Digital Archives Weave Together, Each Individual's "Memories of the Earthquake" ~ Yasuji Baba and Yuko Akiyama of Google

Google's "Memories for the Future" project, launched after the Great East Japan Earthquake. This intriguing initiative uses cutting-edge technology to preserve memories before and after the disaster as a digital archive, skillfully leveraging platforms like Street View. This time, we spoke with two Google representatives about the social significance and potential of such digital archives.
(Interviewer: Yuzo Ono, Director of Planning and Promotion, Digital Business Division, Dentsu Digital Inc.)

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■ "Let's Recover Lost Memories Together"

──Memories for the Future is a project recording landscapes, photos, and videos from before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake. What prompted its launch?

Baba: One of Google's missions is to improve the world through technology. We always stand ready to take immediate action if technology can help. On the day of the disaster, our Crisis Response team mobilized immediately. Within two hours, we launched "Person Finder," a service to help locate people's safety. Crisis Response is a company-wide effort, so it involved diverse members from engineering, marketing, PR, and other departments, working cross-functionally.

At the same time, we began internal discussions about what would be needed once the immediate post-disaster chaos subsided. For instance, we started initiatives anticipating the slightly longer term, such as what support we could offer when businesses resumed operations months later. One such initiative was "Memories for the Future." Seeing people whose albums had been washed away, their photos soaked, or who stood in stunned disbelief having lost everything, we wondered if there was a way to help them recover what they had lost. We thought that by using Google's platform to add words to videos and photos, and by gathering everyone's thoughts and memories, we might be able to help people reclaim at least a little of what they had lost.

──Did it start in its current form from the beginning?

Akiyama: There were two major redesigns. Initially, it was structured around displaying photos, with the theme "Let's recover lost memories together." We set up posts in temporary housing and evacuation centers to collect thoughts from survivors and gather photos of landscapes they wanted to see. Later, to show where and how many photos existed, or to understand them chronologically, we made UI changes to bring the map to the forefront and enable viewing along a timeline. We also optimized it for smooth viewing on smartphones and tablets. Another major update in December 2011 was launching a site where users could compare pre- and post-disaster views using Street View.

Baba: "Memories for the Future" was initially led by the marketing team, developed using existing platforms. But the involvement of the core Street View team—Google's flagship product—and the unique capabilities Google brought to it were significant. When we started, Google's global marketing chief told us, "Be the first to do it, and see it through to the end." I believe it's only because so many colleagues joined us that it has continued and evolved to this day.

Akiyama: "Memories for the Future" is a platform, and I believe people trust it enough to share their photos. We feel a responsibility to respect their feelings and figure out how to sustain it without letting it fade. Incorporating Street View increased its recognition and made it something people habitually visit. That was crucial for keeping it going as a platform.

──Google employees go out to take the Street View photos, right?

Akiyama: The Street View team handles it. The first images released were "before the disaster" and "after the disaster," captured by driving 44,000 kilometers starting in July 2011. We received numerous requests from people urging the team to document the extent of the damage for future generations through Street View. When we began shooting, we held a press conference with the participation of Mayor Sugawara of Kesennuma. I heard that during the shoot, local residents brought us rice balls and mandarin oranges, and offered words of encouragement. When it came to publishing the completed images, the core concept of a map product is to update it with the latest information. However, doing so would have resulted in a map filled only with rubble. There was also very strong sentiment requesting that the previous images be preserved. Therefore, within "Memories for the Future," we made it possible to view both versions specially. In 2012, we also photographed the exteriors and interiors of buildings damaged in the earthquake, known as "disaster-stricken ruins," which were the subject of debate over whether to demolish them or preserve them as records. These are available as Indoor Views, allowing users to walk through the buildings using Street View. I believe this is an example where technology offered one possible solution to the question of how to preserve these disaster-stricken ruins.

■ Scenes and Stories Emerging from Layered Digital Information

──Are there any memorable episodes from "Memories for the Future"?

Akiyama: When we held an event at Roppongi Hills showing "Memories for the Future" photos and Street View, a visitor from Sendai said, "My hometown was washed away, but I could see it here. Thank you." It was also memorable when someone who had never visited Tohoku said, "I felt the scale of the damage anew. It was very vivid."

Baba: When we started, we hoped that by supporting Tohoku while also conveying the magnitude of what was lost, the challenges on the ground, and the hope of gradual recovery, people would maintain their interest. Actually, Yahoo! Japan is doing similar work, and we decided to collaborate, making the photos we've collected mutually accessible. I think it's expanding in a positive way.

Akiyama: While the submitted images sometimes have low resolution, seeing photos of ordinary daily life before the disaster, along with the comments and stories behind them, reveals a strength different from that of news photos. We also re-shot Street View in 2013. Areas covered in debris immediately after the disaster might be grasslands two years later, but when you look at the "Memories for the Future" photos, you see children playing there or festivals taking place. Layering information reveals new landscapes and stories, and I feel that continuing this makes the experience more multi-layered.

I once set up a booth at the "Tour de Sanriku" cycling event in Rikuzentakata to introduce Future Memories. An elderly person came by and said, "I want to see the pine forest." When I showed them, they explained all sorts of things and talked to me for a long time. I felt the photos gathered in Future Memories were incredibly helpful in tracing memories.

──The project name "Memories for the Future" is quite distinctive.

Baba: Initially, the concept was "Let's Reclaim Memories." There was a discussion about whether it should be "records" or "memories." We decided that what stays in people's hearts is "memories," and to soften that a bit, we used katakana. Then, to convey a sense of moving forward, we added "Future" instead of just "Memories."

Akiyama: I feel like it's precisely because of the name "Memories for the Future" that this project has been able to continue.

──In terms of many people posting and sharing, does it have a social media aspect?

Baba: Initially, the focus was strongly on connection, but now it's more about collectively documenting the process of recovery. At first, there were discussions about whether this was appropriate, but when we actually visited the area and heard people's stories, their encouragement – "Just do it, it will help" – gave us confidence.

Akiyama: The sense of collective effort is strong—it feels like we're all building a memory capsule together. An official from a village office in Iwate Prefecture mentioned wanting to express gratitude for the various support they've received, so we created a "Thank You" page. We visited their summer festival, captured the feelings of local residents in photos, and published them. We hope such actions give people hope and foster connections toward a new future.

──Utilizing Street View, for instance, is something only Google could have done.

Baba: What makes Google unique, I think, is not just the technology we possess, but also the large number of people who maintain their passion. Google has a rule allowing employees to spend 20% of their work time on personal projects. This corporate culture, which values time dedicated to pursuing one's passions, along with the warmth of its people, provided the foundation for realizing Future Memories. Additionally, even before the earthquake, Google had experience with global initiatives responding to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in the US and disaster relief in Haiti. This background was also a significant factor.

Akiyama: Street View originally only showed the latest images on Google Maps. The experience of enabling access to past images for Future Memories led to the addition of the "Time Machine" feature to Street View. This feature now allows users to see before and after images of the Christchurch earthquake, the construction of the World Trade Center, and even the evolution of cities beyond disaster scenarios.

■ A Platform for Weaving Individual Stories, a Platform for Memory

──I see. So, Future Memories served as the catalyst for reevaluating the significance of digital archives within Google worldwide. By the way, you mentioned earlier that it has "a different kind of strength compared to news photography." I definitely sense something unique here that existing journalism lacks.

Baba: We certainly recognize the value and weight of articles edited by journalism. On the other hand, what's posted on Future Memories is the person's own voice, delivered directly. It's something you wouldn't know unless you went to the site, but when connected to the internet, it becomes infinite. So I think it's important that both exist. Ultimately, this increases our options for learning about things and enables us to make appropriate judgments about information, which I think is wonderful.

Akiyama: The content on Future Memories is documentation and an archive. The fact that this documentation comes not from a single perspective, but from the individual perspectives of each person, is something I believe could only be realized through the internet. Actually, when we renewed the site, there was some discussion about whether we should edit the content a little to make what people provided easier to view. However, we ultimately decided that Future Memories should be a platform where each person's memories and stories can be woven together, and we did not edit anything at all.

The Asahi Shimbun has an initiative collecting the voices of 1,000 disaster survivors. We're publishing these voices on Future Memories, adding location and time stamps. Having newspaper articles linked to Google's database represents a new approach in terms of coexistence with journalism. The reporter involved works on journalism utilizing big data, such as Twitter journalism and examining disaster recovery through insert flyers.

──The episode about "Tomizawa Sake Brewery" featured in Future Memories was very striking. I understand it's a sake brewery that had been operating for 300 years in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture.

Akiyama: Tomizawa Sake Brewery had been brewing sake in Futaba for over 300 years, but due to the nuclear accident, their brewery became unusable, and they could no longer make sake. For someone whose life was poured into that brewery, not being able to return there must have been heartbreaking. By chance, I was able to photograph that brewery using Street View. I heard they viewed the Street View images every morning. In this way, they bid farewell to their cherished brewery. Now, they are taking the yeast they managed to salvage and are challenging themselves to brew sake in Seattle, USA. They are also being supported by Google's "Innovation Tohoku" reconstruction support project.

──What future developments do you envision for "Memories for the Future"?

Baba: Regarding collecting photos, we've collaborated with the National Diet Library, Yahoo, and other media outlets. In the next phase, we hope to make the materials we've received available to more people in various ways—for disaster prevention, regional recovery, redevelopment, and other purposes.

■ Pooling Individual Strengths to Solve Social Problems

──Beyond Google's efforts, including Twitter's response, the crisis management after the earthquake served as a catalyst, leading to a heightened appreciation for the internet's usefulness. How do you view this?

Baba: The Great East Japan Earthquake demonstrated the internet's potential for disaster response. I believe "Memories for the Future" also showed that collective action can create significant impact, and that the internet can support people. Certainly, such initiatives have led to a renewed appreciation of the internet's strengths.

──While the internet is very useful, it's also true that it generally faces challenges like rumors and online backlash. What are your thoughts on this?

Baba: Of course, we prepare in advance for issues like slander and defamation. However, with Future Memories, perhaps due to its social significance, we actually didn't encounter such problems once we started. When beginning something, you have to do it with hope and trust in people. As a company, we have a "Take risks" mindset, and a culture that encourages trying things we believe are meaningful, risks included.

──Future Memories seems to exemplify a positive relationship between the internet and society. What do you hope for in the future regarding this relationship?

Baba: For example, I hope we can achieve things that weren't possible before, like the initiative where young voters and the prime minister spoke directly during elections. As a platform provider, Google's role is to help pool the power of individuals to solve societal problems. However, the internet isn't everything. Traditional wisdom, human connections, and knowledge passed down orally certainly exist. We are merely one of many sources conveying and preserving information. Hoping this information supports those working hard to rebuild their communities, we will continue support projects like Future Memories and Innovation Tohoku.