Over the coming months, 20 of the most innovative and dynamic Japanese companies are flying to the UK to help re-energise post-earthquake UK-Japan trade and investment links.

Mr Jamie Cassidy, BA’s General Manager, handing over a voucher to Ms Mayumi Nakagome of LyonLyon Ltd
The companies are visiting courtesy of the joint UK Trade & Investment and British Airways ‘Reassure and Rebuild’ campaign, which is supported by Hilton Hotels and the Nissan Group.

The British Ambassador, David Warren, hosted an Awards Ceremony on 7 September for the winning companies. Welcoming the guests, Mr Warren, said “I am standing together with three large multinational companies, as well as 14 innovative and dynamic Japanese businesses. Our message is unified: Japan is back in business. We all share a desire help rebuild Japan’s economy by reassuring people back home that Japanese business has bounced back since March. 130 Japanese companies applied for this competition which demonstrates the demand within Japanese business for greater trade and investment ties with the UK”.

宮古市田老の宮古北高の生徒会役員と応援団員１０人は３日、矢巾町の不来方高の文化祭「翔鶴祭（しょうかくさい）」に参加し、合同模擬店でサンマの塩焼きを販売した。震災以降、不来方高は宮古北高のサポート校として支援してきた。宮古北高生は自慢の秋の味覚を届け、感謝の気持ちを込めた。

　宮古北高の生徒は刺し身でも食べられるほど新鮮なサンマを１５０匹用意。不来方高の生徒と炭火で焼き、１匹２００円で販売した。県内産は今年初めてという人も多く、早々に売り切れた。

　宮古北高生徒会の天坂紀子会長（２年）は「自慢の特産品をおいしいと食べてくれてうれしい。いつかは恩返ししたいし、今後も交流を続けたい」と張り切って接客した。

Vice President Biden arrived In Tokyo late Monday evening — the final leg of his trip through Asia. As he told Prime Minister Naoto Kan, he came to Japan for two main reasons: to express sympathy, admiration, and continued support from the U.S. in the wake of the March 11th earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, and to reiterate the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance. “We [the United States] are a Pacific power. You are a Pacific power. You are our ally,” said the Vice President.

From Tokyo, he traveled 90 miles north to the Sendai region — one of the hardest hit by the tsunami last March. Delivering remarks on the second floor of Sendai International Airport’s main terminal — where hundreds of residents from nearby neighborhoods fled to escape the tsunami’s path — Vice President Biden praised U.S. Forces Japan for working around the clock to clear debris and repair a runway that enabled the arrival of hundreds of relief workers, and hundreds of tons of humanitarian assistance.

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.

While looting often becomes an issue post-disaster, it’s been the exact opposite in Japan.
Since the March earthquake and tsunami that leveled much of Japan, thousands of wallets containing a total of $48 million in cash have washed ashore — and been turned in, ABC reports. In addition, 5,700 safes containing $30 million in cash also have turned up.
Ryuji Ito, professor emeritus at Japan’s Yokohama City University, tells the Daily Mail that these acts of integrity are simply reflective of the culture:
“…The fact that a hefty 2.3 billion yen in cash has been returned to its owners shows the high level of ethical awareness in the Japanese people.”

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.

東日本大震災で被災した宮城県亘理町荒浜のすし店「あら浜」が、仙台市内で弁当の販売を始めた。自宅と地場の魚介を使った料理が看板だった店を津波で失い、仮設住宅から仕事に通う店主の塚部久芳さん（５９）は、地元での営業再開を目指し、再起への一歩を踏み出した。
　仙台三越本館地下１階の食品売り場の一角が今の店。自慢のアナゴ飯とホッキ飯を詰めた「あら浜弁当」（１５７５円）など６種を売る。地場産は確保しにくく、アナゴは千葉産、ホッキは北海道産を主に使う。
　扱う食材から価格はやや高めで、周囲にはライバルも多い。「なかなか厳しいね」と話す塚部さんだが、顔には商売できるうれしさがにじむ。
　３月１１日、塚部さんは、仕込み中に店で地震に遭った。何とか家族と亘理中に避難。そこから見た津波は、自宅や店のあった場所をのみ込んだ。「もうだめだ」。ショックだった。自宅も店も全壊。約１０人いた職人とパートには、いったんやめてもらうしかなかった。

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.

来日中の潘基文（バン・キムン）国連事務総長は８日午前、東日本大震災の被災者約３００人が避難する福島市のあづま総合体育館を訪問した。
潘氏は、段ボールで仕切られた居住スペースを回り、「世界が福島を応援しています。頑張ってください」などと日本語で激励。被災者から「福島のような事故が世界で二度と起きないようにお願いします」と声をかけられ、「頑張ります」と応じる場面もあった。
今回の被災地入りは潘氏の強い意向で実現した。