Featured

march 11

On the 7th anniversary of 3.11, Japanese netizens reflect on the story of the tsunami motorcycle

The story of the Harley Davidson that traveled across the Pacific Ocean is warming hearts again.

Read More

NHK slips touching hidden message into TV listings on March 11

A subtle way to let certain people know they’re still on your mind.

Read More

Seven years after earthquake, Fukushima teen says March 11 is an “ordinary day” in the prefecture

High schooler hopes the prefecture will shed its disaster zone image, and that the rest of Japan will start to see Fukushima as normal again.

Read More

Don’t forget: Yahoo! Japan to make disaster relief donation for every person who searches for “3.11” today

Four years on, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis that befell Japan’s Tohoku region on March 11, 2011 have very little effect on the day-to-day lives of most people in the country. The rolling blackouts have stopped. Batteries and bottled water are once again readily available. Trains are running, and whole cities aren’t spending hours walking home from work or school.

But while a return to normalcy is a desirable, and ultimately necessary, part of recovery, it’s also important to remember what happened. To stem the forgetfulness that often accompanies the later stages of coping with tragedy, on March 11 Yahoo! Japan will be making a donation to the Tohoku recovery efforts for every person that searches for “3.11” through the company’s search engine.

Read More

Tokyo Tower displays special message ahead of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami anniversary

A special message is being displayed on Tokyo Tower in memory of those lost during the March 11, 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami, as well as to promote a sense of unity across the country.

Read More

Heartbreaking video game remembers the victims of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, raises money for survivors

Compared to older forms of media such as books and movies, the video game industry is still somewhat wet behind the ears. But as technology advances and developers become increasingly able to realise their creative visions without having to rein in their imaginations due to hardware limitations, we are finally reaching the point where games are able to not just entertain but challenge us both intellectually and viscerally, creating emotive experiences and acting as vehicles for genuinely engaging tales.

9.03m does precisely that. Developed by independent Scottish game studio Space Budgie, the game, whose proceeds go towards those affected by the disaster, stands as a memorial to the victims of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, questing players with gathering the possessions of those lost in the tsunami, which have been carried across the ocean from Japan to America, with each object telling the story of a lost soul.

At once heartrending and beautiful, this is a title that deserves the attention of not just every gamer but every person with access to a PC.

Read More

Previously unseen CCTV footage of March 2011 tsunami is intense 【Video】

Earlier this year, we brought you videos shot by those who fled the wall of water that the March 11, 2011 earthquake brought to Northeastern Japan. As shocking as they were, most – thankfully – were taken from relatively far away by the towns’ residents once they had reached comparative safety. The following footage taken in Iwate Prefecture, however, was recorded right where the tsunami hit by security and roadside cameras.

The footage shows the awesome, raw power of the tsunami, and gets much more up close and personal than anyone would every hope to. We should warn you that some readers may find the following images disturbing.

Read More

Previously unseen footage of March 11 tsunami appears online

More than two years after the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunami ravaged Northeast Japan, footage taken by those who were in some of the worst hit areas at the time is still appearing online. Currently receiving a lot of attention here in Japan is a video taken at a seaside location – which some believe to be either Kesennuma or Rikuzentakata, the home of the miracle pine memorial – showing the entire town disappear beneath the black water in a matter of minutes.

Although there are no scenes of abject peril, some readers may nevertheless find the following footage disturbing.

Read More

To mark the second anniversary of the March 11 disaster, student volunteers in Vancouver spent two days dealing with the lingering effects. They collected more than 40 large trash bags of tsunami debris that has been littering beaches on Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim National Park. Read More