JICA Participants' Experience with the Earthquake and Tsunami in Tohoku

2011 JICA TOKYO’s Continuous Efforts in Energy Saving 10-12 vol.16 During this summer, all major organizations, public and private, were required to cut electricity use by at least 15%, due to the electricity shortage caused by the nu- clear plant failure in Fukushima. One of JICA Tokyo’s attempts to meet this require- ment, was to grow “green curtains,” or creeper plants, namely cucumber, bitter melon, and morning glory on the windows of the lobby, lounge, connecting corridor between the dormitory building and the main hall. The purpose of the curtains was to utilize the cooling effect of the plants, as well as the shade they create to reduce the JICA Participants’ Experience with the Earthquake electricity use of air conditioning. and Tsunami in Tohoku Region Green Curtain of bitter melon at One of JICA Tokyo’s participants, Mr. Moucka Mu- JICA Tokyo lumba, was impressed to see how fast the cucumber Six months after the All of the participants were overwhelmed by the mag- grew and asked the JICA Tokyo staff what the secret of its growth was. The se- unprecedented natural nitude of the tsunami while on the road to Ishinomaki, cret is … the staff’s loving care of plants and the environment! disaster in eastern Ja- as a professor from Tohoku University told them that pan, the countermea- the highway they were traveling on, which is some five If you checked in at JICA Tokyo before the end of September, you must have Mr. Moucka Mulumba from Democratic sures taken in response kilometers away from the ocean, had served as a break- Republic of the Congo seen the green curtains as a good reminder of the necessity to save energy. to the calamity is at- water against the tsunami. The participants asked the Even if you don’t ever see them, please keep in mind that we are still in a difficult situation, and that you must taining global atten- professor why the cooperate in saving energy by frequently switching off the lights, and using stairs instead of elevators. tion, as it provides A scene of tsunami devastation at a resi- earthquake could not be valuable lessons in de- dential district predicted even though Thank you for your cooperation! velopment and disaster prevention. Likewise, increas- there were some indica- ing numbers of JICA Training and Dialogue Programs tions, and why the To- have incorporated site visits to disaster-stricken areas hoku (northeast) Re- M U S E U M S and lectures concerning the post-disaster activities and gion had suffered three recovery efforts. large tsunamis in the VENEZIA ―Ritratto di Venezia―Mille Anni di Storia last 115 years. The dis- Though now one of the cities of Italy, Venice (Venezia) formerly While some of the existing courses have already intro- Participants listening to the explanation cussions went on and enjoyed freedom and independence up until falling to Napoleon’s of the damages to the port invasion in 1797. Dubbed the “Queen of the Adriatic” for its beauty, it duced lectures con- on. has enchanted great numbers of people. A city that is itself a work of art, cerning the disaster, Venice has been a home to large numbers of artists, who have brought on-site observation of After their arrival in Ishinomaki, the participants vigor- forth countless artworks. In the 16th century the city was one of the the devastation and ously investigated the landslide sites and the broken major arenas of the Renaissance, attracting artists and leisured people サン・マルコのライオン（ヴィットーレ・カルパッチョ） 1516年ドゥカーレ宮殿© ヴェネツィア市立美術館群財団 from all over Europe. In 1897, Venice was inscribed as a World Heritage the attempts to over- wharf of Ishinomaki Harbor, asking questions and tak- site. Currently it is a tourist spot visited by twenty million people a year. Place: Edo-Tokyo Museum（江戸東京博物館） come it should be the ing photos. A Venezuelan participant said that he had Besides artworks including paintings of the Venetian school, this 1 Floor Exhibition Room main focus of the par- previously gained attention for his report on his visit to exhibition presents 140 varied exhibits which explicate the city’s ●3 mins walk from West Exit of Ryogoku Station on JR Sobu Line, ●1 min walk from A4 Exit of Ryogoku Station on Toei Oedo Subway Line ticipants of disaster- Sakurajima, an active volcano in southern Japan, but governance, republicanism and other aspects of its political system in Date: Sep. 23 (Fri)-Dec. 11 (Sun) Participants at Ishinomaki Port former times, evoke the lifestyle of its aristocracy, and throw other light Time: 9:30~17:30 Saturdays until 19:30 (Last entry until 30 minutes before closing) related training. For that his next report on Ishinomaki would surely aston- on things Venetian. Admission: ¥1,400 instance, the participants of the “Disaster Risk Man- ish his colleagues. Ukiyo-e War Picture Scroll agement Technology on Volcanic Eruption, Debris ～ Castles and Military Commanders Flow and Landslide” course (training period: July 13th It seemed that full-scale reconstruction of ports and Ukiyo-e is a form of woodblock prints which became established in the Edo Era (1603 to December 17th), had an opportunity to visit the city housing was yet to begin, but the participants witnessed to 1868). Famous ukiyo-e prints deal with actors, beautiful women, and scenery as their of Ishinomaki in the road construction and other subject matter. But there are also quite a few which depict the war-torn era, the period Miyagi Prefecture, preparations for the reconstruc- preceding Edo Era, which lasted from the 15th century into the 16th century. which suffered the tion efforts. After the visit, the This period of the Warring States was one when the authority of the central government 本朝名将鑑 heaviest toll among di- participants encouraged the weakened until there was no longer anyone who obeyed it, and the powerful daimyo 武田太膳太夫信玄 territorial lords vied with one another for mastery, each trying to unify Japan under his （歌川芳員） saster areas with 4,006 people of Japan, saying that own rule. The warlords who lived in this period, and the innumerable battles it Place: dead and missing at “Although a great deal of ener- witnessed, retain their popularity even today, being depicted in TV dramas, historical Ota Memorial Museum of Art （太田記念美術館） novels and other forms. Likewise the ukiyo-e artists of the Edo Era spurred their present. The study trip gy is needed for a full recovery, ●3 mins walk from Exit 5 of Meiji Jingumae imaginations to create portraits of these people of former times and compelling pictures (Harajuku) Station on Subway Chiyoda Line was taken on August Japan will be all right. ” of battles that they had never seen. These were works which enjoyed wide popularity. ●5 min walk from Omotesando Exit of Harajuku Station on JR Yamanote Line 20th to observe the This exhibition features famous castles and Warring States warlords as depicted in Date: Oct. 1(Sat)-Nov. 27(Sun), Closed between Oct. 27-31 sites of destruction Toru SHIMODA, Director of Economic Infrastructure ukiyo-e, enabling the visitors to understand how Ukiyo-e artists used their imagination to Time: 10:30~17:30 (Saturdays until 19:30) and reconstruction. Development and Environment Division, JICA TOKYO depict the historic figures and events. Admission: ¥1,000 Port of Ishinomaki with ground subsid- ence JICA Tokyo Quarterly Vol.16 8 Published by Yuji Otake, Director General, Tokyo International Center(JICA TOKYO) 2-49-5, Nishihara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 〒151-0066, 1 TEL 03-3485-7051 JICA TOKYO Quarterly Homepage: http://www.jica.go.jp/english/contact/domestic/ JICA Tokyo Quarterly Vol.16 Toward Realizing Universal Service: Training in A Gift from Ex-participants and their pupils “Telecommunications Policy and Regulations” to the people of Japan “My family told me Information Highway Network, that enables infor- After the Great East Japan pils of the Institute draw ornamental pictures, wrote not to go to Japan, but mation sharing between the Prefectural Government Earthquake and the tsuna- encouraging messages and managed to send them to I’ve always had a long- and various cities in the prefecture. Though it is basi- mi hit the northern Honshu Japan. ing for it, and I wanted cally utilized by local governments, the surplus por- Island of Japan, the entire to come to Japan more tion of the network capacity is loaned out free of world was worried about The ex-participants of Raja- than ever at this mo- charge to private enterprises, but limited to particular the Japanese people. The nukul Institute sent JICA To- ment when the country cases as the use should “be of help in reducing the lo- participants of JICA’s kyo the pictures that were is working toward re- Participants observing TV program pro- cal digital divide.” Some participants gave big nods Training and Dialogue subsequently transferred to covery from the natu- duction of approval when told that the Asago CATV was con- Programs who had re- the JLDD, along with the do- ral disaster.” These are the words of Mr. Nacif from nected to this network. turned to their home coun- nation of 54 thousand yens. Brazil, who participated in the “Telecommunications tries were among the most Selection of the organization Policy and Regulations” course. In addition to the efforts to eliminate the digital di- concerned about the situa- to donate the pictures was left vide, the Hyogo Information Highway reflects the les- Rajanukul Institute in Bangkok tion in Japan. The ex-par- to JLDD staff, who chose Mi- Coping with the “digital divide” issue, JICA Tokyo sons of the Great Hanshin Earthquake by functioning ticipants of the “Intellectu- nori-en, a facility that houses al Disability in Community Activity” course, for exam- about ninety persons with in- implements this Training and Dialogue Program as a mechanism that can ple, quickly responded to the post-crisis situation tellectual disabilities and pro- aimed at the realization of “universal service” that provide stable services in through internet communication, mainly via their mail- vides life support services as will bring information to all people equally.

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