Beached ship, surviving pine, broken seawall now summer vacation photo opportunities
A 100-meter-long freighter sitting on a pier, a crumbled seawall once dubbed the Great Wall, and the sole surviving pine tree out of 70,000 are some of the remnants of the March tsunami in Iwate Prefecture drawing visitors this summer vacation season.
Regional icon: Tourists visit a beach in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, on Monday to view the sole pine tree that survived the March 11 tsunami. The tree has become a symbol of the region’s recovery. KYODO
“I wanted to let my kid know the dangers of tsunami,” said Seiko Obara, a 48-year-old company employee from Tokyo who came to see the 4,724-ton Asian Symphony on the pier in Kamaishi with his 9-year-old son, Taichi, during their visit to his parents’ home in Hanamaki, also in Iwate.

The YellJapan, Japanese NPO(nonprofit operation), is an organization for victim support activities in the Great East Japan Earthquake.
YellJapan provides messenger action to deliver relief goods in disaster-affected areas, and reconstruction support projects in Aizu, Hukushima.
被災地に支援物資を届ける災害メッセンジャー活動、被災地の復興活動を支援する会津復興支援プロジェクト等を行っています。

An powerful earthquake has struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, and been felt in the capital Toyko.
It has been measured at 8.8 by the US Geological Survey, upgraded from an earlier reading of 7.9, and much stronger than a 7.2 quake which hit on Wednesday.
There are reports that a giant wave four metres high has struck Japan’s Pacific coast. A warning has been issued for a possible tsunami.
Initial reports say there have been “many injuries”. Several fires have been reported in the Tokyo area.
The quake happened during the day as many people were at work in the Japanese capital.
People dived for cover under desks as buildings shook.
The city’s Narita airport has been closed and rail links to the north of the country interrupted.
It is Japan’s biggest earthquake in seven years.
And let us, people of other countries, come together in her time of need and try to do what we can to aid an ailing country.

We, the peoples of the Earth, appeal to the UN, WHO and all international organizations and governments. We ask:
1. The establishment of an international, interdisciplinary team with authority to take over management of the plant in Fukushima Daiichi and its consequences, under a UN mandate.
2. The establishment of a crisis team within the UN responsible for implementing all measures necessary to protect the Japanese people at any price whatsoever.
We are human beings born free and equal. With reason and conscience, we act in a spirit of brotherhood. We are concerned for the life, liberty and security of our Japanese brothers and our children.

On March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm (JST), the northeastern coast of Japan was hit with a massive 9.0 earthquake, triggering a deadly tsunami and nuclear crisis. The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive damage in Northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by the lack of electricity, water, and transportation. There are many people, including children, who were unable to make it to the shelters, and are living in damaged homes or without electricity. Let’s show our support and help those affected by the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster.

Kesennuma (気仙沼市 Kesen’numa-shi) is a city located in the extreme northeast of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, founded on June 1, 1953. It wraps around the western part of Kesennuma Bay, and also includes the island of Ōshima. Its coastline forms the southern boundary of the Rias Coastline National Park, which stretches north all the way to Aomori Prefecture.
Until recent times, the city was Japan’s busiest port for processing bonito and swordfish. Presently, fishing and associated industries account for 85% of jobs in the town.

トニーと里美さんという二人の同僚と共に、東北で3日間のボランティア活動を行い、帰京したところです。震災直後に、大使館チームの一員として被災地を訪れて以来、厳しい状況下でも私たちにご協力下さった地元の方々に何か恩返しをしたいとずっと思っていました。大使館では、震災以降、24時間の業務体制を経て通常業務に戻った後も忙しい日々が続いていたのですが、比較的時間的な余裕が持てる夏になり、漸く、これまでの思いを叶える機会に恵まれました。トニーと里美さんは、英国外務省のジェレミー・ブラウン大臣 が石巻を訪問した際、現地に同行して、ピースボートによる貴重なボランティア活動を見せて頂きました。震災以降、この活動には4千人以上のボランティアの皆様が参加されています。今回、時間を有効に使い、地元の方々が必要とするお手伝いをさせて頂こうと、私たちも仲間に入れて頂くことにしました。

I’ve just returned from three days of volunteer work in Tohoku with two colleagues, Tony and Satomi. Since having deployed with the first Embassy team to travel to the disaster area after the earthquake, I had wanted to do something to repay the kindness we were shown by local people who graciously helped us at a time of great loss. The initial period of round the clock working during the crisis was followed by a period of getting work back to normal and busily trying to ensure the Embassy’s work carried on. But the relative quiet of summer was a great opportunity to finally follow through on the desire to give something back. Tony and Satomi saw the valuable work being done by Peace Boat in Ishinomaki when they visited with Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, coordinating over 4000 volunteers since the crisis began. We decided to join them to ensure that our time would be well spent on what the local community needed.

Welcome to our website. Teachers For Japan is a nonprofit, all volunteer charity initiative dedicated to the cause of rebuilding education in northern Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami of March 11th, 2011.
ようこそ私たちのサイトへ。Teachers For Japanは全員がボランティアによる慈善活動を行う非営利団体で、2011年3月11日に起きたかつてない規模の地震と津波により甚大な被害を受けた日本の東北地方における教育復興を支援する取り組みです。

震災直後にパリ中のファッションに関わる日本人の方々が集結して
たくさんのメゾンにお声をかけてチャリティーをしてくださいました。
コーディネーターの石坂紀子さん達を中心にご活躍している日本人の皆様…
ジャーナリスト、スタイリスト、フォトグラファー、セールスの方々…

そのチャリティーの様子をFace Bookで見ていて涙が出ました。

その時、日本は節電や原発問題で東京の私の部屋も気持ちも暗い中で
グッと目頭が熱くなった…

遠くでいっぱいの愛を日本に送ってくれていました。