NEW YORK – Three Japanese-Americans — a long-time advocate of the two countries’ friendship, an aspiring basketball coach and a psychology professor — were among 15 women of Asian or Pacific Island heritage honored at the White House as this year’s Champions of Change. “We remember Asian-American and Pacific Islanders who have made our country … Read more
The number of small- and medium-sized businesses in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the three hit hardest by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, decreased 10.6 percent in 2012 from 2009, the government said Friday. By prefecture, Iwate suffered a decline of 9.1 percent, Miyagi 11 percent and Fukushima 11.2 percent. The falls are … Read more
By Scott Carlson For a lesson in the compounding effects of surprising events, go back to a March afternoon in 2011: A powerful earthquake hits 40 miles off the eastern coast of Japan. The country’s building codes ensure that most structures can cope with even this major stress, but a resulting tsunami pounds the shore, … Read more
Habitat for Humanity Japan has begun open recruiting of volunteers for their next Fishing Community Community/Work space project on Izushima. Building will take place in two sessions 1) Dec 7th to Dec 9th and 2) December 10th to 12th. Participating for the entire build is also an option. There is a participation fee to cover … Read more
March 21st 2011 – FVJ Distribution to Ishinomaki This is a post based on a recent conversation on the forum. There’s been a lot of conflicting information that has been passed around regarding the issue of aid distribution, and the matter that even the Tokyo Metropolitan Government stopped taking donations as of March 21st, there’ve … Read more
Almost a year ago, a few days after the tsunami hit Tohoku and the Fukushima Daiichi Plant started to go into meltdown, I quoted to my friends and family part of a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, written in Germany in the years following the First World War: The sap is mounting back from that … Read more
As soon as we left our motel the following morning, it was clear that both domestic and international media were all over the city. We ourselves were even stopped and interviewed while on our way to the It’s Not Just Mud house by Fuji TV, who asked for our reflections as part of the network’s … Read more
FROM http://foreignvolunteers.org (image courtesy Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) I really didn’t know what to say about the one-year anniversary of the quake and tsunami. At 2:46 on March 11th the entirety of Japan apparently came to a standstill. From Shibuya crossing to Rikuzentakata, everybody just stopped what they were doing, whether they were in a grocery store or … Read more
FROM http://foreignvolunteers.org Today was an exciting day. The first round of play-sets were officially opened in Ishinomaki, courtesy Michael Anop’s phenomenal Playground of Hope initiative. Big thanks to Jamie El-Banna and the NPO It’s Not Just Mud for assembling the Miyagi sets! The project addresses a very real need for kids stuck in temporary housing to … Read more
FROM http://foreignvolunteers.org A break from weeding around a tsunami-damaged home – time for a debate about the TPP! (with thanks to Hai Huynh for permission to reproduce this photo here) Where are the Students? While volunteering with Meiji University students in … Read more