A child in Tohoku. Courtesy of TBS.
Eleven years ago, on March 11, 2011, 14:46 (JST), a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the Tohoku region of Japan, followed by a massive tsunami. Later named the Great East Japan Earthquake or “3.11” for short, it was the largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history, and the fourth largest ever in the world. As of 2022, 18,423 people have been reported dead or missing by Japanese authorities, and the total damage is estimated at roughly US$325 billion. Images of the tsunami devastating Tohoku’s coastal cities and causing a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station travelled all corners of the globe, shocking the world.
To mark the 11th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake TBS Television in Japan has launched a 9-day media campaign, starting March 5th, 2022. The project ‘TSUNAGU – Share to Connect’ will feature special programs aired on terrestrial TV in Japan, with portions made available later to worldwide audiences via the project’s official website.
Highlights of the program
The special series of broadcasts will highlight two key themes: Fresh challenges being taken on by young people in the disaster-affected areas and the latest efforts on the frontlines of disaster mitigation efforts to protect lives from future earthquakes and tsunamis.
For the first theme, TBS’ cameras will follow the activities of young people, such as volunteer divers who’ve shifted their efforts from debris removal to protecting the environment; an engineer who, after experiencing the disaster himself, developed an advanced disaster support app; and young women who moved, bringing their dreams with them, to an area heavily affected by the disaster, Kesennuma. In Japan’s aging society, young people are taking the lead in coming up with ideas to revitalize towns based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. What image of the future do they see for themselves?
For the second theme, the program will focus on the use of advanced disaster support technologies to analyze and examine evacuation behaviour at the time of the 3.11 disaster from the perspective of the latest research.
A collective effort to preserve history #ShareStories311
In conjunction with the broadcasts, TBS has launched a worldwide online campaign using the hashtag #ShareStories311. They are inviting people all over the world to post photos of their memories of the disaster and the story behind them on social media. Selected posts will be showcased on the project’s official website, to create a collective digital gallery.
With memories fading over time, the objective of this collective effort will be to capture memories of the disaster and preserve them for the future.
Project producer Yosuke Yamaoka is calling for participation from all over the world. “The goal is to share memories and our lessons learnt, with people outside of Japan, especially around the vulnerable Pacific Rim, in hopes we can prepare together for disasters in the future.” Through his interviews in the disaster-affected areas, Yamaoka came to the realization that “while we can’t prevent disasters from happening, by sharing our memories and learning from them, we can help reduce damage in the future.”
For future generations
Earthquakes and tsunamis are a problem faced not only by Japan but all around the Pacific Rim and in other countries. This collective digital gallery has the potential to contribute to an international approach to addressing the issue. In our reflections on the disaster 11 years ago, the word ‘share’ (tsunagu), used in both the project title and hashtag, embodies two meanings: ‘sharing compassion’ and ‘sharing our memories with those who did not experience the events of 3.11.’
By connecting people across generations and borders through their stories, we hope to help save lives in the future. That is the ultimate goal of this project.
Producer Yamaoka remarks, “People who traveled to Japan after the earthquake, people who found items from Japan washed up on distant shores by the massive tsunami, people who want to share a message with people in Japan to mark the 11th anniversary of the disaster-these and others are the people we would like to invite posts from all over the world.”
Your stories could possibly save lives in the future.
