Hope springs eternal

Samangie Wettimuny

On a tour of Japan

Chusonji Temple site covered with snow

A breathtaking view on the way to Onigawa town

Chusonji Temple

“Nature repairs her ravages - repairs them with her sunshine, and with human labour….” wrote George Eliot way back in 1860. Hundreds of years later while walking on the paths of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures in the land of Cherry Blossoms and seeing the punctuality, undying determination and courage of its people who have made a massive progress in terms of reconstruction since the Great East Earthquake , I wondered whether I could rewrite Eliot’s famous lines… “Nature repairs her ravages – repairs them solely with human labour!”

In just three days time, on March 11, Japan will mark the first anniversary of 3/11 catastrophe- the worst calamity that hit the country since the end of World War II- remembering those who lost their lives to mother nature's fury. Nature, however, is considerate enough to give a prior warning before hitting us hard, unlike the day the Japanese experienced man’s inhumanity to his own race in its extreme sense when the USA dropped massive atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, the negative results of which are still being felt. Anyway just as the Hiroshima Nagasaki attack was a challenge to Japan to emerge as a world’s super power, the 3/11 catastrophe which is usually referred to as a “crisis in the midst of a crisis” has once again awakened the obligations of the Japanese to their country and their commitment to serve their mother land.

The earthquake, tsunami and the resulting nuclear power plant accident hit Japan when the country had already been facing a difficult situation resulting from stagnation of the economy and a social impasse. Today Japan is facing additional challenges of recovery and reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and control of the nuclear accident. Over 15,700 died, 4500 went missing and over 5700 were injured as a result of 3/11. The number of evacuees were over 124,000. Damaged stocks in disaster areas are buildings worth approx 10.4 trillion yen, lifeline utilities worth 1.3 trillion yen, social infrastructure approx. 2.2 trillion yen, others including agriculture, forestry and fisheries approx. 3 trillion yen.

Yet the Japanese continue to display their never-say-die spirit. Once again they are determined to prove to the world that from catastrophe springs fortune if there is enough patriotism and hard labour!

As Japan’s Deputy cabinet secretary for Public Relations/Director of Global Communications Noriyuki Shikata said in an exclusive interview with the invited press members around the world, out of the three worst affected prefectures namely Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima , the case of the latter is very unique due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident. “We have a long way to go in decontaminating the Fukushima prefecture and the government is taking extra precautions to ensure that people in Fukushima could live safely.”

Joe Nakano, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs	Noriyuki Shikata Deputy Cabinet Secretar y for Public Relations	Tetsuo Saito, Deputy Director Genearl for Economic and Fiscal Policy Management

The 3/11 calamity has brought a number of policy related challenges particularly in relation to energy policy review. Before 3/11 the Japanese government has targeted at increasing the proportion of the nuclear power plants from about 30% of power generation to over 50 %. “We were planning to build extra power plants. But now after 3/11 we have decided to reassess this energy policy. In Japan the cost estimate has always indicated that nuclear power is much cheaper than others. But when we were carrying out independent assessment of the cost, and when you take into account the possible domestic environment compensation cost and also disposal of nuclear waste, moving to renewable energy stands as a better option” He said.

Japan is already the world’s number one in terms of energy efficiency and they intend to increase it even further. What was emphasized by Deputy Director Genearl for Economic and Fiscal Policy Management.,Cabinet office , Tetsuo Saito was the necessity to change the energy policy and take necessary measures to increase the productivity.

Assistance

Yamamoto strawberry cultivation

Trees in winter

Joe Nankano, parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member of the House of Representatives said that more than the disaster, false rumours have damaged the process of recovery. He also recollected how almost all the countries reached out to Japan in whatever way they can. “We keep on assisting countries and when the Great East earthquake struck us they helped us in return. Though tourism is not yet back to normal in the affected prefectures, a massive progress could be observed. So please tell the world what you see.” He said with emotion.

Seeing is believing! Japan have successfully embarked on its rebirth efforts, exploring new frontiers, and opportunities created by overcoming crises and harnessing new potential for growth. After the earthquake the Japanese started facing new issues such as damage caused by radiation, which came in three ways pollution, rumours and fear, then supply restrictions - power shortage, damaged supply chains, weakened competitiveness.

Now the country is thinking of new innovative and environmental strategies, revitalization of agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry, encouraging a growth –oriented longevity society and regional revitalization as well as energy strategies.

Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures where we were touring were severely damaged. Despite the massive destruction caused by 3/11, the people of these prefectures still hold on to their optimistic views of life. When the paddy farming was hard hit in the aftermath of the tsunami, with soil getting salty, and with business prospects seemingly bleak in those areas, the Japanese however did not call it quits. We could see how local communities and volunteer organizations and companies have got together to expedite the reconstruction process.

Recovery shopping street

“Hotto Suru Kokoro no Yokocho” in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture which is called disaster recovery shopping street is a fine shopping district created with 16 trailer houses. As our interpreter explained to us within 100 days after its conception, it has attracted various opening shops. The site has been selected because it is the closest suitable site to the affected areas in the Miyagi prefecture. It has many companies including the major food chain “Hotland.”

“This is a fine place to have a hot drink, a snack or simply anything” said a Japanese girl “Now more and more people are coming”. Though none of her immediate relatives died as a result of the tsunami, she shared the worries with everyone.

This shopping street is not only a temporary volunteer help but also provides constant business based support.

The plight of Fukushima

A scene from Hot Yokocho Ishinomaki: a shopping district of recovery

Towa Co, Ltd, Motomiya City, Fukushima Prefecture

Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi prefecture

Saizeriya Tomato hydroponic cultivation farm

Fukushima being the prefecture where the much talked of nuclear power plant is situated, a large number of people fled the area following the nuclear leakage. The earthquake shook the region with an intensity greater than 5 on the seismic scale and the emotional shock on its people was graver than the physical damages. In the wake of such damages, projects such as Ganbaro-Fukushima (GF) were launched to promote the purchase of Fukushima prefecture textile products both in Japan and abroad , thereby supporting through such economic activity and textile industry.

Towa Co ltd, in Motomiya city, Fukushima is a GF project participating company which is well known for producing uniforms, overcoats has 6000-8000 production capacity and has been in operation since 1948. According to GF project representative Hirotoshi Kato and Towa president Keiichi Sato “Things are gradually improving and sales are gradually back to normal.”

Today the employees are working in the factory efficiently and neatly stitched overcoats and uniforms are on sale. The factory has made the maximum use of the division of labour.

When talking of reconstruction efforts the services rendered by Takamasa and Co Ltd, Onagawa is praiseworthy. It assists the recovery of the Onagawa city in various ways.

The radiation fear made a negative impact on the fisheries industry and marine products. Takamasa Director Masaki Takahahi says he has taken various measures for the recovery in Onagawa town. As an attempt to ensure consumer safety Takamasa Co Ltd conducts product testing with privately purchased food radiation measurement system. Since the disaster the company has employed 52 individuals residing in disaster afflicted regions and by the end of March they intend to hire ten more. Through collaboration between the Onagawa fish market and Takamasa & Co Ltd , action was taken to ensure fish safety by acquiring radiation measurement data for fresh fish unloaded at Onagawa port.

In the midst of struggling to push the economy back to normal today the Japanese government is entrusted with extra load of work.Radioactive materials in food are being checked every day in the affected regions and the distribution of food that fails to meet provisional regulation values is restricted taking into consideration the spread of contamination. In order to ensure the safety of fishery products a thorough inspection is done over a wide range of samples.

To ensure the safety of drinking water the Japanese government has been implementing necessary measures based on its stringent criteria for radionuclides in drinking water, and monitoring radionuclide levels every day. To ensure the safety of industrial products inspection institutions and industry associations provide testing service of the radiation levels of export products.

Strawberry plantations

Yamamoto town in Miyagi Prefecture which is famous for strawberry cultivations too was hit by the Great East earthquake.

Tsunami has devastated 90% of Yamamoto’s strawberry cultivation facilities and as a result the number of farming households producing strawberries reduced drastically. However “Yamamato strawberry Plantation Inc” that we visited had been launched in this backdrop with three farming households in Yamamoto town setting out to create a tourist farm.

“In early June of 2011 we launched our own joint stock corporation and we intend to deliver our strawberries to the market in the spring of 2012,” said its owner. In this farm strawberry is cultivated above the ground level, a method which is called aeroponics.

In fact as a measure of “restoration of Yamamoto town’s agriculture leading to overall regional recovery”, this company thought to turn their family operated agriculture business to a venue of regional development. Thus the undying determination and courage of the Japanese always play a major role in saving the country during crisis situations.

Saizeriya Tomato Hydroponic cultivation farm , Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture, too is an effort to recover the economy. All of this farmland originally consisting of paddy fields, was completely covered with sea water from the earthquake. It uses cost reduction methods, and manure and water are supplied through tiny pipe lines. The Saizeriya hopes that this farm will become competitive force in the next ten years.

Hiraizumi

Visiting the Hiraizumi town in Iwate prefecture which was registered as a World Heritage Site in June 2011 was a wonderful experience. According to the chief priest of Chusonji Temple, during the first long vacation after tsunami, Hiraizumi suffered a loss of more than 85% of tourists during the ‘Golden Week.” However after being declared as a world heritage site there have been positive trends in terms of the number of tourists.

Having experienced a tsunami 11 years ago , I am no stranger to its aftermath. We know how we all suffered as a nation and how we tried to overcome the physical and emotional damages… Japan being a world economic power house and Sri Lanka yet being a developing country do not make much of a difference. However different we may appear there is far more that unites us than devides us -. Our willingness to help each other in distress and it is a pleasure to see we are getting genuinely appreciated on what we do. At the lunch hosted by the Press secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry one of the officials of the Ministry told me that Sri Lankans sent a massive amount of tea packets when the disaster struck “to keep us warm”.

Touring the tsunami affected areas of Japan , seeing the massive reconstruction efforts launched by the Japanese government, it was easy to realize that the attainment of a worthwhile goal is a rewarding accomplishment. The Land of the Rising Sun has proven once again that for as long as the sun rises, through visualization, determination and resilience, success is guaranteed.

Step by step, one walks far.

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(The tour was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan)