What Newspapers Can Do for Tohoku Recovery (3)

Slowly, yet urgently

~Connecting, Communicating, and Continuing What Matters~

Activities of the Tohoku Recovery Support Network

This July marks exactly three years since we began the Tohoku Recovery Support Network's activities. We've been traveling to the disaster areas and working there since the year of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and these three years have flown by. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the people involved who have supported us.

These past three years have seen a change in government, the emergence of various international issues, and significant shifts. While recovery and reconstruction efforts have progressed, bringing diverse changes to the disaster-affected areas, one major piece of news deeply connected to these regions was the decision to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

This past June, Mori Yoshiro, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, toured the disaster-affected areas and explicitly stated to the governors that "we want to approach the Olympics with an all-Japan effort," signaling a commitment to tackle this as a national endeavor, including the affected regions. On the other hand, the governors have voiced their desire to host events such as the "Olympic Torch Relay," "pre-tournament training camps," and "soccer qualifying matches."

Hosting such events in the disaster-affected areas holds tremendous significance, and we hope they can be realized. However, considering the perspective of each individual disaster victim, it feels like it's not that simple. The events are the final manifestations; fundamentally, there must be a solid foundation of truly engaging with the victims. As people involved, we also want to keep this firmly in mind.

On April 26th of this year, a grand parade was held in Sendai City, the hometown of figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who won Japan's first-ever men's gold medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics. An incredible crowd of approximately 92,000 people (according to organizers) gathered under clear skies, cheering loudly for Hanyu with cries of "Thank you for the inspiration!" Before the parade, Miyagi Prefecture Governor Murai presented Hanyu with the Prefectural Citizen's Honor Award. During the ceremony, Governor Murai reportedly said, "Please don't forget about the disaster-affected areas." Hearing this from someone who was actually at the Sendai skating rink at that time on March 11th and experienced the disaster firsthand truly touches the heart and makes one reflect on what truly matters. A man in his 50s I know, who was affected in Ishinomaki, said with tears in his eyes, "Seeing Hanyu, still only 19, made me think adults need to be more responsible. He himself said, 'I can't do anything, I can only give my best performance,' but that's not true. How many disaster victims were encouraged just by seeing him? If each of us adults doesn't seriously reexamine what we can do and take steps forward, we'd be letting him down."

Changing perspective slightly, writer Hirotada Ototake, whom many of you know well, shared this opinion about the Tokyo Olympics: "I want to eliminate the Paralympics. Not because I think we should take away the stage where athletes with disabilities can shine, but because I think it would be great if we could hold the Olympics and Paralympics as one single event." The gist of his statement seems to be that, just as weight classes exist in sports like judo and wrestling to eliminate the handicap of weight differences, we could organize events by physical function—such as physical disabilities or visual impairments—to create classes. Of course, achieving this would be no easy task. Yet, tackling such challenges—including embracing diversity—and overcoming various barriers is crucial. This principle also applies to building genuine connections with disaster-affected areas. Only through accumulating such efforts can Japan unite as a nation and advance to a new stage.

We should view the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the subsequent 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2021 as a crucial opportunity. Moving forward, I intend to continue working with the resolve that we can all join hands, sometimes overcoming walls and sometimes breaking them down, to forge new paths.

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(MCP Bureau Area Solutions Department, Tohoku Recovery Support Network (*), Sendai-based, Yasuhiro Kitade)

*Tohoku Recovery Support Network: A cross-functional virtual project team launched within Dentsu Inc. in August 2011. Its formation followed internal discussions on how Dentsu Inc. could provide recovery support locally through its core business, prompted by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. Currently, with the MC Planning Bureau Area Solutions Department as the core unit, the team consists of six members including staff from the Radio, Television & Entertainment Bureau and the 15th Sales Bureau. Collaborating with relevant departments within Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu East Japan Inc., the team is primarily active in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. Over the two and a half years since its launch, the team's activities have been diverse, including reconstruction-related projects with local governments and central ministries, reconstruction events in collaboration with local media, and reconstruction support for local private companies.