Rebuilding From The Rubble: Three Japanese Architects Construct Amidst Destruction

Tadao Ando's Benesse House Oval on the island of Naoshima. Via.

After years of toxic emissions from refineries built during Japan’s era of modernization, Naoshima, an island in Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture, had become a barren wasteland – a dumping ground for industrial waste. So when philanthropist Soichiro Fukutake approached Pritzker-winning architect Tadao Ando in 1988 to join him in his vision to revitalize the land, Ando’s initial response was, unsurprisingly, “No, that’s impossible.”

Fukutake had purchased the south side of the island two years earlier, aiming to use art as a catalyst for the island’s economic growth. He eventually managed to convince Ando to get on board, and in 1992, work began on Ando’s new building: the Bennesse House, a hotel and museum that provides guests with perhaps the most up-close-and-personal experience with art in the world.

Now, Naoshima has been transformed into a massive art project, and has become a major tourist attraction for art fanatics all over the world, due in no small part to Ando’s work on the many attractions situated on the island. It has since grown to include artists like Shinro Otake, the man responsible for creating a museum where you can bathe in an art environment - even the bath itself was designed by Otake.

Ando introduced his eighth work on Naoshima two years ago: the Ando Museum, a 100-year-old traditional wooden house with an interior that demonstrates his signature style, mixing past and present in a wood-and-concrete building.

But when it comes to rebuilding, the scope of Ando’s work extends far beyond Naoshima. In 1995, the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck Kobe, killing 6,434 people and destroying countless expressways, buildings, and homes in the process. Many of these buildings held cultural significance, and had just barely survived the bombings of World War II.

In response to this massive loss, Ando proposed an art museum and a waterfront plaza in Kobe that could serve as a shelter for refugees. Few could claim to be more qualified than Ando for the job, as he had designed 35 buildings in the Kobe area, and none of them suffered so much as a crack.

Today, the museum is a big tourist attraction in Kobe, which has since recovered from the disaster, and Ando continues to design buildings, his most recent project being the Visitor, Exhibition and Conference Center at the Clark Art Institute in Massachussetts.

Ando is the third of seven Japanese architects to win the Pritzker Prize (second only to America), the highest honor an architect can receive, since the award’s inception in 1979. Last year’s recipient, Shigeru Ban, is the most recent of the seven award winners.

Shigeru Ban's temporary churches serve as community centers as well as places of worship for disaster ravaged towns. Via. 

Ban, like Ando, is known for his work in helping regions rebuild – he was also in Kobe building shelters for victims of the earthquake, but of a different kind. Ban believes that shelters should be not only reliable, but cheap, easy to disassemble, and portable. Following this philosophy, he developed the “Paper Log House”, a shelter composed of donated beer crates loaded with sandbags and paper tubes. Additionally, he designed “Paper Church”, a community center in Kobe also built with paper tubes. It now stands in Taiwan, having been disassembled and later reconstructed there in 2008.

In an announcement on the official Pritzker Prize website, Ban said that his Japanese upbringing helps account for his wish to waste no materials, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s an environmentalist.

“When I started working this way, almost thirty years ago, nobody was talking about the environment. But this way of working came naturally to me. I was always interested in low cost, local, reusable materials,” he said.

And in a New Yorker profile, he went on to say, “I do not know the meaning of ‘Green Architect.’ I have no interest in ‘Green,’ ‘Eco,’ and ‘Environmentally Friendly.’ I just hate wasting things.”

Toyo Ito's "Home-for-All" project in the tsunami-struck city of Rikuzentakata. Via.

Toyo Ito, another like-minded Japanese architect who won the Pritzker Prize , said of Ban, “Many architects in the world today are competing only for the beauty of the architectural form. Ban-san’s attempt is a counter-punch against these architects, and I think he represents a new model of a ‘socially responsible’ architect.”

Ito himself could be called socially responsible – in his book Toyo Ito – Force of Nature, he discusses his work on “Home for All”, a project to build small homes made of wood in communities affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami where everyone can gather and communicate with each other. He writes:

In the modern period, architecture has been rated highest for its originality. As a result, the most primal themes—why a building is made and for whom—have been forgotten. A disaster zone, where everything is lost offers the opportunity for us to take a fresh look, from the ground up, at what architecture really is. ‘Home-for-All’ may consist of small buildings, but it calls to the fore the vital question of what form architecture should take in the modern era—even calling into question the most primal themes, the very meaning of architecture.

In an interview with Domus, he talks about his motivation for the project:

After the big earthquake in Japan we had to make a lot of sacrifices, many victims came out of that and so we went back to zero, we went back to the idea of architecture as a place to make people gather, a place that everybody can use. This is what we have done, restarting the city once again as it has happened so many times in our history. It is a way to make architecture that can be applicable all over the world, thinking architecture as a social tool, as a way of creating spaces to make people stay together.

Perhaps it is this sense of social responsibility and deeper thinking as to what architecture is really about and who it is for that has separated these award-winning Japanese architects from the rest of the pack.

While the three may have vastly different styles and approaches to their work, their works will not only be remembered for their ingenuity, but their impact on the communities they were created to support.

--Mark Gallucci

Recovery's Long Road: Fukushima Four Years After The Great East Japan Earthquake

Seeds of Hope: Fukushima rice recently passed radiation tests for the first time since the disasters. Image via the Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network/JERF.

The 4th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami has arrived, and the effects of the widespread destruction at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are still being felt today.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the company that owns the now-defunct plant, is still trying to persuade local governments to allow the restart of some of its other reactors, which would significantly improve its financial situation, as it still owes more than ¥5 trillion in damages, in addition to the cost of decommissioning the plants affected by the disaster.

To make matters worse, Tepco president Naomi Hirose announced a month ago that it would not be able to meet its self-imposed deadline to decontaminate water tainted by radioactivity by the end of March, which was then followed by the news that it had found a new source of radiation leakage into the sea.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the public is largely opposed to the restart of the reactors. Back in 2010, Japan had plans to make nuclear power at least 50 percent of its total energy by 2030, but a year ago, according to an Asahi poll, 59 percent of Japanese respondents opposed the restart of nuclear power plants, making it highly unlikely that we’ll be seeing an increase in Japanese nuclear power plant activity anytime soon.

Even now, around 120,000 Fukushima residents remain evacuees, and a government survey of 16,600 households in fiscal 2014 found that 48 percent of these evacuees aren’t planning on coming back. Concerns about radiation and slow reconstruction efforts are keeping them away, and the temporary housing situation isn’t giving them much confidence either.

Another problem that towns in the Tohoku region face is population decline. A majority of the evacuees who do decide to return are senior citizens, and according to surveys, only 3 percent of those in their 30s and 40s plan to go back to the towns they were forced to leave behind in the wake of the disaster.

More than 89,000 of the evacuees live in temporary housing units that were only built to last two years, and plans to create more permanent accommodations are not on track to be completed until fiscal 2017.

But construction is progressing, as more and more projects are reaching completion, such as the Joban Expressway, a highway that opened on March 1 that passes through the towns of Okuma and Futaba in Fukushima, close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Progress is also being made in agriculture, and the food in Fukushima has come a long way since the disaster. While commercial farming is now prohibited in areas that were deemed highly contaminated, a few months ago, rice from Fukushima passed radiation tests for the first time since the tsunami, and South Korea, who had banned imports from Fukushima, is now conducting visits to the power plant in consideration of reopening trade agreements with the region.

Fukushima is even trying to host Olympic baseball in 2020, should it be voted back into the Olympic lineup.

“We are still in the process of recovery from the disaster, and it would be a dream to have world-class athletes play here,” said Fukushima city official Hiroaki Kuwajima, according to Agence France-Presse.

Recovery efforts still have a long way to go, with many problems ahead, but the state of the Tohoku region is steadily improving. While things may never be the same in Fukushima, many of the people affected by the disaster are on a long, but promising, road to recovery.

--Mark Gallucci

Bases Covered: MLB Player's Long-Term Support of Japan Earthquake Recovery

Presenters at the Nov. 15 MLB press conference to spotlight earthquake recovery.

It’s the Japan All-Star Series, an annual goodwill competition between America’s and Japan’s best baseball players, and the Americans are down 2-0. Game 3 at the Tokyo Dome is a must-win for the MLB All-Stars, who will need to win three in a row to emerge victorious in the best-of-five series.

Yet on November 15, the day of the game, twelve of the MLB players were not on the field warming up, but packed into a small room with representatives from Japan Society and the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Among the players present were Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, and Astros outfielder Dexter Fowler.

Also present were the people they were there to meet: representatives from organizations that the Players Trust supports through Japan Society’s Japan Earthquake Recovery Fund (JERF), created to aid victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which devastated Japan’s Tohoku region on March 11, 2011.

The Players Trust, which allocated $1 million in support following the earthquake, began a multi-year partnership with Japan Society in 2012, working with JERF on five recovery projects.

"We as players are very fortunate, and always very excited, to use the help of the Players Trust to make an impact on the world," Guthrie said at the press conference. "The slogan that we have is, 'Care. Act. Inspire.' Working with Japan Society has allowed us to be able to do this on an international level."

Chris Capuano and his wife enjoy a meal at Organ Dou. Via. 

Prior to the event, Guthrie, Pirates pitcher Mark Melancon, and free agent Chris Capuano, who is considering a move to Japan, visited Fukushima Organ Dou, a store set up by the Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network, to enjoy some of the farmers’ produce. Thanks to the support they received through JERF, the farmers were able to afford machines that thoroughly test their produce for significant levels of radiation, ensuring their customers that their food is safe to eat. Capuano said:

We're here today because as players, we're very happy to be able to support Fukushima. The area was hard hit by a tsunami back on March 11 of 2011, and there’s still a great need of recovery. A lot of these farmers in Fukushima need our help today. They need our support in showing that they've come a long way. The produce is safe and delicious to eat, and we're happy to be able to still support them.

As of September 3, 2014, JERF has received $13.89 million from over 23,600 individuals, companies and foundations from all 50 states and nearly 60 countries around the world. To date, it has distributed $13.6 million to 43 organizations in support of 64 projects. 

In addition to the Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network, the Players Trust through JERF also supports Ashoka Japan’s Tohoku Youth Venture program, which grants seed money to high-school and college students who devise viable creative and innovative ideas for revitalizing the Tohoku region; two mental-health care projects with the Japanese Medical Society that provide services and training in Fukushima and Iwate Prefectures; and a leadership development project led by Japan Society and ETIC that promotes entrepreneurship towards self-sustaining economic and community revitalization in Tohoku.

These and all  projects supported by JERF give a much-needed boost to Japan’s recovery in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, which, according to the National Police Agency of Japan, left nearly 16,000 dead, more than 6,000 injured, and thousands still considered missing.  It also took a massive toll on buildings, with more than 120,000 totally destroyed. Today, nearly four years after the tragic events, more than 93,000 people are living in temporary housing, with construction plans facing delays.

The immediate concern has shifted from cleanup to reconstruction, as reviving the economies of the small towns hit hardest by the earthquake is a major priority. Since farming is a major part of Japan’s small-town economies, that means bringing in soil from other areas to cover ground rendered infertile by seawater– a process costing upwards of $90 million.

Though debris has been cleared, seawalls are being constructed, and in many highly populated areas a sense of normalcy has returned, the recovery process is far from over. In an interview with Reuters , Japan Society president Motoatsu Sakurai said, "it is very, very evident in Japan this recovery process will continue for more than 10 years."

And because it’s such a lengthy process, it needs all the attention it can get, as Players Trust director Melissa Persaud alluded to at the press conference.

"The players take a long-term approach to their disaster-relief support," Persaud said. "They have learned that too often, after the initial media spotlight fades on a region or people devastated by a disaster, the support fades as well. Yet the needs remain for quite some time."

--Mark Gallucci

Top photo courtesy of MLB. First Row (left to right): Akihiro Asami, Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network; Yoshiaki Ishikawa, ETIC; Shinichi Niwa, Kokoro no Care, Nagomi; Hiroshi Yamanaka, Kokorogake; Akiko Ito, Kokorogake; Toshikazu Abe; Mina Sato, Tohoku Youth Venturer; Nana Watanabe, Ashoka Japan. Second Row: Drew Butera, LA Dodgers; Jeremy Gutherie, KC Royals; Rob Wooten, Brewers; Chris Capuano, NY Yankees; Dexter Fowler, Houston Astros; Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners; Salvador Perez, KC Royals; Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays; Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates; Tsuyoshi Wada, Chicago Cubs; Jerry Blevins, Washington Nationals; Jeff Beliveau, Tampa Bay Rays; Shoko Takamatsu, Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network; Koji Yamauchi, ETIC.

Choice Cuts: The Bleeding Heart And Soaring Soul Of JAPAN CUTS 2013

AKB48 spreading music and hope in Japan.

While JAPAN CUTS is known for action packed, manga-inspired and genre-twisting blockbusters, especially those co-presented with NYAFF, there is another side to the festival encompassing impacting films that pull at heartstrings with their depth and far reaching soulfulness.

As the New York Times wrote in a feature about the more emotionally harder-hitting films this year:

A well-made bummer can be a beautiful thing, and while many countries have distinguished histories in the genre, none currently outdo Japan when it comes to outdo Japan when it comes to malaise and depression.

One of the more quietly devastating films in the lineup is Japan’s Tragedy. Directed by Masahiro Kobayashi and sharing the concept of the 1953 work of art, A Japanese Tragedy, the film focuses on an elderly father (played by  legendary Akira Kurosawa actor Tatsuya Nakadai), who while pain stricken by the death of his wife must cope with terminal illness. His son, who suffered major losses in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, remains lost emotionally and struggles to aid his father in recovery. Through his own affliction, the father tries to help his son one last time, deciding it best if he were allowed to die.

Shot mostly in black and white, the gravity of the themes and anguish of the characters are palpable and timely. In the tsunami that struck the northeastern Japan, some say “Japan’s elderly were hardest hit by the crisis” and even over two years later are displaced from their homes and not getting the care they need. When BAFICI first screened Japan’s Tragedy, they called the film “a profound analysis of the human condition and its unpredictable derivations” and noted that the titular tragedy is never pinpointed, stressing “the imprecision of that discomfort that afflicts Japan”. This silent yet pertinent theme is beautifully, painfully illuminated in Japan’s Tragedy.



Another powerful story is the documentary Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story. After being exposed to its language, culture, and history by her elementary school teacher, Taylor developed a love for Japan, ultimately taking part in the Japanese government’s Japan Exchange Teaching Programme (JET), which supports non-native Japanese to teach English in Japan. Tragically, Taylor is lost to the tsunami, but her life and legacy--shown through pictures, home videos, and heartwarming personal accounts within the film--offers a sense of hope that can only come by following one’s dreams.

Today the devastation from the tsunami can still be felt by the families of the 19,000 people dead or missing in Tohoku and the hundreds of thousands displaced, many still without permanent homes. Amidst slow recovery there are pleas to not forget those affected and still suffering. Live Your Dream shows us that even through loss, the memories we leave behind can never be forgotten.

For the JAPAN CUTS screening of Live Your Dream Taylor’s father and the documentary’s director will be on hand to introduce the film and take part in a Q&A it afterwards. Knowing many JET participants and hoping to apply for the program in the future, I see this film as a testament to Taylor and her family’s resilience. It’s a very moving portrayal and inspires people that despite everything one should never give up on their dreams.

Touching on similar themes, JAPAN CUTS presents the North American premiere of DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48: Show must go on. Japan’s pop music phenomenon AKB48, which boasts nearly 100 members, finds ways to give back to those in need in the months after 3/11. With some members hailing from Sendai (the largest city in the Tohoku region), the group tours the area and establishes the “A Project for Someone”, where they donate funds to the Tohoku region.

With three of JAPAN CUTS’ 24 feature films this year focusing on 3/11, it is evident the impact the devastation continues to have on Japan, from hardship to hope (related: Japan Society maintains regular updates of the recovery work funded by the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund). These films offer an opportunity to immerse oneself in the heartrending, often painful, but ultimately transforming stories that come from those experiencing and ultimately overcoming tragedy.

--Susan Berhane

Taylor Anderson and friend.

Images: (Top) DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48 No flower without rain © 2012 AKS Inc. / TOHO CO., LTD. / AKIMOTO YASUSHI, Inc. / North River Inc. / NHK Enterprises, Inc.  All Rights Reserved. (Bottom) Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story © 2012 Global Film Network All rights reserved.

JAPAN CUTS 2012: From Mainstream Mania And Genre Benders To A Post-3/11 Era

Join the Monsters Club that is JAPAN CUTS 2012. © 2011 GEEK PICTURES

“This year’s JAPAN CUTS festival is so varied in its programming that it’s anti-thematic”, says Samuel Jamier, Japan Society’s senior film programmer, and curator of the Society’s monster summer film festival, opening today in its sixth consecutive year.

The trailer for the festival says it all… by saying nothing and everything at once:



The shear diversity of 2012’s JAPAN CUTS films range from the decidedly popular Rebirth (winner of the Japanese Academy Prize for Picture of the Year) and uber-romcom Love Strikes!, to the grind(out)house Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead. Situated somewhere between these extremes is the “Focus on Post 3.11 Cinema” and “Anime from Hell”.

Jamier, who has curated three JAPAN CUTS festivals to date, notes “This year I have expanded the scope of the types of films we show. It is nice to have a reverential attitude towards the more serious films, but it is also good not to take yourself too seriously, and to always be on the lookout for something new and special. Previously, the only way to sample such a wide variety of genres and styles was to have actually lived in Japan. But I feel proud in bringing that variety to New York.”

A visit to the Japan Society between today and July 28 may indeed feel like a cinephilic trip to Japan as the 2012 installment of JAPAN CUTS is the largest ever presented with 39 films, 33 premieres 8 special guests, 3 award presentations and parties.

Something absolutely unique to the festival in the inclusion of documentaries and fictional films inspired by Japan’s March 11, 2011 earthquake and subsequent Sendai tsunami and Fukushima meltdown. With five features (Women on the Edge, Chips, A Gentle Rain Falls for Fukushima and No Man’s Zone) and a collection of shorts (We Are All Radioactive)--films all completed within a year of the disasters--it is surprising how such a wealth of quality work was created in such a short time span.

According to Jamier, “We now live in a post-3/11 era of creativity and there’s definitely a post-3/11 cinema happening .” He explains how during the tsunami tragedy, many amateur videographers shot footage of the disaster with their cameras and cell phones, creating their own documentation and narratives. The series of short documentaries We Are All Radioactive reflects this phenomenon. Filmmaker Lisa Katayama and her crew gave cameras to residents of Motoyoshi, a seaside town 100 miles north of Fukushima, to shoot the local scene after the disaster.

Jamier notes the post-3/11 era has also influenced films that don’t directly deal with the tragedy. “For instance, Yoshihiro Nakamura’s feature film Chips is ostensibly a comedy about a young man and his infatuation with a professional baseball player. But at the same time this comic story is being told, there is a weird ghostly space accommodating more serious subject matter. I attribute that to the influence of 3/11.”

Yakusho (l) in Woodsman. © 2011 Kitsutsuki to Ame Film Partners

At the center of the festival is the career of legendary actor Koji Yakusho, who will participate in a Q&A session and be presented with the first-ever Cut Above Award for Excellence in Film on July 21. Jamier says “I’m really excited and honored by the presence of Koji Yakusho, who is, in many ways, Japan’s leading actor.”

The festival features many of his classic films like Shall We Dance?, the director’s cut of 13 Assassins and Cure, as well as newer films like Chronicle of My Mother and The Woodsman and the Rain. “It’s amazing to see the consistent quality of his films through the years. By featuring Japan’s leading actor, we hope to demonstrate the importance of Japan Cuts in showcasing contemporary Japanese cinema,” says Jamier.

Other not-to-be-missed Q&A sessions include ones with Love Strikes! star Masami Nagasawa on July 14, Monsters Club director Toshiaki Toyoda on July 15, No Man’s Zone director Toshi Fujiwara on July 22, Roadside Fugitive SR director Yu Irie on July 22, and Leonie director Hisako Matsui on July 27.

The opening week party on July 14 will follow the sold-out screening of Love Strikes! and Q&A with Ms. Nagasawa, who won a Japanese Academy Award for her performance. The film, also screening July 22, was a blockbuster in Japan based on the enormously popular manga and television series of the same name (Moteki in Japanese). It follows the travails of a 31-year-old otaku who inexplicably experiences sudden popularity with women. Perhaps his goal of romance with the hip and kawaii Miyuki (Nagasawa) is attainable after all. The fun story is densely populated with pop songs, including a musical number performed by girl group Perfume, and visual teasers like scrolling Twitter messages and karaoke lyrics.

In a festival where Love Strikes! twice, it’s a bit overwhelming that there are 37 more possible hits. Luckily, several media outlets have produced their top choices from this year’s “cool slice of cinematic pie”, including the Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, and Twitch.

--Lyle Sylvander

Love Strikes! © 2011 TOHO CO.,LTD. / TV TOKYO CORPORATION / DENTSU INC. / KODANSHA Ltd. / Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. / Office Crescendo Inc. / PARCO CO., LTD. / Yahoo Japan Corporation / TV OSAKA CORPORATION / TV AICHI CORPORATION 

モテキ© 2011「モテキ」製作委員会　

Hope, Hard Work And Helping Hands Aid Ongoing Tohoku Recovery

Fisherman from a devastated village take to the seas again thanks to newly purchased machinery. In a small town that lost ten percent of its population, folks now have professionals to help them overcome the trauma. A Fukushima mother cries as she realizes her children are able to play outdoors safely at an away camp.

In June Japan Society premiered a moving short video highlighting three of 19 organizations so far supported by the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund (JERF). JEN, an international humanitarian relief and development organization, is working in fishing towns in Miyagi prefecture to help fishermen restore their local economy. In Otsuchi, Japanese Medical Society of America’s KOKOROGAKE program has medical professionals working for long term care for survivors’ mental health. And in Fukushima prefecture, Fukushima Kids provides children with an escape to Hokkaido for the summer.

Although the organizations are working towards very different goals, the video shows a common glimmer of hope between all of them.



The fishermen in Miyagi prefecture were once part of a vibrant fishery-centered economy. The tsunami wiped that out completely. Tatsuya Sugiura, a volunteer at JEN after losing his business partner in the disaster, says, "After the disaster, fishermen were at a loss. They didn’t know what to do. They were probably looking at the sea every day. With JERF we can provide support; the fishermen could focus on becoming positive and self-reliant again."

The refocusing is paying off. The local fishermen built a hut out of the debris from their own home, which now houses a much-needed winch provided by JEN. Hidenori Hiratsuka, one of the fisherman, says, "if we get too nervous, we can’t remain fishermen, and there won’t be a recovery if we don’t go out fishing. I am trying to focus on fishing."

He then reflects on the help from JERF: "I thought no one would help a small port like ours. In the beginning, we had no help. I wondered why no one was helping us. Then we got help; we were so grateful. It makes me cry to think of that time… I have to do my best."

In Otsuchi, a small area in the Iwate prefecture with 10% of the population either missing or dead, many people suffer from extreme post-traumatic stress. "It’s been difficult to reach out to people who have lost their homes, jobs and family members. People are suffering; some of them want to disappear, some are suicidal" says Akiko Ito, a member of Team KOKOROGAKE.

Even before the disaster, there was no mental healthcare facility in the area. Iwate prefecture established one a year after the disaster. Team KOKOROGAKE plans to remain in the area for the long term. "Even if buildings are rebuilt, goods are available and people have jobs, if people are suffering inside, it’s not real recovery," continues Ito. "Mental healthcare issues can’t be solved overnight; we started to work on this issue a year after the disaster, but it can take 5, 10, 20 years for people to recover."

The members of the team are hoping to work on not only helping people’s mental health, but also building enough trust so that the people will come to them when they need help even after the town is rebuilt. They try to be a part of the community, living in temporary housing alongside the area’s survivors and working with them in their homes. "We are medical professionals who don’t think services should be limited to the inside of a clinic. We need to be a part of the community and listen to the people about their loss and the pain caused by it," says Mitsuru Suzuki the leader of Team KOKOROGAKE.

Fukushima Kids is an organization which brings over 200 kids from Fukushima  to a camp in Hokkaido where they can escape the threat of possible radiation exposure. “During [the long breaks], we wanted kids to smile and be healthy,” explains Toru Shinshi, chairperson of the effort, “That’s why we started Fukushima Kids.”

A mother of two young girls who were able to go to Hokkaido explains how this works beyond providing an escape: "When I first saw a video of children running outside, I was taken aback. For several months... I didn’t see any kids playing outside-picking flowers, putting their hands in the river." Funding from JERF is making it possible to sponsor even more children to experience somewhere safe, and in turn, help their parents and families be more optimistic.

More Than 10 Years To Rebuild 

It’s been over 15 months since the devastating triple disasters struck Japan's Tohoku region. As of April this year, 15,857 people are confirmed dead while 3,057 are still missing. The survivors who remain in the area are still suffering: they live in the place they once called home, but in temporary housing surrounded by the nightmares of loss and destruction.

Hiroyuki Koroge, the head of office of JEN says, “I think it will take more than 10 years to rebuild it how it was before the disaster.” He refers to Ishinomaki in his statement, but this is true of all areas affected by the disasters. Japan estimates that it could take upwards of 23 trillion yen ($289 billion) to completely clear the rubble and rebuild homes, cities, jobs and lives.

In the next few weeks, Japan Society will announce the fifth wave of JERF grants. While this is only a fraction of what Japan needs, every bit helps edge Tohoku's people that much closer to a new life as the Society's video so poignantly shows. 

--Sarah Anderson

Resilience In The Lost Decade: Recovery In Tohoku

From Memory: Things We Should Never Forget. Photo courtesy of Nikkei Inc.

When Japan Society education director Rob Fish was putting together events in recognition of the one-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, one moment stood out for him. During school visits in the Tohoku region in summer 2011, surveying the devastation after months of recovery efforts, principal Sadayoshi Sugiwara from Shizugawa Junior High School told Fish how happy he was to have received so much support from the U.S. and people around the world, but how concerned he was that after a year’s time people would forget.

It's an alarming prospect. In a recent interview about Japan Society's relief work, president Motoatsu Sakurai told Reuters he believes economic recovery and rebuilding “will continue for more than 10 years”, with ongoing work to repair damage, remove mountains of remaining debris, begin rebuilding, and cope with nuclear contamination.

A decade of recovery after Japan’s “lost decade” isn't an exaggeration at this point. Despite incredible efforts to clean up the large amount of debris left by the tsunami, the hard-hit city of Ishinomaki is home to the biggest dumping grounds, further exacerbated by other cities rescinding their offers to take  some of the waste due to fear of contamination. Japan’s Environment Ministry, recently reported that of the “estimated 22.5 million tons of debris in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures… only 1.42 million tons have been disposed of” to date.

The affected areas have seen a rapid decrease in volunteer workers from the peak of 171,800 individuals two months after the disasters to about 11,000 volunteers as of January 2012. Meanwhile, professors and experts from Cornell University cite “serious political problems” that may prevent a speedy recovery.

The nuclear meltdown in Fukushima has been a constant source of danger for the local population. Despite all attempts to secure the area and remove as much radiation as possible, including collecting every leaf, the Daiichi plant reactors have “readings peaking at 1.500 microsieverts per hour – more than a thousand times what was normal pre-accident” making repairs difficult. The latest estimates have soil radiation levels far below those of Chernobyl during the same time frame, though Fukushima and its surrounding prefectures will be irradiated for years to come.

The situation has become problematic for displaced citizens. In the little time given former residents of Okuma, for example, many people were barely able to recover belongings, let alone clean any family graves that survived the disasters.

Despite all of this, there is visible progress happening all around the affected areas showing signs of renewed life and resilience from the local population. International concern for Japan was reflected by an outpouring of mainstream media coverage that began weeks before the tragedies’ anniversary. Wall Street Journal's RealTimeJapan blog ran an all encompassing "March 11, One Year Later" series. NY1’s Dean Meminger reported from Kamaishi city for a week-long special report focusing on the affected people of Tohoku. MSNBC carried a photo series with a remarkable then-and-now panoramic photo as well as poignant portraits of survivors. Photographer Denis Rouvre’s survivor portraits in The New York Times questioned whether the disaster can be summed up as shikata ga nai, or “it can’t be helped,” as similar situations have been received in Japan.

Inspiring anecdotes of survivors, young and old, included a man who refuses to leave the no-go zone in order to take care of abandoned animals, and student Yuji Hamada, who turned 15 on the 11th, recalling the loss of his mother and sister on the day of the disasters, and who strives to live life to the fullest.

Working collectively to overcome hardships continues in Minami-sanriku, where oyster farmers feel the “local industry could be back on its feet and thriving as soon as three years from now” and a high school baseball team plays hard towards the national tournament in the name of Ishinomaki.

--Sean Tomizawa

Japan’s Hunt For Former Glory: Recommendations From A Leading East Asia Expert

Via.

It is hard to imagine that Japan, the nation many look to for cutting edge technology and pop culture coolness, may be waning as a world power. The revolving door of a government saw six different Prime Ministers in five years led to what some view as unstable domestic politics, and the recent natural disasters devastated the northeast coast of the country and caused a major meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant that is still affecting the city. Japan held the distinction of being an economic powerhouse second only to the U.S. for decades until China surpassed them this year, and the country now faces its third “lost decade” its bubble popped. While tensions surrounding the U.S. base in Okinawa eased a bit this year as a result of Operation Tomodachi, some believe South Korea is becoming a more viable strategic ally for the U.S.

In Losing Its Edge? Evans Revere on How Japan Can Remain a Leader & America’s Closest Partner in East Asia, former diplomat and revered East Asia expert Evans Revere tackle these issues. Sitting down with ForeignAffairs.com editor Andrew Bast on December 1 at Japan Society, Revere draws on his experience to offer insights on how Japan can return to its former glory.

Evans J.R. Revere is a Princeton University graduate, a U.S. Air Force veteran and has gone on to become a top foreign affairs specialist, with 35 years of government service under his belt and being fluent in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. He is currently the Senior Director at the global strategy firm Albright Stonebridge Group and specializes in advising clients concerning Korea, Japan, and China. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the President and CEO of the Korea Society in New York and notably was part of the “New Beginnings” policy study panel that came up with recommendations for improving Korean relations with the U.S. before President Obama met with South Korea President Lee Myung-bak. He has negotiated between the U.S. and North Korea and was responsible for the State Department’s effective response to the tsunami disaster that hit Indonesia and other parts of South Asia in December 2004.

--Sean Tomizawa

The Power of Tomodachi: U.S. Military's Humanitarian Efforts Cemented An Alliance

Adm. Walsh salutes a Sendai base during Operation Tomodachi. Via.

When the March 11 earthquake struck Japan, the commander of the 7th fleet of the U.S. navy was off the coast of Singapore. Without orders, he set a course for Honshu and within a short time every U.S. naval ship in the region was under way for Japan.

As U.S. Navy Admiral Patrick M. Walsh told a standing room-only audience at the Japan Society recently [watch the full video], it was the beginning of Operation Tomodachi--or Operation Friend in English.

“The real story here is in the power of the idea, the idea of tomodachi, the idea that represents who we are, where our relationship is and what it could be,” Walsh said.

As 59th Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Walsh oversaw the mission. For him, Operation Tomodachi went way beyond providing help to a nation in crisis; it cemented the U.S.-Japan alliance and highlighted the importance of understanding the geo-political challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region.

To appreciate the scale of Operation Tomodachi it helps to list a few numbers: there were 20 U.S. naval ships and 140 aircraft deployed to the area, and 19,703 U.S. marines and sailors took part. Many of the U.S. bases in Japan from the disputed Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, to Yokota Air base just west of Tokyo and Misawa Air base in Aomori were involved. They provided humanitarian aid including 246 tons of food and 21 million gallons of water. They also helped to contain the nuclear disaster and deal with the “emotionally debilitating” aftershocks. It was an operation that called upon all the U.S. armed forces’ logistical and technical skills but that also required immense compassion and diplomacy.

We Are Legion: Decentralizing The Internet For Innovation

The general attitude among netizens is that with all the data that comprises the Internet, sharing is caring. Or is it the other way around?

In terms of file sharing, many are familiar with the concept of direct downloading as a means of getting music and videos, and its web of legal issues. An alternative method is BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer system where users simultaneously download and upload pieces of an original file which get shared around the Internet to complete the download. Instead of receiving data from a single source, multiple owners of the file chip in to help others claim their own.

BitTorrent is one example of free and open-source software (FOSS), in which anyone can take available software, make changes, improve, and redistribute it for free as long as they allow others do the same. There is no copyright concern, which can slow or even prevent openly sharing valuable information and knowledge that leads to innovation and breakthroughs. Ultimately FOSS exists to help “individuals and organizations reduce cost, increase use, improve standards compliance, enhance security, and avoid vendor lock-in.”

The philosophy and practical applications of FOSS can help solve impossibly complex problems and even have life-saving ramifications.

In Japan, in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis that led to nuclear crisis at Fukushima, little information was made available for people concerned about radiation levels. Safecast, formerly known as RDTN, took matters into hand by aggregating radiation data from various sources. In the spirit of FOSS, the team makes all data available to everyone after planting static radiation sensors around Japan, as well as utilizing portable Geiger counters that work with mobile devices.

As a forefront advocate for internet freedom and global technology policy, Joichi Ito, director of MIT Media Lab and former CEO of Creative Commons , argues we no longer live in a world of central control but rather in ecosystem of "small pieces loosely joined" with innovation on the edges. The ubiquity and low cost creation and distribution of information has fundamentally changed the way we collaborate.

Ito shares his ideas in Innovation in an Open Network at Japan Society on November 10. Drawing from his work at MIT, he’ll look at startups like Safecast, use of citizen Geiger counters, and other examples of 21st century practices that are bettering the world. Michael Zielenziger, McKinsey Global Institute senior editor and author of Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created its Own Lost Generation moderates.

--Sean Tomizawa

Art Alive On A5: Inspirational Postcard Pieces from Tohoku Artists

When the Great East Japan Earthquake hit on March 11th, power went out in most of the Tohoku region, impeding communications for weeks on end. The postal service turned out to be a godsend for families and friends. “In many cases, the first news that loved ones were safe was by postcard,” notes Joe Earle, director of Japan Society gallery.

Kate Thomson and Hironori Katagiri, two sculptors who divide time between Edinburgh, Scotland, and Iwate, Japan, curated work by 22 Tohoku-based artists in Postcards From Japan, a mini-exhibition free to the public at Japan Society’s A-Level until November 27.

Down by Japan Society's auditorium are two opposing walls lined with numerous tiny framed art pieces. They consist of beautiful photographic, acrylic, and ink work as well as some unusual media such as ruined remains of a school textbook, broken seashells, and even a small dried out fish.

The small-size artwork--fitting Japan’s standard A5 brochure paper--expresses a huge range of emotions. Abstract pieces stand out due to their use or lack of color while old photographs showing better times. Found objects from the aftermath wordlessly describe what has been lost. The conveyed feelings of whimsy, grief, and, most importantly, hope is incredibly powerful.

In the words of the wall text, Postcards from Japan is “a meditation on nature’s power to challenge us with no warning but it also reassures that life is indeed continuing in devastated Tohoku.”

When most funds are going directly towards relief efforts, the curators feel that creating art goes one step further to help “boost morale and stimulate hope for the future and enthusiasm to rebuild”. Sales from the exhibitions’ accompanying catalogue benefit artists living and working in the Tohoku.

--Sean Tomizawa

Images (top to bottom): Megumi Honda (1972–), Tono, Iwate Prefecture, Tenshin 2011, 2011, shells collected from hometown of Higashi-Matsushima, and paper , 5 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (14.8 x 21 cm); Shigenobu Yoshida (1958- ), Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Light Bird, 2011, acrylic on acrylic board, 5 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (14.8 x 21 cm).

Japan’s Textile Pioneers: Weaving Threads Of The Past Into The Future

When visitors climb the stairs to Japan Society’s new exhibit Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers, they are greeted by Kyoko Ibe’s Requiem, created specifically for the show. The large, dark purple, net-like weave adds mystery to the Society’s typically calm lobby, and yet engulfs the garden pool from above in an almost protective manner. Japan Society gallery director, Joe Earle, notes that the piece is:

a memorial to victims of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The fluidity of water is one of the miracles of nature, yet all of us were shocked and saddened to see how it could destroy so many lives and livelihoods. Ibe created Requiem from ancient indigo-dyed paper, made in a pristine natural environment and originally used for Buddhist scriptures. Sensing that our uncertain times cry out for the qualities of peace and stability embodied in this lovingly preserved material, she has twisted and worked it night and day for many months as a prayer for divine protection.

The piece is just one of 35 featured textile artworks that combine the beauty of tradition with eye-popping experimentation. The use of color and incredible shapes are the first things that may strike visitors, but upon closer inspection, the impossible textures and intricate techniques stun the imagination. Each installation, ranging from soccer ball size to meters wide and tall, is imbued with personality and a story. Those that hang on the walls cast equally striking shadows, subtly adding to their mystique.

Fiber Futures runs through December 18th. You can view more photos from the exhibit here and here. Related programming includes an exhibition talk, a day with family activities, an evening with former Miyake creative director Dai Fujiwara, and individual workshops on weaving, dyeing and embroidery.

If you can’t make it to Japan Society, you can check out the gorgeous catalogue or download the free app for iPhone or Android, and wrap yourself with Fiber Futures wherever you are in the world.

--Sean Tomizawa

Nuclear Blues

Via.

August 6th marked the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, where a solemn commemoration has marked the years since 166,000 men, women and children lost their lives, tens of thousands of them to the lingering effects of radiation. This year, with Japan suffering in the aftermath of another nuclear disaster, the Hiroshima ceremony saw Prime Minister Naoto Kan deliver a speech in which he expressed contrition for believing in "the security myth of nuclear power". Mr Kan also promised an investigation into the incidents at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which are fast becoming a source for much public criticism of his administration and the state of Tokyo bureaucracy and the Japanese nuclear industry in general.

Such hostility to nuclear power is nothing new in Japan, but the events in Fukushima have raised popular antipathy to its highest level in decades, with about 70 percent favouring a comprehensive overhaul of Japan’s energy policy according to a recent poll. Japan is already avowedly anti-nuclear in the area of the military, having voluntarily banned nuclear weapons from its territory since the 1950s, but many anti-nuclear groups have, until now, failed to equate the horrors of nuclear war with the peaceful development of nuclear power. Now, with the mayors of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki calling for a sea change in Japanese energy policy for the first time in decades, the Prime Minister himself is addressing Japan’s reliance on nuclear power before his political life draws to a close.

However, with nuclear power supplying about a third of Japan’s energy needs and the prospects of toughening economic times ahead, it is unclear exactly how any putative shift away from the atom might move forward without severe disruption to Japan’s infrastructure, to say nothing of the jobs that would be lost. As the U.S. and by extension the world brace for another possible recession, it would be a rude shock to the system for Japan to invalidate tens of thousands nuclear industry employees, particularly following the selfless heroism many of them displayed at the height of the crisis.

Yet, with popular anger on the rise, it is possible that even moves to establish an unprecedentedly high level of oversight of the nuclear industry will not placate the Japanese public, particularly as more details of the bureaucratic errors surrounding the catastrophe come to light.

The New York Times' recent report provides an example of such: the citizens of the town of Namie, close to the stricken Fukushima Daichi plant, are the latest to protest Tokyo’s handling of the disaster after they failed to receive any information on the dispersal of radiation, despite the accurate predictions from a government-commissioned computer scenario of radioactive release paths conducted far in advance of the meltdown. According to the town’s mayor, Tamotsu Baba, the failure to provide the scenario data to local residents lay with the unwillingness amongst senior officials to significantly enlarge the zone of the expensive and disruptive mass evacuations or to subject the Japan’s beleaguered nuclear industry to even harsher public scrutiny.

However, it is precisely the latter that the people seem to want. With the passing on August 3 of a law to allow the use of public funds to keep the operator of the Fukushima Daichi plant afloat, it is difficult to imagine that the Japanese populace will accept anything else. 

--Tobias Voss

Earthquake Survivors And Lawson: More Than A Marriage Of Convenience

Lawson's vans mobilize to reach those in need. Via.

When Takeshi Niinami, CEO of Lawson convenience stores, first agreed to talk at Japan Society he expected to speak about Lawson’s expansion overseas. The company is opening stores in China, India, Indonesia and perhaps Vietnam. That changed on 3/11.

Those earth-shattering events brought new meaning to the important role convenience stores play in Japan's economy. To the surprise of many, when relief first came to some of the devastated areas, it was with a Lawson’s delivery truck, not a self-defense forces vehicle.

Stepping in after the tsunami where the government failed, Lawson's found itself in a highly unusual role of feeding and supplying hundreds of thousands of affected Japanese. “The public sector was of no help at all in the first ten days,” the CEO of Japan’s second largest convenience store chain told an audience at Japan Society recently. “We supplied aid more smoothly and systematically.”

Lawson’s nimble reaction is a telling indicator of Japan's rapidly evolving private sector economy.

Lawson took immediate action despite facing major disruption to its own business. While 20 Lawson Stores, many factories and distribution centers in north eastern Japan were destroyed or damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, the company’s supply chain in other parts of Japan remained in tact. Lawson's decentralized structure made it nimble enough to allow the company to move supplies quickly to the affected area.

Niinami's intense focus on the disaster required him to make unorthodox decisions with a speed unusual in Japan. “I took the executive decision to send supplies from Tokyo to Tohoku; this action brought a shortage of inventory to Tokyo causing complaints from customers there. I still believe that decision was correct though we lost some sales in the Tokyo area.”

And while Niinami was making key and quick decisions in Tokyo, he wasn’t trying to run the show from the capital. From the first day, he delegated authority to the regional head office in Tohoku where the general manager had more first hand knowledge of what was needed.

The devolution of authority led to some surprise requests including 20 motorbikes. “The Tohoku general manager needed the motorbikes because the roads were destroyed and there were no express ways,” said Niinami. Motorbikes were the most efficient way to get around and helped the company gather information on the ground. “I think the information we got was more correct than the information the public sector was collecting.”

Lawson was able to do this because the company has a well-established management culture where local managers exercise a great deal of autonomy. After the earthquake this proved invaluable. “In irregular times they had to make decisions,” Niinami said. “ They did a good job.”

In the first days of the crisis, a priority was to restore fuel supplies to the affected area. According to Niinami, most fuel supplies were being controlled by the government, which commandeered some commercial fuel tankers. Resupply was slow.

Niinami urged Lawson franchisees to not wait, but to drive their own fuel tanks to the area with or without government approval. Business partners also lent vehicles and shared their limited stocks of fuel. “Do not talk to the government,” Niinami said they told him. “So we sneaked in to some hidden places anyway.”

When Niinami heard that some truck drivers supplying Lawson stores were reluctant to go to areas with high levels of radiation, he took matters into his own hands and contacted some of them directly. “I will go with you, I told them,” he said. “Then one of the drivers said, “Okay I will go, I understood your guts, we don’t need you to come.”

Lawson’s rapid response to the disaster is proving to be much more than a marriage of convenience. Survivors were grateful that Lawson was quick to arrive on the scene, as other aid was slow to materialize.

The halo effect of its response is having surprising results in Japan and, Niinami hopes, soon overseas. The company has seen changes in consumer behavior following 3/11, some of which may influence the kind of stores it runs in the future.

After the quake, more people are shopping at local stores because they have no gas to drive to larger supermarkets. Housewives and senior citizens, who are not typical convenience store customers, are now seen much more often. As a result, Lawson is offering more fresh produce in small portions to meet their needs. Niinami hopes these groups will now become regular customers.

Overseas, Niinami feels that other countries will not only benefit from stores themselves but also from learning from Lawson’s record as a good corporate citizen as demonstrated by its response to 3/11.

Niimani's bold actions come as no surprise to those who know him. The Keio University and Harvard Business School graduate has earned a reputation for being a straight talking man of action, firing people when he arrived as CEO at Lawson and changing vendors.

Niinami has been President and chief executive officer of Lawson since 2002, after a career that started at Mitsubishi Corporation’s sweetener products division. Under his leadership, Lawson has increased operating profits for eight straight years. He is also vice chairman of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives).

Reflecting on his recent experience, he understood the importance of not taking for granted what seems so normal and routine - operating a 'conveeni'. “We transported essential things, prepared foods, baked goods, water and blankets from as far way as Western Japan. I am proud we could provide some comfort and relief to the survivors.”

--Juliet Hindell 

Hindell was BBC Tokyo bureau chief and Daily Telegraph Tokyo correspondent and is now based in New York. Read her article about the Japan Society panel Why Japan May Surprise the World: Rebirth after the Tohoku Quake.

What The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Means for Japan, U.S. And The World

The triple disasters that hit north-eastern Japan on March 11—a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, followed by devastating tsunami and nuclear crisis following the failure of cooling systems at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant—have given unprecedented spotlight and momentum to debates surrounding the safety and the very use of nuclear power in Japan, the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Nuclear energy accounts for close to 14% of electricity generation globally. While nuclear power has very high start-up costs, once up and running, it can provide relatively cheap power without producing carbon emissions (The Economic Intelligence Unit). According to Economic Intelligence Unit, Japan had 54 operable nuclear reactors before the March 11th disaster and nuclear power generated approximately 27% of electricity in Japan in 2010. In France, which has the second highest number of nuclear reactors (58) after United States (104), electricity generation through nuclear power accounts for a much higher 77%. In the U.S., the 104 operating nuclear reactors account for 20.2% of electricity production. (An overview of number of nuclear power plants in operation throughout the world and electricity generated is available via an interactive map at Npr.org)

As Japan continues the battle to bring the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to a stable state within six to nine months, Prime Minister Naoto Kan on May 6th called for a temporary closure of Hamaoka nuclear plant, “an ageing facility on a tectonic fault line that would pose a tremendous risk for Tokyo if it suffered the same fate as the Fukushima Daiichi plant.” As additional details trickle in regarding the series of events that unfolded at the Fukushima nuclear plant, efforts are underway to assess Japan’s handling of the nuclear accident. According to The New York Times, the nuclear oversight body of the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with its 18 member international team, has started its investigation into the accident. Furthermore, the Japanese Government itself is undertaking an independent inquiry into its response to the disaster.

Announcements of evacuation in Japan more than 10 weeks into the disaster, this time around a greater radius surrounding the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant only add to the gravity of the crisis surrounding Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The BBC that the no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant had been extended and that the residents of towns of Kawamata and Iitate were being sent to evacuation centers.

The disaster at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and its far-reaching aftermath have significantly altered the landscape in which nuclear power plants operated. The Economist notes that in an opinion poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun, the percentage of those opposed to nuclear energy in Japan had risen to 41% from 28% in 2007, with women being the strongest opponents. As more details are made available regarding the contributing factors towards the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan and the rest of the world will learn lessons far too costly to ignore. As Japan’s own efforts towards reviewing energy use, Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced on May 10th “his intention to rewrite from scratch a blueprint, scarcely a year old, that planned roughly to double nuclear power’s contribution, accounting for half of Japan’s energy mix by 2030.”

In the U.S., the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent body created by Congress in 1974, implemented a 24-hour monitoring of the nuclear crisis in Japan until as recently as mid-May. NRC is the primary body responsible for regulating nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials. Following the disaster in Japan, the NRC launched a two-step reiew of U.S. reactor safety: a 90-day review to be completed in July and an in-depth evaluation of emergency operations and procedures to be completed by the end of the year. A summary of findings from inspections conducted at U.S. nuclear power plants and individual Inspection Reports have been made available at NRC website. An article published in The New York Times highlights some of the key findings included in the NRC inspection report and notes that “something under one-third of the 104 U.S. reactors were found to have some vulnerabilities to extreme emergencies, according to the NRC” but that “all issues have been fixed or put on schedule for correction, and that the safety of the reactors was not compromised.”

Today, Executive Director of Operations of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Bill Borchardt speaks at Japan Society on the various approaches being taken by NRC for a systematic review of nuclear power plant safety in the U.S. The discussion is moderated by Gal Luft, Executive Director of Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.

--Anu Tulachan

Optimism And Hope Glimmer Behind Gloomy Realities Of Post-Quake Japan

Detail from Nikmak's "Japan is Arising". Via.

Two months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, which unleashed a nuclear crisis in the Tohoku region of Japan, the enormity and complexity of the problems the country now faces are daunting. More than 14,000 people lost their lives and nearly 200,000 have been evacuated from the region and remain in emergency shelters. The Japanese government now estimates that the cost of the damage could reach $310 billion.

In a discussion on Japan’s prospects after the Tohoku earthquake entitled Why Japan May Surprise the World: Rebirth after the Tohoku Quake?, a panel of leading economists at Japan Society did not sugar coat the challenges the country must now overcome. “It will have a pretty darn big effect on GDP,” said Bruce Kasman, Chief Economist at JP Morgan. The panel however, said the economic outlook for Japan, like the people, shows signs of resilience.

The immediate impact of the disaster was serious said Bruce Kasman, with a 15% drop in production in March. Retail sales fell 8% and car sales were down 40% for March and April. Overall he estimated a drop of 4% of GDP on an annualized basis over the second and third quarters of this year. But he predicted that after all the “sound and fury” had died down, Japan would be back at 90% of production capacity by the end of the summer and back on a growth path by the end of the year in part because of fiscal stimulus programs launched in response to the quake.

Paul Sheard, Global Chief Economist with Nomura said the quake had been a huge blow to Japan’s national confidence. Many had been waiting for the next “big one” to strike Tokyo or Tokai not Tohoku. The result was that many now feel another earthquake could still hit elsewhere. However, he suggested the negative impact of the crisis could also have a positive outcome. While the supply chain disruption caused by the earthquake, could lead companies to shift production offshore, it also reminded the rest of the world just how crucial Japan’s technology sector is to the global economy. Reconstruction not just by the government but also by the private sector looking to protect its own infrastructure from future disasters, could create a major economic boost for Japan. He estimated that while GDP would shrink by 0.5% this year, next year Japan’s economy would grow by 3.1%.

The panel saw the crisis as an opportunity for Japan to address some hard questions. Mr Sheard said now was the time for Japan to grapple aggressively with its deflation perhaps by issuing bonds. He also recommended that Japan look at its immigration policy in the face of its ageing society. He said opposition to immigration might diminish and the government should draw up a new structured, strategic immigration plan. It is also a time when strong leadership and continuity would be essential, he said.

The impact of the earthquake will have ramifications in all sectors of the economy but Kyohei Morita, Barclays Capital Chief Japan Economist, felt that problems the economy is facing were there long before the earthquake struck. He predicted that while Japan now enjoys a healthy current account surplus, the ageing society and an outdated tax policy which relies too heavily on corporate tax, will mean that the surplus disappears by 2018. "A current-account deficit would change completely the way the Japanese economy looks," he said. Companies facing expensive power supply and a weaker yen could take their business overseas resulting in what he described as “hollowing out” of the economy. Mr. Morita said that the nuclear crisis would spark a debate in the near term about electricity production in Japan. He said use could be made of thermal and hydroelectric power but in his opinion it would be “impossible” to shift way from nuclear power completely.

Much has been made of the reduced capacity for electricity production with predictions of a shortfall of 20% by the summer months. But the panel felt this was being overplayed and that Japan would rise to the challenge and find ways to make sure that power could stay switched on.

The panel agreed that there was much to overcome and that strong policy initiatives would be essential to Japan’s success. Jeffrey Shafer, a former Citigroup executive, who chaired the event, said the panel had pointed out some gloomy realities but that there was “optimism and hope glimmers”.

-Juliet Hindell

Hindell was BBC Tokyo bureau chief and Daily Telegraph Tokyo correspondent and is now based in New York.