Culture Crossroads

The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, left a total of more than 18400 dead or missing. The NHK produced the recovery support song, “Hana wa Saku (Flowers Will Bloom)” in 2012 to encourage the survivors and support the reconstruction of affected areas. In 2021, the NHK WORLD-JAPAN produced multilingual versions of "Hana wa Saku."

Born of a Japanese father and Iranian mother, since early childhood, May J. learned the piano, dance and opera, and began songwriting and composing. She made her debut in 2006, and later sang the Japanese version of the theme song for Disney’s Frozen. She has been the presenter of the NHK WORLD-JAPAN program J-MELO since 2010.

B.B. Mo-Franck is a keyboard player and percussionist from Kinshasa in Congo. After performing across the African continent, he moved to Japan in 1986 and has since then been active nationwide. He was one of the first percussionists to play in the Japanese on-stage rendition of The Lion King by Shiki Theater Company. Hoping to bring encouragement to the people affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, he gave many performances and workshops in the disaster area.

While studying in Indonesia, Tokyo-native Hiroaki Kato experienced the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake. After the disaster, he gave volunteer musical performances in the stricken area. Based in Jakarta since 2014, he’s been active as a singer-songwriter, MC and actor.

Ono Lisa is a Japanese bossa nova singer born in Brazil. Since her debut in 1989, she has received four Japanese Gold Disc awards in the jazz category. In 2013, she was granted a medal by the Brazilian government’s Order of Rio Branco, given for outstanding contribution to promoting Brazil’s international relations.

Born in Lima, Alberto Shiroma is a third-generation Peruvian of Japanese descent. In 1991, he formed the Latin music band DIAMANTES, which went on to release several hits in Japanese charts. Currently based in Okinawa, Shiroma has been collaborating with many artists around Japan as a composer, arranger and performer.

A baritone born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Vitaly Yushmanov has won awards at many prestigious contests. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, he visited schools in the disaster area, interacting with the local children through music lessons. He moved to Japan in 2015 where he has been active as a performer of opera and Japanese songs ever since.

Born in Hue, Vietnam, Hai Trieu came to study Japan in 2000. He later made his debut as a singer, covering many Japanese songs in his native tongue, and acting as a cultural bridge between Japan and Vietnam. After the 2011 disaster, though his parents were worried for his safety, he told them of his decision to stay in Japan.`

Morisaki Win is an actor and singer born in Yangon, Myanmar, who came to Japan at the age of ten. Fluent in Burmese, Japanese and English, he’s appeared on stage in musicals as well as on both the Japanese and Hollywood silver screens. He has become a national superstar in his native Myanmar.

Find out how a female-led NPO promotes plant-based eating in Japan’s capital in this clip from Culture Crossroads: Living the Plant-Based Life in Tokyo.

Learn how to make simple vegetarian pressed sushi in this clip from Culture Crossroads: Living the Plant-Based Life in Tokyo.

Learn how to prepare simple vegetarian udon noodles in this clip from Culture Crossroads: Living the Plant-Based Life in Tokyo.

Through talking with the residents of Taro who've experienced the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Thai language reporter Chairat Thomya looks to find out how people can live with and pass on the memories of natural disasters in this excerpt from the episode “Living with Natural Disasters” of “Culture Crossroads.”

NHK WORLD-JAPAN Indonesian language reporter Aji Rokhadi retraces the stories of Southeast Asian youths who had been sent to study in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb fell. This clip is from Culture Crossroads: "Southeast Asian Memories of Hiroshima" and "Remembering Southeast Asians in Hiroshima."

As interest in plant-based foods grows worldwide, we look at vegetarian options for sushi.

Russian artist, Leonid Zvolinsky couldn’t stay silent about his opposition to the war. He composed a piece reflecting his personal experience. This is a short version of his composition “Whisperscapes”-for Shakuhachi, Computer and Electronic Objects for NHK WORLD-JAPAN, Culture Crossroads: "Russians in Japan Speak Out."

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami brought an unprecedented scale of damage to northeastern Japan. Hana wa Saku, or Flowers Will Bloom, was produced to support recovery in disaster-hit areas. In 2021, a multilingual version of the song was created, which is sung in 11 languages. Some singers took part from outside Japan. Some singers translated the lyrics by themselves, while others expressed wish that children of their country will listen to the song. Eleven artists each put their thoughts into the song to try to sow seeds of hope for the future.

A Vietnamese woman has created a space of welcome in a small Japanese country town.