69, 2013.
  • Paton, D., Sagala, S., Okada, N, Jang, L., Burgelt, P.T., and Gregg, C.E: Making Sense of Natural Hazard Mitigation: Personal, Social and Cultural Influences, Environmental Hazards, Vol. 9 (2), pp. 183-196, 2010.
  • Sensarma, S.S. and Okada, N. : Redefining the Game in Local Water Management Conflict: A Case Study, Water Resources Management, Vol. 24 (15), pp. 4307-4316, 2010.
  • Sagala, S., Okada, N. and Paton, D. :Predictors of Intention to Prepare for Volcanic Risks in Mt. Merapi, Indonesia, Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, Vol.3 (2), pp. 47-54, 2009.
  • Cruz, A.N. and Okada, N.: Consideration of Natural Hazards in the Design and Risk Management of Industrial Facilities, Natural Hazards, Vol.44 (2), pp. 213-227, 2008.
  • Bajek, R., Matsuda, Y. and Okada, N.: Japan's Jishu-Bosai-soshiki Community Activities: Analysis of its Role in Participatory Community Disaster Risk Management, Natural Hazards, Vol.44 (2), Springer, February pp. 281-292, 2008.
  • Cruz, A.N. and Okada, N. : Methodology for Preliminary Assessment of Natech Risk in Urban Areas, Natural Hazards, Vol.46 (2), pp.199-220, 2008.
  • Aniello Amendola, A., Linnerooth-Bayer, J., Okada, N., and Shi, P.: Towards Integrated Disaster Risk Management: Case Studies and Trends from Asia, Natural Hazards, Vol.44 (2), pp.163-168, 2008.
  • Gopalakrishnan C. , Okada N.: Designing new institutions for implementing integrated disaster risk management: key elements and future directions, Disasters. Dec;31(4):353-372., 2007. *Okada, N., Hipel K. and Oka. Y.: Hypergame Analysis of the Lake Biwa Conflict. Vol 21(7), pp. 917-926, 1985.
  • Young, P., Okada, N. and Hashimoto H.: Cost allocation in water resources development, Water Resources Research, Vol. 18 (3), pp. 463-475, 1982.
  • 6th July, 2017 "Extending the Scope of Integrated Disaster Management, Governance, Sustainability and interconnected World: A scientific Challenge," Invited keynote speech, l'Assemblée Générale, AFPCN, Paris
  • 31st May, 2017 "The Age of Mega Disaster and Risk Governance - Thinking Creative for Road and Other Infrastructures," Invited keynote speech, International Workshop on Disaster Management for Roads, Tokyo, Japan
  • 13-14th May, 2017 "Adaptive Design for Smart Governance under Mega Disaster Risks: Collaborative Survival Efforts," International Symposium on Integrated Governance of Large-scale Disaster and Economic Risks, Shenzhen, China
  • 2016 "Creating a Milestone in IDRiM Initiative: How Can We Go Further to Substantiate Implementation Science?", IDRiM Conference, Istafan, Iran.
  • 2016 "A Policy Research Challenge towards Governance of Global Critical Infrastructure Systems under Extra-Extra-Ordinary Disaster Risks: Vitae Systems of Systems of Survivability", WECC Conference, Kyoto.
  • 2012:"Coping with disasters", TD Walter Bean visiting professorship award speech, University of Waterloo.
  • Meritorious Award of Japan Society for Civil Engineers (2017)
  • Distinguished research award from IDRiM Society (2013)
  • TD Walter Bean visiting professorship award in Environment from the University of Waterloo, Canada (2012).
  • Research Award from the Society for Risk Analysis - Japan Section (2006).
  • Dr. Eng. Honorius Causa received from the University of Waterloo, Canada (1995)
  • The Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) Research Award (1995)