Concerns growing about fading disaster memories

March 7, 2018

Sendai, Miyagi Pref.- In coastal areas in the three northeastern Japan prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, hit hard by a monster tsunami seven years ago, concerns are increasing about fading memories of the disaster as the number of tourists and other visitors is on the decline.

In particular, the number of visitors using guides who tell stories about their disaster experiences and lessons from the catastrophe has substantially fallen from its peak.

Worrying about the sustainability of their activities, groups and individuals engaged in work to communicate disaster memories are stepping up calls for support from companies and administrative authorities.

"With the remnants of disaster-damaged facilities that visitors can see decreasing, this year may be a turning point for 'kataribe' storytellers," said Akira Kugiko, 59, a kataribe in Rikuzentakata. The Iwate coastal city is known for the "miracle lone pine tree," which has become a symbol of postdisaster reconstruction after surviving the tsunami from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011.

Through Kugikoya, an organization he set up in the city in spring 2013, Kugiko has continued to tell visitors, showing photos, about the aftermath of the disaster and his own life as an evacuee at a shelter.

In Rikuzentakata, entry to a former roadside rest station called Michi no Eki Takata Matsubara and an area including a memorial facility has been banned since mid-January this year because of reconstruction-related work. Both sites still convey the impacts of the tsunami.

A signboard of a nearby gas station showing that the tsunami reached as high as about 15 meters is set to be removed in the near future.

Kugiko expressed his disappointment, saying that the facilities clearly show all people, including children, how scary tsunami are. "I have to consider how I should continue my role as a kataribe here," he said.

While progress has been made in reconstruction, the remains of facilities that convey the devastation soon after the disaster are disappearing. Another man serving as a kataribe said that people who travel to disaster areas may not become repeat visitors because they cannot see how the areas were like before being rebuilt.

The number of tourists to coastal areas in the three prefectures has recovered to levels equivalent to 60-70 pct of predisaster figures, but the growth has stalled. The number of visitors who used kataribe storytellers in Iwate and Miyagi has been decreasing since peaking two or three years after the disaster, according to people familiar with the situation.

In response to the tough circumstances, an organization called 3.11 Memorial Network was set up in November last year to liaise with groups and individuals working to pass on disaster memories.

As of late February, the organization had been joined by more than 200 individuals and over 40 groups, mainly from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.

The organization is headed by Noriyuki Suzuki, 53, who tells stories about the disaster as a kataribe at Okawa Elementary School in the Miyagi city of Ishinomaki. Eighty-four students and staff employees at the municipal school were killed by the tsunami.

"We experienced what would never happen in ordinary life--losing children in tsunami," Suzuki said. "We strongly hope that no one else will experience such a thing."

The organization is working to create contents for activities to pass on disaster experiences and develop human resources. Aiming to set up a 300-million-yen fund for its operations over the coming 10 years, 3.11 Memorial Network is asking individuals and companies for donations.

Masaharu Nakagawa, 41, an executive of the group, said, "It remains to be seen how much the central government will spend from fiscal 2021," after the end of the five-year period when postdisaster reconstruction is to be accelerated toward completion.

"Unless we start now, we may be unable to keep telling about the disaster over decades," he said.

Meanwhile, Kugiko called for administrative aid for activities of kataribe storytellers.

"As a disaster could occur anytime, anywhere, I hope to keep telling stories about my experience so that the lives of many people can be saved," he said.

Noting, however, that it is financially difficult to continue the mission, Kugiko said, "I hope a subsidy program will be set up to help storytellers relate their disaster experiences to children as part of disaster management education and on school trips." Jiji Press