For many, 10 years seems like a long time but for the people dealing every day with the consequences of this major earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster 10 years means not much as it is for some an experience that might feel like it happened yesterday. Today, on 11th March of 2021, it has been 10 years ago that an earthquake with the magnitude of 9.0 occurred on the coast of Japan with a big and destructing tsunami as a result.
It caught worldwide attention, where even a student in a big city in the Netherlands can even see live footage of a tsunami going inland taking cars, houses and other objects with it. As there were friends living in Japan at the time, it was needed to get more information about this situation. There were many media reporting on it. There was also a young Japanese streamer translating information from Japanese to English for travellers in Japan, to get the information they needed.
The web project was named YokosoNews, focused on promoting Japanese culture, lifestyle and entertainment but at that time it was especially focused on translating and giving out information surrounding the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Katz received questions from people wanting to know more about the current situation and he got some support from people providing him with more information with even a bit of criticism towards what was shared in the mainstream media. While it soon became clear that the mainstream media started to pay less and less attention to the situation, which was still ongoing and is still going on as the area is still recovering from it 10 years later, this seemed to give the idea to people outside this location that the problem had been solved and life went on.
In the past, there were articles shared on AVO Magazine surrounding the topic, from anti-nuclear protests, exhibitions and diverse events and films to bring attention and give more insight into the situation to ways to support. But there were much more things to talk about although it wasn’t easy to find it. In the last few years, it became much more difficult. Now we are ten years later after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, for many this has been a good reason to look back at this horrific disaster. It is interesting to see that there are different points of view, people are trying to continue with their lives, others are stuck in the past while trying, which is all not a strange thing after such a traumatic experience. Others are still convinced that nuclear energy is still the future while others are not agreeing on it and are worried about the future.
In this article, you will find a collection of curated videos and articles, all related to the topic, to give the reader extra insight and hopefully it will also be thought-provoking. It may not be written about so much any more in the media, although today it was, but it has not been forgotten by many with their big interest in Japan.
Videos
Asagi’s Experience of The Japan Earthquake 2011
Asagi’s Life is a YouTube channel run by Asagi, working hard to become a professional dancer and who regularly uploads videos on her channel to present food, interesting locations and other things of Japan through her life as a native Japanese. In this short documentary, Asagi explains her experiences of the 11th of March in 2011 very clearly and even mentions things that have happened after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, that are maybe forgotten, such as the prevention of rolling blackouts by cutting back on electricity.
What it Was Like to Barely Survive Japan’s Tsunami
Tokyo Lens is a YouTube channel run by Norm Nakamura, who is a photographer and Tsugaru Shamisen player. On his channel, he has shared several documentaries, exploration videos, vlogs and collaborates from time to time with other well-known YouTubers in Japan to share the beauty of Japan. For this short impressive documentary, he went to the small town of Unosumai, located in Northern Japan. This town got almost destructed as a whole by the earthquake and tsunami on the 11th of March, 2011. Tokyo Lens talks with three people living in this village to share their story of this day, exactly 10 years ago. In another video on the channel of Tokyo Lens, Akiko Iwasaki shared her story about how she was swept away by a tsunami and survived it.
Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami – 10 Years After
Quinlan moved from Tokyo to Tohoku not long before the 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Japan on the 11th of March, 2011. In his video for his YouTube channel GoNorth Japan, he shares some of the experiences of his and other people he comes across, while revisiting the coast in Rikuzentakata and how they are rebuilding at this moment, 10 years after the fact. If you want to see more things about Tohoku, the north of Japan, you should definitely check out the other videos on this channel to learn more about interesting outdoor areas.
What Happened After Japan’s $200 BILLION Disaster: Stories from the Tsunami
Chris Broad of Abroad in Japan doesn’t really need any introduction as his videos are always shared around in the Japan-loving community. In this documentary, published in March 2020, Chris shares impressive stories of 6 people who talked about their experiences on that day. He has made more documentaries about this topic, including a focus piece on the nuclear disaster of Fukushima. It is worth taking the time to watch these videos, if you haven’t done it already.
Other video suggestions related to this topic: Memorial Talk – 10 Years After Great East Japan Earthquake by YokosoNews, Report from Tohoku 2021 by Japan Society in New York, Sayonara Nukes Berlin: 10 Years On: Digging Behind the Headlines with Mako & Ken Oshidori, Netflix: Unsolved Mysteries episode four Tsunami Spirits, What happened at Fukushima 10 years ago? by BBC World Service, Anime Shichigahama de Mitsuketa (I Found it in Shichigahama).
Articles
Reuters: Fukushima potter goes home ten years after the disaster (Includes video)
In this article with video, made by Reuters, reported by Elaine Lies and Akira Tomoshige, we can see Toshiharu Onoda, a thirteenth-generation potter, returning to his home in the town of Namie, that is located close to the nuclear power plant of Fukushima Daiichi. Furthermore, he shares his experience of the earthquake and the tsunami 10 years ago.
The Guardian: Japan’s 2011 tsunami, then and now – in pictures
In this article of The Guardian, you will find several then and now photographs to show the extent of the destruction the tsunami did in 2011 in Japan.
The New York Times: Japan Dispatch – A Village Erased
Reporters of The New York Times went to the village Kesen, where a group of survivors worked hard in the last 10 years to rebuild the community: “but a grim reality has set in: This emptiness will last forever.”
Bloomberg: A Strawberry With a $10 Price Tag Helps One Tsunami-Hit Town to Recover (With video)
Reporters are focusing on the village Yamamoto, where they are growing strawberries, but not just strawberries. The article will explain more about how the farmers didn’t give up after the tsunami in 2011.
The Japan Times: Japan mourns lost souls 10 years after earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis (Also audio)
Report by Donican Lam about how Japan still mourns 10 years after and also brings 11th of March, 2011 in perspective.
Reuters: After the wave – Ten years on, grief never subsides for some survivors of Japan’s tsunami (Also in Japanese)
Special report by Mari Saito in Rikuzentakata: “After the 2011 disaster, Japan built new neighbourhoods, parks and schools. But the scale of loss is beyond any policy response. Today, many of those who remain in hard-hit coastal towns are haunted by all that was lost.”
AP News: Tsunami scars linger a decade later in Japan
In the article, you will find more links to other articles about the topic, more photos and more explanations.
Podcasts
Japan Times Deep Dive episode 85: Ishinomaki — A tsunami-ravaged city, 10 years on
Alex Martin of The Japan Times visited Ishinomaki, 10 years after he first went there, to reconnect with residents he spoke with in the aftermath after 11th of March, 2011. Mari Saito from Reuters talks about the phone of the wind, where the survivors of the tsunami can grieve for their loved ones they lost.
Voices in Japan: Surviving and Thriving after the Great East Japan Earthquake
In this podcast, Jayne Nakata from New Zealand joins this episode to details her experience of being in Iwaki when the massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant meltdown occurred in 2011.
