Japan - Good News - Stories of Courage in Japan

sharon sanders · Mar 18, 2011

machine translation -

One man collapsed in the housing rescue

3月19日 10時13分

March 19, 13:10 min.

According to the commissioner to enter into the direction of the Ground Self-Defense Kita Azuma, from broken homes in the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture Kesennuma devastated by the tsunami at around 9 am 19 is that one man was rescued.

Men, but that was taken to a hospital in Kesennuma, and when the situation has been rescued, including details about his condition is not yet known.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20110319/t10014777131000.html

makoto · Mar 19, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - A man rescued 1 week after earthquake!

Re: Japan - Good News - A man rescued 1 week after earthquake!

Man rescued in Kesennuma

A young man has been rescued from his home, which collapsed in the massive earthquake.

Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force found the man wrapped in a blanket on the 2nd floor of his house in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, on Saturday....

Saturday, March 19, 2011 12:26 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/19_13.html

makoto · Mar 20, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - A man rescued 1 week after earthquake!

Re: Japan - Good News - A man rescued 1 week after earthquake!

20 Mar.,
80 years old woman and 16 years old boy were rescued at Kadonowaki town, Ishinomaki city, Miyagi pref

Police found two survivors

Police in Miyagi Prefecture say rescuers found 2 people under rubble in Ishinomaki City on Sunday, 9 days after the initial earthquake on March 11th.
Sunday, March 20, 2011 16:55 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_24.html

Elderly woman and grandson rescued

.....A doctor at the Red Cross hospital said the woman and the boy told him that they had survived by eating yogurt and other food in the fridge.....

.....The doctor says the boy has a low body temperature of 28 degrees Celsius and no sensation in his left leg.
The grandmother is unharmed and can converse with other people....

Sunday, March 20, 2011 19:04 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_29.html

via nhk

Emily · Mar 20, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - A man rescued 1 week after earthquake!

Re: Japan - Good News - A man rescued 1 week after earthquake!

Wonderful news! Amazing survival story, especially for an 80 yr old woman. :applause:

makoto · Mar 21, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Rescued boy tells about 9 days trapped

....The boy is now being treated for hypothermia....

...He said he is fine now, but has yet to think much about what to do when he fully recovers.

Monday, March 21, 2011 15:24 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/21_20.html

Emily · Mar 21, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

He has survived something most of us cannot even imagine, but it is so good to see him alive an cared for. This is a one day at a time recovery.

Emily · Mar 22, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

There is another video here where the boy's father, (who is also the son of the boy's 80 yr-old-grandmother), speaks about his belief that they would be found.

http://www.latimes.com/videobeta/caa5f54e-5aec-46e9-a34e-8a500dac810c/News/Japan-teen-speaks-of-survival

makoto · Mar 23, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Finless Porpoise was rescued from rice field, Sendai city, Miyagi pref

Mr Sato found tsunami victim at rice field, 2km away from sea
he made contact with pet volunteers
and Finless Porpoise returned to the sea

rescued 03/22

via asahi com

#1 case Survivor
.......he lived apart from shelter

makoto · Mar 28, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Dog saves owner from tsunami

MIYAKO, Iwate--Babu does not normally like going for walks, but when the 12-year-old shih tzu insisted on going for one soon after the March 11 earthquake, her owner, Tami Akanuma, suspected something was amiss....

(Mar. 28, 2011) yomiurionline
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110327002250.htm

Emily · Mar 28, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

The stories in your last 2 posts are a joy to read, Makato.

Babu must have sense something very bad coming his way somehow. There was a story in the paper here about how a couple of dogs were very agitated the night prior to a landslide, but then strangely when the owner tried to evacuate, the biggest dog would not get up to leave. The 63-yr-old man had to lift a 130 lb dog up and into his car.

Babu was much smarter about how to respond, thankfully.

makoto · Mar 28, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Boat captain who saved man washed away by tsunami refused to give name

OFUNATO, Iwate -- A man here was saved by the captain of a small boat after he was washed away by a tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake earlier this month, but the skipper left without giving his name.
Kenichiro Konno, 37, was on the second floor of his house in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, when the powerful tsunami waves engulfed the coastal city on March 11. Konno had evacuated to a local public hall after the quake, but had returned home to change his clothes.....

......the skipper of a small boat named "Taga-maru" spotted Konno in the middle of Ofunato Bay and rescued him using a rope. The ship's captain would not give his name.....

Kenichiro Konno
(Mainichi Japan) March 28, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110328p2a00m0na011000c.html

sharon sanders · Mar 28, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

The captain is a hero.

makoto · Mar 28, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Hairdresser living in evacuation shelter reopens business in disaster-hit town

KAMAISHI, Iwate -- In a window along a shopping street here, a hand-written note proclaims "Now offering basic cuts! But no blow-drying." While almost none of the businesses along the street plan to reopen any time soon, one hairdresser has opened his doors again even while he continues to live at an evacuation shelter....

(Mainichi Japan) March 28, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/03/28/20110328p2a00m0na024000c.html

Freezer truck-turned-bath gets warm reception in tsunami-ravaged town

NODA, Iwate -- A bath made from a converted freezer truck is proving to be wildly popular in this village that was hit hard by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The bath has been open to residents since March 25, courtesy of Osaka trucking company president Kenji Imamoto, 64, who was himself a survivor of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.....

(Mainichi Japan) March 28, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110328p2a00m0na009000c.html

makoto · Mar 28, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Sole surviving pine tree gives hope

RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture--Once a famous scenic spot, all the pine trees of Takata Matsubara were flattened by the March 11 tsunami--except for one.
Among the shattered branches and other debris, the one resilient pine tree still standing is giving hope to residents of the city, which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami....

asahi comhttp://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103280153.html

Community spirit lifts morale of survivors

KESENNUMA, Miyagi Prefecture--Despite losing their homes and loved ones in the devastating tsunami on March 11, residents in the Osawa district of Kesennuma are holding onto their close bonds to improve their precarious situation....

asahi com http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103280151.html

Local wisdom a lifesaver for kids

MORIOKA--The wisdom known on the Sanriku coast--the Pacific side of the Tohoku region--as "tsunami tendenko" saved the lives of many children in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, when the massive earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11.
Of 2,900 primary and middle school students in Kamaishi--where more than 1,200 people died or are missing--only five children who left school early or were off sick on March 11 were confirmed dead. However, nearly all the other students were confirmed safe.
Since 2005, the Kamaishi city government has invited disaster management education experts to offer advice, and among the lessons' important points was "tendenko"--a word coined from the city's long history of repeatedly being hit by tsunami.....

(Mar. 29, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110328004481.htm

makoto · Mar 29, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Doctor who lost everything to tsunami works tirelessly at refugee shelter

ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi -- A doctor, whose clinics were wrecked and home flooded by the March 11 tsunami, is busy treating evacuees at a shelter here.

Jun Sato, 60, remembered his late father's words, "Doctors must not refuse to treat patients if they ask for it," when he saw evacuees at a shelter shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake struck.....

....."I'll do my best to look after those living in this city. This is the role that I must play as a community-based doctor," says Sato.

(Mainichi Japan) March 29, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110329p2a00m0na016000c.html

makoto · Mar 29, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Miracle in Iwate: Mother prepared for death, then saw the light

YAMADA, Iwate Prefecture--After the water rose above her head, Tomomi Odajima could feel her young daughters kicking their feet desperately.

"You're in pain. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Odajima begged for forgiveness in a voice that would not reach the two children.
As she desperately gulped what little air was left in her tract, she prepared to die. "If we're going to die, I don't want us to be separated. I won't let you go." ...

asahi com http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103290169.html

City assembly member's emergency passage saved children's lives

OFUNATO, Iwate Prefecture--When the Great East Japan Earthquake hit, 71 children at Okirai Elementary School here quickly escaped the oncoming tsunami by taking a shortcut made possible by a local politician's foresight.

A 10-meter-long passage, connecting the school's second floor directly to a road on a 5-meter-high cliff, was completed only last December thanks to the efforts of Takeshi Hirata, a member of the Ofunato city assembly....

asahi com http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103290172.html

Relatives search for smiles amid the rubble

As workers attempt to clear away tons of debris, survivors of the twin disasters of March 11 are combing the wreckage for photos and other mementos of their lost loved ones.

Some people have found mud-covered photo albums containing images of the smiles, homes and streets that were swept away by the tsunami....

...."I hope we can return these valuable memories of their loved ones to the families," said Emiko Hayaki, 54, a part-time employee of the town who came up with the idea of displaying them.

asahi com http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103290173.html

Survivors fete miraculous return to life / Stories emerge of heroism, luck, quick thinking amid tsunami's furious onslaught

Some people's miraculous return to life from the brink of death in the March 11 earthquake-tsunami disaster was a result of their desperate desire to emerge alive, combined with layers of lucky coincidence.

One person survived by holding onto wooden pillars as if surfing on the surging tide, while another managed to breathe in the narrow space between a building ceiling and rising floodwaters. All their narratives attest to the tsunami's real horror....

(Mar. 30, 2011)
yomiuri onlinehttp://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110329004945.htm

Survivors share single copy of latest 'One Piece' episode

SENDAI--Although most recent issues of popular magazines have yet to arrive in this earthquake-stricken city, at one store, a single precious copy of a manga magazine is being passed from hand to hand.
More than 100 children who survived the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake have shared one copy of the weekly Shonen Jump's March 19 issue. The issue, brought in by a customer, contains the latest episode of "One Piece," the popular pirate manga....

freely available in yahoo japan http://event.yahoo.co.jp/shonenjump/special/index.html
asahi com http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103290198.html

Charity concerts for quake victims held in Europe

Classical musicians in Austria and Germany have organized charity concerts to support survivors of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Vienna-based Japanese musicians and students drew an audience of 260 in a concert on Tuesday. After a silent prayer, they played a requiem for strings by Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu.
The concert raised nearly 7,500 dollars in aid....

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 12:21 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_15.html

Quick-thinking principle saves students from tsunami

YAMAMOTO, Miyagi -- An elementary school principal's quick thinking saved his students' lives here after March 11's colossal tsunami hit their school building.
Takeshi Inoue, 53, principal of the Nakahama Elementary School, led his students to the roof of the school building shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the region.....

(Mainichi Japan) March 30, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110330p2a00m0na020000c.html

makoto · Mar 30, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

US troops help teens clean tsunami-hit school

US troops have joined students and Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel in cleaning up high school buildings in Ishinomaki City, which was hit by the massive tsunami on March 11th.

The tsunami flooded the buildings and the gymnasium of Ishinomaki technical high school with more than one meter of water. The facilities were covered in muddy sludge and debris.....

jiji com
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 14:13 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_24.html

U.S. commanders say to continue support for disaster-hit areas

ABROAD USS ESSEX (Kyodo) -- The commanders of a U.S. Navy ship and an Air Force airlift wing both emphasized this week U.S. forces' efforts to support disaster-hit Japan, but an air wing official said that aircraft are detouring around a crisis-hit nuclear power plant.

"It is wonderful for us to be able to help you to suffer a little bit less, to be a little bit warmer, and to have a little bit more food and water, and comfort," Captain David Fluker said in an interview Monday aboard the amphibious assault vessel USS Essex, which is engaged in relief efforts for areas devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami....

(Mainichi Japan) March 30, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/03/30/20110330p2g00m0dm002000c.html

gifts from Essex crews

47 news

Emily · Mar 30, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

This is the kind of humanitarian assistance I love to see.

makoto · Mar 30, 2011

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Re: Japan - Good News - 2 More Survivors Found!

Filipina not giving up on Japan

When Anabelle Kuwashima, 36, felt the incredible shaking begin in her orchard in Fukushima on March 11, she thought, "This might be the end of the world." Indeed, after the earthquake, tsunami and accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Kuwashima felt like she had hit bottom.

Her Japanese husband suggested she go some place safer, such as back to her native Philippines. Following his advice, she evacuated with her three children to a Catholic church in Tokyo on March 17. Despite fears of radiation and strong urging by her relatives to return to her home country, she is already thinking about restarting life in Fukushima, her adopted home.....

(Mar. 31, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110330003454.htm

With parents missing, brothers split up after disaster

MINAMI-SANRIKU, Miyagi Prefecture--Ryusei Murata waved farewell to his brother Tensho on Sunday as he left for Tottori, western Japan, to search for their parents in their hometown by himself.

"Good luck! Be good!" Ryusei, 17, shouted to his brother as he boarded a bus. "Yeah, yeah!" Tensho, 15, said in a tone so typically surly that Ryusei felt slightly relieved.

Tensho took a seat surrounded by adults, clutching a few meager possessions: a school bag, a cardboard box and a bag with bread and other supplies.....

asahi com http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103300161.html

Illustrator of beloved Miffy character honors quake children

Dick Bruna, the creator of the Miffy rabbit children's book character that has many fans in Japan, has drawn a special illustration especially to comfort children who have been frightened by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant accidents.

In the image, Miffy the child-rabbit weeps two big teardrops. ....

asahi com http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201103300179.html