“Great East Japan Earthquake” (3.11) 10years

Itinerary overview of the Great East Japan Earthquake Tour and Victims accounts

Tateo Ito (NPO Nanbyo Support Network Japan)

Purpose

We visited the JPA (Japan Patients Association) members to ascertain their safety and needs after one month after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Members

Tateo Ito, （JPA, Nanbyo Support Network Hokkaido, Japan Myasthenia Gravis Association）
Michinobu Fukuda, (Hokkaido Nanbyoren, Multiple Sclerosis Association)
Hiroshi Arai, (Nanbyo Support Network Hokkaido)
Koji Mizutani, (JPA)
Shohei Nohara, (JPA, Moyamoya Disease Association)
Tomoko Tamaki, (Member of the House of Representative, Patients’ Association for Collagen Vascular Diseases Japan, Tochigi Nanbyoren)

Itinerary: April 28th – May 4th, 2011

April 28th [Sapporo – Hakodate]

Members:

Tateo Ito (JPA)
Michinobu Fukuda (Hokkaido Nanbyoren)
Hiroshi Arai (Nanbyo Support Network Hokkaido)

April 29th [Hakodate – (Ferry) – Aomori – Morioka]

Visited Iwate Nanbyoren, Iwate Nanbyo Support Center
Kouji Mizutani (JPA) Joined

April 30th [Miyako – Ishinomaki – Sendai]

Visited Sanriku Coastline, Otsuchi, Kamaishi, Rikuzentakata, Ishinomaki and Sendai
Inspected NPO Hop Ishinomaki Support Center for Victims with Disabilities (Rera)
Shouhei Nohara (JPA) Joined in Sendai

May 1st [Sendai – Fukushima]

Inspected “Arinomamasha (Disabled People Independent Living Support Center)”, Victims in Watari, Miyagi ALS Care center, Fukushima Nanbyoren
Tomoko Tamaki, Tochigi Nanbyoren Representative, JPA director joined

May 2nd [Fukushima – Tsukuba – Mito]

Inspected Fukushima Nanbyo Support Center, Ibaraki Nanbyo Support Center, Ibaraki Nanbyoren

May 3rd [Mito – Akita]

May 4th [Akita – (Ferry) – Tomakomai – Sapporo]

Immediately after the earthquake on March 11, 2011, we at the JPA began to gather information on patient associations across the country.

We also began to work more closely with the Intractable Disease Division of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The scale of the disaster was unimaginable, and the number of victims was so large that we were not even sure of the best course of action.

For this reason, JPA decided to send a delegation to the affected areas to check on the situation of patients’ groups and Nanbyo support centers and give them encouragement in order to plan future measures. The inspection tour was conducted from Thursday, April 28, 2011 to Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Personnel and vehicles were provided by the Hokkaido Nanbyoren.

Guided by the Iwate Nanbyoren, which had already visited the disaster area several times, we left Morioka and entered Yamada Town where we were stunned by the effects of the devastating tsunami. It was a painful reminder that the forces of nature cannot be controlled by human knowledge or human power.

There were still many areas where the roads had not been restored, and there were no gas stations, stores, or accommodations, so our activities could not go as planned. I was so shocked by the situation in the disaster area that I could not get it out of my mind even for a moment for several years. Due to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, we were not allowed to enter the area south of Soma City. When I heard from local people that the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant was almost destroyed, and that the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant was also in danger, I knew that we had to continue our inspections year after year. At that time, I could not have imagined that the fishery industry in Matsukawaura, Soma City would suffer from harmful rumors regarding radiation contamination, for a long time.

This experience was one of the reasons why JPA decided to conduct this tour.
From Morioka, we headed south along the Sanriku coast, bypassing the town of Minamisanriku where the roads were out of service.
From Sendai, we drove through a plain as far as the eye could see, a zone of cars and debris, and took a detour from Soma to Tsukuba and Mito.

The details were published in “Let’s convey the ‘memories’ of that day” as “Voices of Patients and Families,” a research and documentation project of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s the Support Project for NANBYO Patients, which started in the 2011 fiscal year. (The review is A4 format, consisting of 175 pages with about 2,000 photos.)

he tsunami reached the top of a small hill (Yamada Town)

The seawall was also turned over exposing the bottom (Yamada Town)

A few traces remain from the center of the town (Yamada Town)

Thanks to Mr. Kenichi Chiba, (2nd R) Representative of Iwate Nanbyoren and other members for their guidance (Otsuchi Town)

Interview with Mr. Tamura, (2nd R) Chairman of the Association for the Protection of Affluent Sanriku (Yamada Town)

Earthquake, tsunami, and fire, ravaged building (Otsuchi Town)

Seawater rose up to the fourth floor of this apartment building (Rikuzentakata City)

This inland area was also severely damaged by the earthquake. (National Route 45)

Another, Earthquake, tsunami, and fire, ravaged building (Otsuchi Town)

A hotel in Rikuzentakata City previously submerged in water

As of April 30, the city was still a swamp of rubble and debris as far as the eye could see (Rikuzentakata City)

As of April 30, 2011, the city was still a swamp of rubble and debris. (Rikuzentakata City)

Visit to “Arinomamasha,” a hospice for Nanbyo (intractable diseases) (Sendai City)

Mobile Support Volunteer “Rera”, which quickly took up the challenge of supporting the disabled and elderly (Kesennuma City)

JR Joban Line Yamashita Station outside (Yamamoto-cho)

JR Joban Line Yamashita Station inside (Yamamoto-cho)

Ms. Ikiko Yamada, (pictured) Secretary General of the Miyagi Patients and Families Association, was also flooded by the tsunami (Watari Town)

The tsunami reached the National Hospital Organization, Miyagi Hospital. There was damage to buildings due to the earthquake (Yamamoto Town)

Dr. Takashi Imai, ALS Care Center, Miyagi Hospital

New houses have been built (Yamamoto Town)

Ms. Masako Watanabe, Representative of the Fukushima Nanbyoren, and other members of the board of directors (Fukushima City)

The Fukushima Nanbyo Center was relocated to the prefectural office due to the disaster.

Members of the Ibaraki Nanbyoren (Mito City)

At the Nanbyo Center in the University of Tsukuba Hospital

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