The Great Hanshin Earthquake is one of the major natural disasters in post-war Japan. The earthquake caused a large number of casualties, destroyed Japanese myth of life safety, and urged Japanese government to attach importance to crisis management. After the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Democratic Prime Minister Kan's crisis management capacity was questioned and compared to Socialist Prime Minister Murayama's performance during the Great Hanshin Earthquake. This article first discusses why Japanese government paid attention to crisis management after the Great Hanshin Earthquake, and then analyzes how Prime Minister Murayama managed the disaster. Lastly the author also compares the policy differences between the period of Prime Minister Murayama and Kan.