LAUSR

Abstract Resilience is a wide term that encompasses a variety of characteristics of different systems. The most common interpretation of resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb a change and reorganise to maintain its functions. This study explores the characteristics of resilience exhibited by a shellfish aquaculture-reliant coastal community in Kesennuma Bay, Japan, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, in relation to the principles of resilience as affected by local leadership. The community was greatly impacted by the tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant meltdown in terms of ecological, social, economic damage. A local non-profit organisation (NPO) played a central role in the community's effort to respond to the devastation and reorganise to become functional again and maintain its structures. The leadership potential exhibited throughout the process of community recovery was the key factor in achieving high levels of collective action and a reorganisation of the community.