Mar 15, 2021
When China went into lockdown a year ago following the coronavirus outbreak, Japanese automakers operating key factories there or procuring parts from the country saw their production thrown into chaos.
The heavy reliance on China was not just about cars and auto parts. In Japan and many other countries, people faced shortages of masks and protective gowns, many of which come from China.
For companies, reducing supply chain dependence on China had been on their minds over the past few years as trade conflict between Washington and Beijing intensified. But the global health crisis served as a wake-up call, forcing them to review their strategies.
The word “Re-Start” is seen on a traffic sign that points the way to a reconstruction base in the town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, on Jan. 23. (Taro Kotegawa)
The English word “Re-Start” is seen on a traffic sign that points the way to a reconstruction base in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, which co-hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Local businesses and other entities are expected to set up operations at the base.
Ten years ago on March 11, the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns at the power station, obliging Futaba to be entirely evacuated. None of its 6,000 or so residents has yet been allowed to return to their hometowns.
ISLAMABAD: The reconstruction of Kamaishi city of Japan has almost been completed and life returning to normal 10 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, which devastated the entire city in 2011.
Its Mayor Takenori Noda has expressed the desire to visit countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Pakistan, which are prone to natural disasters, including earthquakes.
“We would like to visit these countries after the Covid-19 pandemic is over to share directly with the people the lessons we have learned as it is important to collaborate with each other to prepare for the crisis situation,” the mayor told a group of Islamabad-based journalists during an online interview to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.
Русский
“Natural disaster strikes when you have forgotten about it”. These are the words of Terada Torahiko, an early twentieth century Japanese physicist. Typhoons, floods, earthquakes, heavy snowfalls―it may seem recently that natural disasters are occurring too often in Japan to be able to forget about them, but some households could do more to get ready.
A decade after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Midori Anzen, which makes and sells health and safety protection equipment, ran a nationwide survey for 800 mothers aged 20 to 49, asking them what preparations they have made at home in case of disaster.
Only 12.9% said they had stocked enough emergency food to last more than three days for the whole family. In contrast, the total responses saying they either “had in the past, but not now” or ”have never prepared” meant 46.3% had no emergency food prepared. The percentage of those who had done no preparation at all rose by 6.4 points compared to last year’
GENEVA
Ten years after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), I have come to understand that the success of the country s risk approach has as much to do with community readiness and human connection as it does with visible feats of structural engineering.
Sitting in my small office in Haiti in March 2011, I read with concern the news coming from the northeast coast of Japan. A massive earthquake had struck offshore, triggering a tsunami of such force that it toppled seawalls and other defenses, washed away entire towns and villages, killed up to 20,000 people, and set off one of the worst nuclear meltdowns in history.