Japan Out to Share Sorrows with Quake-Hit People

March 28, 2011

Japan Out to Share Sorrows with Quake-Hit People

Japanese people make it a custom to go out and enjoy cherry blossoms toward the end of March, but the atmosphere is quite different this year. The arrival of spring was late and to be much worse, a devastating earthquake and ensuing killer tsunami waves hit the northeastern part of the Japanese archipelago on March 11, leaving more than 20,000 people dead and missing.

Japanese from various walks of life are out to share the sorrows and grievances of the people affected by the unprecedented natural disaster. The earthquake, measuring a staggering 9.0 on the magnitude scale, jolted widely scattered areas on the Pacific coasts from the Tohoku to the northern Kanto regions. The tsunami waves washed away and flattened not a small number of villages and towns.

Japanese tend to dislike openly showing their feelings, such as sadness and hardships, even in disastrous situations. This is different from, for example, Koreans and Chinese, though they are also Asians. Japanese also think patience is a virtue. People in the Tohoku region are said to be even more patient than in other areas. This is attributed in part to the cold climate in the area. But this time, the affected people, including more than 200,000 people evacuated to shelters, are urged not to be excessively patient about their hardships. “Maybe, it will take five years or 10 years to rehabilitate the affected areas. We have to strive right now to keep the lives of those who survived the disaster while closely following their needs,” a disaster volunteer leader says. “We talk to people at shelters ‘Is there any problem with you?’ or ‘What can I do for you’ but this is not effective. They do not easily open their minds to us.” “’Don’t you know somebody who is in trouble around here?’ This is effective. This can draw words for help from them, letting them say ‘We are in trouble,’” he says.

Commentator Eriko Zanma knows very well about the nature of people in the Tohoku region, because she grew up there. “Please not be so patient this time. Please depend on us this time. Many Japanese are standing up to help you,” she said in a message column in the vernacular daily Asahi.

Cornering is reported in some regions. Some shops are said to be capitalizing on the mishap to increase prices, while thefts have increased in part of the affected areas, prompting local officials to ask the neighboring communities to help maintain law and order. But calmness is generally maintained among people in the affected areas. TV and radio programs and many publications are filled with messages to encourage the affected people and express willingness to help them, not just from celebrities but also from ordinary people.

To be more encouraging, more than 130 countries around the world have offered to help the affected Japanese people. This has come as a surprise to many Japanese, because they have understood Japan is known as a major economic power to foreign countries but they have little interest in Japanese people’s life.

Rehabilitation projects in the affected areas should be carried out over many years. This is expected to be a major task for the young generation in this small but persevering nation.