ICU 130th Asian Forum

Tsunami and Recovery: A Report on 10 Days of Volunteer Work in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture

Nishida Masayuki
(PhD Course, Resource Management in Asian-Pacific Program, The Australian National University / Research Associate, Institute of Asian Cultural Studies, ICU)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
14:00-15:00
Conference Room 201/202
Dialogue House 2F
International Christian University
Mitaka, Tokyo

The Great Eastern Japan Earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 resulted in a mammoth tsunami that robbed the lives of countless victims, making it the one of most destructive natural disasters in Japanese history. The explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have added to the disruption of people's lives. Many help and recovery plans have been announced and naturally many people are eager to engage in volunteer work. However, while many may wish to go to the affected areas to help, such actions may be dangerous if not taken with extreme care and caution.

Mr. Nishida is an ICU graduate who spent ten days between April 2 and 12 working as a relief volunteer in Kamaishi, one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami. Mr. Nishida majored in environmental anthropology, and did field work in a village in northern Thailand. When the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami hit the area, he engaged in volunteer work to help people recover from the terrible disaster. Due to this experience, in 2007 he became a key person in a joint project between Mitaka City and ICU to help people on Nias Island in Northern Sumatra, one of the areas that suffered great damage.

The presentation will be in Japanese.

Contact: Institute of Asian Cultural Studies
0422-33-3179 For more details:
http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/iacs/