When comparisons are made with the earthquake of 1923 that leveled most of Tokyo, and the disaster of the Second World War that left most Japanese cities leveled this exuberance is rational, as the disasters changed economic fundaments, especially policy.
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After the war, some bunkers left were kept on standby in case of another war or a nuclear disaster.
The medal, named after the pioneer of nursing, is presented every two years and honours "exceptional courage and devotion" to wounded, sick or disabled people or to civilian victims of war or a natural disaster.
Dwight Eisenhower faced potential disaster again and again during the course of World War II.
Mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences, for example, have been a double disaster, diverting a lot of money from the war on serious crime and turning huge numbers of minor miscreants into hardened criminals.
Taking the safe-house notion even further, a smattering of houses built during the Cold War sit atop fallout shelters, ready for use in the event of disaster.
Mr Funabashi, a prominent author, draws parallels between the roots of the disaster and Japan's failures in the second world war.
But for many of the millions going hungry each year, it is not war or natural disaster that prevents them from having enough to eat but simply not having sufficient money in their pockets.
In scenes reminiscent of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, ordinary Iranians responded to the disaster by piling up food and clothes at collection points across the country.
"Whether we like it or not we have to recognize that we are on the brink of a major humanitarian disaster in Kosovo the likes of which have not been seen in Europe since the closing stages of World War II, " he said, adding that more than 500, 000 ethnic Albanians have now been displaced from their homes in Kosovo.
"Whether we like it or not, we have to recognize we are on the brink of a major humanitarian disaster in Kosovo, the likes of which have not been seen in Europe since the closing days of World War II, " Shea said.
Mr Snow has covered a variety of momentous stories around the globe for ITN, including the Falklands reports war, the American Shuttle disaster and President Nelson Mandela's release from prison.
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