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Following the first session, the second session of the symposium featured three panelists representing the NGO, municipality, and private sectors.

Mr. Ryota Yorimasa, representative of the NGO Cooperation Center for Disaster Areas, gave a presentation titled, "Assessment for Improving the Evacuation Environment" based on his past experiences. He introduced 12 ways to improve the environment of evacuation centers, and specific items such as meals customized for the health conditions of each evacuee, placement of beds, hygiene management, and communication with facility managers. Mr. Yorimasa emphasized, "Even though evacuees are in a stressed state, they are resilient. It is important to provide support that draws out their strength." 

Next, Mr. Hiroyuki Ishimaru, Manager of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Section, General Affairs Department, Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, gave a presentation titled, "Challenges in Supporting Evacuees at Home and Benefits of Corporate Contributions."  In 2019 and 2021, Takeo City was struck by heavy rain disasters. Reflecting on the lessons learned, he discussed the challenges around supporting evacuees at home who were not eligible to receive support under a certain disaster assistance law. Mr.Ishimaru stressed that "Local government's public assistance is based on fairness and impartiality, but it lacks speed. Collaboration with companies and private organizations can bring flexibility. We would like to continue working with different actors to respond to future disasters.

Lastly, Mr. Takeshi Yasuda, General Manager of the Disaster Relief Promotion Office, Yahoo Japan Corporation, took the podium and discussed "Utilizing Private Sector in Supporting Disaster Areas." He talked about the background and reasons for working on disaster prevention, mitigation, and response activities, and introduced the achievements of the "Social Emergency Management Alliance (SEMA)" launched together with Civic Force.

SEMA was initially started with 17 member companies to deliver relief supplies based on the needs of disaster-affected areas. As of March 2023, SEMA includes 74 companies and 6 CSOs. Mr. Yasuda explained that the purpose of SEMA is to "maximize the power of the private sector and minimize the impact of natural disasters in Japan." He also introduced case studies from SEMA’s involvement during the pandemic and Ukraine refugee crisis.

The panel discussion in the third session was titled "What is the future of an evacuation environment that utilizes the power of the private sector?" Panelists discussed what modern evacuation centers should look like and how to provide effective support.