Japan earthquake

Far from Japan, a year later (Video)

This Sunday will mark a year since what’s become known as the Great East Japan Earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. The magnitude 9.0 quake, and a massive subsequent tsunami, left more than 15,000 dead and thousands more injured. More than 3,000 people remain missing and many survivors are still homeless. The quake, one of the biggest in recorded history, also prompted the failure of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. It was far the worst crisis experienced since World War II by Japan, which is still recovering from the devastation.

I’m reposting this video from the days after the quake struck, filmed by KPCC’s Grant Slater and Faun Kime. It captures the desperation felt by those with loved ones in Japan as experienced by Tony Tsukui, the employee of a Japanese company in Southern California who despaired in Los Angeles while his wife and children remained in Tokyo, far from the quake but affected nonetheless. It also features footage from a memorial service for victims held in L.A.’s Little Tokyo in the days following the disaster, in which the participants’ shock and grief is palpable.

Los Angeles’ Japanese American immigrant and business communities mobilized after the quake, raising funds for relief efforts and working to get immigrants in touch with loved ones in Japan. This Sunday, a bell will be rung at the time the quake struck during a memorial service at the Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist temple in Little Tokyo downtown.

It’s one of many memorial events taking place this weekend, among them a Los Angeles exhibit of photographs that were salvaged from tsunami debris. The Nichi Bei website has a list of memorial events taking place in several cities, including L.A.

FILED UNDER: Japan earthquake, Nichi Bei

April 15, 2011 | 3:49 PM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

KPCC joins Japan quake relief effort this weekend

Photo by Dominic Alvez/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A donation bucked in Brighton, England, March 25, 2011

More than a month after a magnitude 9 earthquake and the resulting tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, international relief efforts continue to build, and for good reason. At least 150,000 remain homeless, many of the estimated 28,000 people who perished are still unaccounted for, millions are without water or power, and an ailing nuclear plant continues to be a threat.

Over the past month, Japanese American groups, businesses large and small, commercial media outlets and a broad smattering of celebrities have joined efforts to raise money for quake recovery. This weekend, 89.3 KPCC is joining the cause.

The station has partnered with the California Community Foundation and the U.S.-Japan Council for a weekend-long fund raising drive. Donations will go to the Red Cross, the International Medical Corps, Save the Children and to Japanese NGOs. More details are posted on the station’s website.

It’s a first for KPCC, as non-commercial broadcasters are typically not allowed to raise money for other non-profits without special permission from the FCC. This is one of those rare instances. Other public radio and television stations have been able to do the same in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.

KPCC has also re-posted a haunting piece from staff videographer Grant Slater, “Far from Home:”

Far From Home from 89.3 KPCC on Vimeo.

FILED UNDER: American Red Cross, Japan earthquake

March 25, 2011 | 9:58 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Superheroes needed: Power Rangers join Japan quake relief drive

Photo by Álvaro Felipe/Flickr (creative Commons)

In the two weeks since northeastern Japan was devastated by a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami, among the growing list of donors to relief efforts have been the Japanese companies that have operations in Southern California, even some in Baja California.

The latest on this list is Bandai, the toy company and purveyor of Japanese superhero action figures, most famously the Power Rangers.

Donors who stop by Bandai America’s headquarters in Cypress between noon and 7 p.m. today for a drive-through fundraiser will get to meet characters from the Samurai Power Rangers, Ben 10 and Swampfire, Lassie the dog and Tamagotchi. Goodie bags are promised, too.

The Bandai drive takes place at 5551 Katella Avenue in Cypress and will benefit American Red Cross relief efforts. Cash and check donations (not food or clothes) are being accepted. Bandai and several related businesses, among them the entertainment company Saban, are part of the effort. Bandai America plans to make a matching contribution for personal donations.

Japanese American and other community groups, businesses large and small and a growing list of celebrities have helped raise funds for earthquake relief in Japan so far. But if there was ever a situation where superheroes were sorely needed, it’s this one.

In the two weeks since the quake struck, Japan has been plagued by spreading radiation from crippled nuclear reactors that is contaminating food and water supplies. The death toll continues to spiral upward, and fuel shortages are hampering efforts to provide help to those left homeless.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Economy, Bandai, Japan earthquake, Power Rangers

March 21, 2011 | 9:30 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Video: Far from Japan, seeking comfort after the quake

Far From Home from 89.3 KPCC on Vimeo.

KPCC’s Faun Kime and Grant Slater produced this touching video after catching up with Tony Tsukui, who works for a Japanese company in Southern California while his wife and children remain in Tokyo. The video features footage from a memorial service for the March 11 earthquake and tsunami victims, held in L.A.’s Little Tokyo last week.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Japan earthquake, KPCC, Little Tokyo

March 17, 2011 | 1:56 PM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Multilingual Nikkei site posts quake related updates, much more

Photo by Sheep"R"Us/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A Japanese Buddhist temple in São Paolo, Brazil, December 2008

The term nikkei doesn’t just refer to the Tokyo stock market index, but to Japanese immigrants and their descendants, the Japanese diaspora that has fanned out around the world as the result of migration. And there is a website in English, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese – yes, Spanish and Portuguese – that has been keeping that diaspora abreast of post-earthquake developments in Japan, along with nikkei stories from around the world.

Discover Nikkei is a project of Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, intended to connect people of Japanese descent around the globe. In addition to its features, among them a piece on Japanese Cubans and photos of a Brazilian community in Japan, the site has been posting a regular stream of Twitter updates and retweets (in English) on its front page with news related to the quake aftermath and the response abroad, including relief efforts by Japanese American groups spanning the United States from California to Minnesota.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Japan earthquake, Japanese American National Museum, Nikkei

March 16, 2011 | 9:13 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Japanese American groups, businesses step up quake relief efforts

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

A sign at the entrance to the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance, March 15, 2011

As northeastern Japan struggles to recover from last Friday’s magnitude 9 earthquake and the deadly tsunami flooding that followed, Japanese American groups and businesses in Southern California have continued expanding efforts to raise money for earthquake relief, with donation boxes at businesses and additional relief funds set up.

UPDATED: On Thursday, the Japanese daily newspaper Rafu Shimpo and the Asian-language television station LA 18 are co-sponsoring a drive-through fundraiser downtown with the American Red Cross and Los Angeles City Council members Jan Perry and Bernard Parks. Between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., people who wish to donate funds can drive north on Main Street and hand donations to volunteers; sidewalk lanes between First and Temple Streets will be closed off for drivers participating. Those wishing to volunteer may call Perry’s office at (213) 473-2308.

The Gardena-based Japan Business Association of Southern California, (310) 515-9522, has announced that it has set up a relief fund for quake victims and will work to distribute the funds with the Japanese consulate in Los Angeles.
The Japan America Society of Southern California, (213) 627-6217, has been urging members to donate online or by text to the American Red Cross, in addition to setting up its own relief fund. The Los Angeles group helped promote drive-through fundraisers sponsored by the Red Cross and local television stations at Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium and the Rose Bowl earlier this week.
On Thursday, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, (213) 628-2725, will hold a 6:30 p.m. “hope and memorial service” for Friday’s earthquake and tsunami victims in its Little Tokyo plaza at 244 South San Pedro Street. Representatives from relief funds will be there for those who wish to donate.

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FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Economy, Health/Education, American Red Cross, Japan America Society of Southern California, Japan earthquake, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Mitsuwa Marketplace

March 14, 2011 | 10:47 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Five disaster zones to remember, along with Japan

Photo by U.S. Marine Corps/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Since Friday, international aid organizations have been focused on the unfolding disaster in Japan, where supplies are running short and the death toll continues to mount after last week’s devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the deadly tsunami flooding that followed.

But there are other, deadlier crises these groups contend with that go largely ignored, Tom Paulson of Multi-American’s sister blog Humanosphere in Seattle reported last week. Paulson spoke with representatives from the relief organizations World Vision and Mercy Corps who told him that while sudden disasters elicit an outpouring of public support and donations, it’s more difficult to get the public to pay attention to chronic catastrophes that play out on a daily basis.

Some, like the aftermath of last year’s disastrous quake in Haiti, continue to get some attention and receive support. Others have gone on so long they have become background noise.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Humanosphere, Japan earthquake, Mercy Corps, World Vision

March 14, 2011 | 9:27 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Japanese American, other organizations in Southern California pull together for quake relief

Photo by emrank/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A television screen in Nagoya, Japan displays a news report, March 11, 2011

Two large fundraising events for victims of last week’s devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake in northeastern Japan last week are taking place all day today at Angel Stadium in Anaheim and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where “drive-through” donations for the American Red Cross’s relief effort are being accepted.

The Japan America Society of Southern California has information on both events posted on its website; the organization’s president, Doug Erber, said the Los Angeles Dodgers organization approached the group Friday with the idea of helping out and it went from there. Both events today are being hosted by the Red Cross and by ABC Chanel 7, which is promoting today’s fundraisers.

A similar event is happening tomorrow at Dodger Stadium, this one hosted by NBC Channel 4.

Japanese Americans have been raising funds in a number of different ways, setting up everything from relief funds to donation boxes in hotel lobbies, like at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City, a property that’s owned by a Japanese company. Some people have taken up individual collections, like a woman who raised more than $3,200 solo over the weekend, said Erber, whose group has urged its members to donate online to relief efforts. An arts collective has put together its own fundraiser for the victims.

Meanwhile, those with relatives in the quake-ravaged region around the port city of Sendai continue to seek news of relatives, including “my wife’s best friend,” Erber said. “She still can’t find her family in Sendai. We’re just hoping that no news is good news.”

He said that several local Japanese American groups would be discussing ways to pool resources for quake relief later this week.

KPCC linked today to a list of “appropriate disaster relief” organizations taking donations to assist quake victims.