Tomorrow: Beyond 3.11

After the 3.11 disaster, it was said that many evacuation sites lacked proper consideration for the needs of women. Comments included: “There were no partitions, so I had trouble with changing clothes and breastfeeding”, “There was nowhere to hang underwear”, and “It was embarrassing to receive sanitary goods in public”. The leaders at many of the sites were men, so women found it difficult to say what they wanted and had to remain patient. In an emergency situation, survival is always the most important consideration, but more sensitive care could be provided. Bonnie Waycott reports on the issues and solutions.

Some communities were isolated after the Great East Japan Earthquake because the roads had become impassable. Half of the homes of the Nagahora community in Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture were washed away by the tsunami, but the residents evacuated to private houses on the hillside. The tsunami had destroyed the road, so there was no access. With no idea of when they would receive help, they decided to do their best to manage by themselves for at least one month. They weathered the crisis by creating 10 groups, each given a different role to perform. What made this possible was community power, a phenomenon that is now once again receiving a lot of attention. The program reports on the way a community can be created in urban areas and high-rise apartment blocks that tend to lack a community spirit.

Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, two Tohoku radio stations were suddenly unable to receive accurate local information, and the tsunami and nuclear accident occurred shortly afterwards. However, “Radio Fukushima”, which covers the whole of Fukushima Prefecture, and “TBC Radio”, which has a network right across Miyagi Prefecture, continued broadcasting. They used every possible means, including outside broadcast vans and the Internet. How did they handle the information they asked their listeners to send in? TV producer Russell Goodall from New Zealand visits those who were involved to report on that time when a relationship of great trust developed between the radio stations and their listeners.

The Great East Japan Earthquake damaged many cultural assets, such as temples, shrines, and statues of Buddha. Since ancient times most Japanese buildings and statues have been created from the country’s rich sources of timber, including Horyuji Temple, the world’s oldest wooden building. It’s very important to preserve such treasures that have witnessed the nation’s history, but how has that been possible in the face of so many natural disasters? The answer lies in the restoration skills that have been handed down from generation to generation. This edition of TOMORROW focuses on Japan’s expertise in post-disaster restoration work.

The 3.11 tsunami surged into Sendai Airport, located just one kilometer from the sea. The runways were submerged, the terminal buildings were flooded, and 1,700 people, including travelers, airport staff and local residents were left stranded. How did people of all ages, occupations and nationalities survive without essential utilities? The program follows the stories of stricken travelers who happened to be at the airport. We see sew bonds created by a disaster at an airport, a place that symbolizes the Japanese concept of every encounter being a once-in-a-lifetime experience?

In the belief that memories of the 3.11 disaster should be handed down to posterity, more than 100 stories have been produced for ‘kami shibai’, public storytelling with pictures. Many of them are based on actual events in Fukushima Prefecture at the time of the earthquake. They cover a wide range of topics, including the story of a boy who saved many local residents from the tsunami and the experiences of people forced to evacuate after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. American Jason Hancock reports on the true stories behind the storytelling.

The ocean off the Tohoku region has long been a rich fishing ground, but the fisheries suffered serious damage in the 3.11 disaster. Four years on, they were showing signs of recovery, but then it was discovered that some marine products were unexpectedly suffering a new disaster. In the Shizugawa Bay in Miyagi Prefecture, many sea urchins adversely affected by the tsunami have been developing spongy roe, making them unsalable. And in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, the number of scallop culturists has drastically fallen, seriously threatening the future of scallop aquaculture. To deal with these problems, help arrived from marine scientists. In cooperation with fishermen, they are using their expertise to help local fishing businesses to recover.

The 3.11 tsunami inflicted tremendous damage on Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture. Students of a high school there present demonstrations that simulate a tsunami using an elaborate model of the coastal area of the Tohoku region. Designed to enhance disaster prevention awareness by teaching how scary a tsunami is, these demonstrations started six years before the 3.11 disaster at local elementary schools. In fact, there were no victims at any of the schools that had seen them. What are the high school students' motivations? The reporter is Daniel Kahl, who has been actively involved in volunteer work in the stricken areas.

The mortality rate of disabled persons during the 3.11 disaster was approximately double the average; specifically, more than 70 deaf people lost their lives. Why is that? As it happened, in the time between the quake and the arrival of the tsunami, TV broadcasts had been cut off and the deaf were unable to access the information in radio and neighborhood warnings. Moreover, these people suffered an information gap at the evacuation sites, where they were unable to hear announcements. This edition of TOMORROW explores this issue and seeks effective measures for future disasters.

Farming in Fukushima was hit hard by the 3.11 nuclear accident. There is, however, a young farmer (and former model) who has been steadily increasing his sales. Long lines of women form at the “Pizza Kitchen Car” launched by his apple and peach farm, ‘Oononouen.’ The farm’s fruit as well as local vegetables are used as pizza toppings, highlighting delicious Fukushima produce. Far from being an oddity, Oononouen farm is part of a larger trend. In 2015, 40 young farmers from all over Fukushima joined forces to establish the “Cool Agri” organization, which acts as a prefecture-wide framework for agricultural production and promotion. This program shows viewers how the organization’s activities provide a model for energizing farming, not only in Fukushima, but across the nation.

At the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, a tremendous amount of support was provided to the Tohoku region from all over the world. A portion came from the government of Nepal. Though the country is known as one of the least developed in Asia, the Nepalese government provided 5,000 blankets, and Nepali people living in Japan distributed food. In April 2015, Nepal was struck by a massive earthquake. Residents of the Tohoku region, eager to repay the generosity shown by Nepal, were quick to respond. The Japanese owner of a Nepalese restaurant in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, assisted by local residents, raised money and sent supplies to stricken areas. In Sendai, children who experienced the 3.11 earthquake have painted pictures of the sun to provide moral support to Nepali children. This episode reports on ongoing activities in the Tohoku region that provide support to Nepal.

It’s nearly five years since the accidents at the Tokyo Electric Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Uncertain about their future, around 100,000 evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture who are now spread all over the country are being pressed to make various decisions. In order to help them, lawyers are listening to their stories.One mother who voluntarily evacuated now lives with her children in very needy circumstances with nothing and nobody to depend on. And amongst those forced to evacuate who used to be close friends, ill feelings have grown as a result of differences in compensation and aid measures.The program introduces the unvoiced opinions of those who had no option but to evacuate after the 3.11 disaster. It includes interviews with a female ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) lawyer who deals mainly with those who evacuated voluntarily to Saitama Prefecture, where many evacuees now live. And it introduces a lawyer couple who have returned to Fukushima to support the evacue

Five years have passed since the 3.11 disaster. Have people in the stricken areas in Iwate managed to regain their lives? How is the recovery progressing in the communities? The TOMORROW reporters who have been observing Iwate engage in an lively discussion!

Five years ago, the fishing industry in the prefecture that proudly calls itself Fishery Miyagi was devastated by the tsunami. How is the recovery of the marine resources progressing? We discover fishermen so dynamic that they almost seem to be leading the nation’s fisheries.

Fukushima has become a familiar name worldwide as a result of the nuclear accidents in 2011. Ever since then, the world has been concerned about what’s happening regarding radioactive contamination in the prefecture.