But also, I thought I would post here for your reading the background and executive summary sections of my trip report on the area. Thanks in advance for slogging through it! Things will probably shift a bit in May, will write again then.
Background. This report documents in-country travel to Japan’s Tohoku, or Northeast, region by Major Maxx Godsey, Northeast Asia FAO in training. This trip was made without accompanying military personnel, only civilian.
At time of this report, the Tohoku area of Japan is in the world spotlight due to the record-breaking 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of the city of Sendai on 11 March, the immediate subsequent cataclysmic tsunami, and the nuclear power plant catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant (the power plant disaster is ongoing). This trip was initiated by me alone- to date, I have not been tasked by USFJ or III MEF to report for duty with those commands in relation to this situation. This has been to my advantage from an In-Country Training viewpoint because I have been able to travel, observe, and analyze many aspects of the disaster free of military duties, enabling me to have a unique perspective free from the perception of being a member of the military. I made a total of two trips during this period, both of which were directly connected with the church I attend, called Jesus Community, Calvary Chapel Kokubunji. The first trip was with my pastor, Chizuo Sakurai; the second, with a group of four people from the non-profit charity organization Giving Children Hope, including its president Mr. John Ditty. These trips focused on the city of Sendai and cities up the coast north of Sendai- I did not visit Fukushima, the nuclear plant, or population centers within the declared radiation zone. The purposes of both trips were to give supplies directly to Japanese people living in the disaster area, and to connect with local churches, non-government organizations and government authorities to assess how to minister in the region over the next year. Throughout the trips, I served as a driver and ministry assistant, performing a myriad of duties. With the first trip, Pastor Sakurai was the lead link to the Japanese people, but on the second trip, I was the lead link given that I was the only one who spoke any level of Japanese.
This report will take the basic format of the trip report shell I have developed in the past, with some modifications in order to present a better scenario description for readers who may benefit from this information in future involvement in the area. The content of this report will be from the point of view of a Marine on In-Country Training. However, there will also be personal information provided to some degree, expressing personal opinions as a Christian, though with the goal of enhancing the overall analysis of an historic situation that is still unfolding. Also, it is very likely I will continue to travel to this region as a part of my church’s ministry or in some other capacity, which will let me continue my analysis of the situation, culture, and country.
Executive Summary. The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster, or whichever of the many names has been given to this event, quickly became the worst natural disaster in Japan’s history. The deceased person count now exceeds 10,000 and is expected to rise well beyond that, with more than 17,000 people still unaccounted for. Financial damage is still being assessed, and whether it exceeds the Kobe Earthquake of 1995 is still to be determined, given the relatively rural environment affected compared to the urban Kobe area. This event is in fact three disasters, each with unique and overlapping issues. The earthquake was of unprecedented magnitude but occurred far enough off-shore to cause relatively little damage compared to earthquakes in the past. Yet the earthquake caused the second event, a catastrophic tsunami that broke along the northeastern coastline for hundreds of kilometers and caused the vast majority of casualties and property damage. Also critically damaged by the tsunami was the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which was the third event, as the plant’s power generated failed causing meltdowns and radiation leakage which is still being dealt with. The specific facts of each of these events are beyond the scope of this report.
From my first-hand observation and analysis, this monumental disaster is being dealt with in a highly professional manner by the government and people of Japan, which is the cause of its successes and also its failures in the recovery process. I visited most of the major areas of destruction during this trip, which concluded three weeks after the events occurred, and the speed at which the roads and other avenues of movement have been cleared for access is astonishing. Japanese Ground Self-Defense forces have been deployed in large numbers throughout the region and are active everywhere in person searches and other immediate relief operations. Local governments have stood up evacuation and relief centers and are maintaining them extremely well. The local governments are doing everything they can to welcome relief workers and recovery organizations into the areas. The Japan Red Cross is making phenomenal progress in providing care with many volunteers in place, though more are always needed. The Japanese churches and other relief organizations are all engaged at the local levels to serve the spiritual and emotional needs of the people within their spheres of influence. And the Japanese people, especially the direct victims of the disasters, are enduring hardships and persevering, for the most part, with strength of character and sense of order that is remarkable. Standing firmly behind all these efforts are the American military commands involved, who are deeply engaged in all levels of operations while at the same time ensuring they are not the center of attention, instead empowering the Japanese forces to take their proper lead roles in engaging with the people.
However, this professionalism causes some hindrances to even better recovery efforts, in my opinion, because things have the danger of moving too slow, sacrificing speed for efficiency when the needs of the people are much more immediate. The clearing of the roads was excellent but how the issue of maintaining clear access once things get busier is as yet unknown, and a much more severe issue is the one of gasoline, propane, and kerosene oil distribution- from Sendai up north, gas is being rationed at such a rate to cause huge lines and hardships for the people even though the freeways are now open to traffic- this the single largest discrepancy which I hope is resolved soon, but the latest report is that gasoline distribution in Sendai, population of just over 1 million, will not return to normal for another four weeks: this is frankly just plain unacceptable. Local governments have the evacuation centers running well but I did not see any concerted efforts to use mobile relief vehicles to reach out to the citizens choosing to stay in their homes which were not completely destroyed by the tsunami. The Japanese Red Cross needs to work better with local governments to reestablish mobile clinics in the neighborhoods instead of just maintaining one huge hospital. The churches and charity organizations are for the most part not reaching beyond their immediate spheres of influence to get out to the farthest reaches of the devastated communities, apparently lacking any coalition leadership that could mobilize them more effectively. And the Japanese people affected, while it is completely understood that they are still shocked by the disaster, are showing no signs of reaching beyond their immediate circles of relationships in order to provide relief to people they do not personally know.
I do not wish to be injurious in these criticisms, nor do I wish to take them out of context. Each of the above conclusions are backed by first-hand observations described hereafter that of course do not necessarily speak for the whole, but which are offered in order to provide a more informed view when considering the entire situation.
