Operation Tomodachi was "a shining example of the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance," John Roos said in an interview ahead of the 10th anniversary of the disaster
FEATURE: Deconstructing reconstruction to increase understanding of Fukushima
Ten years after the earthquake-tsunami disaster and subsequent nuclear accident, roads and other public infrastructure in devastated areas of northeastern Japan have been restored, houses rebuilt and new commercial centers created. Reconstruction appears to be on track.
But some local residents and others who have witnessed the changes to Fukushima Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit areas, worry about the future and especially what will become of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and its surroundings.
Police officers man a checkpoint in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, about 20 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on April 11, 2011, a month after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami disaster. The Japanese government on the same day expanded its evacuation order to include some areas with high amounts of cumulative radioactive materials beyond the evacuation zone
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Washington, March 6 (Jiji Press) John Roos, U.S. ambassador to Japan at the time of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, has reflected on the U.S. military-led Operation Tomodachi disaster relief mission and its significance in bringing closer people in the two countries.
Operation Tomodachi was a massive humanitarian success and a shining example of the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance, Roos said in an interview with Jiji Press ahead of the 10th anniversary of the disaster that struck mainly the northeastern Japan Tohoku region on March 11, 2011.
Roos, 66, was in a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo when the temblor struck. He went out into the embassy s parking lot and amid aftershocks informed the Department of State and the White House of the event.
Memories and lessons for children born after 3/11 Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Ukedo elementary school in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, sustained heavy damage from the tsunami on March 11, 2011. | KYODO
Jiji Mar 7, 2021
Motomiya, Fukushima Pref. / Iwanuma, Miyagi Pref. – Born after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, children at or under elementary school third-grade age have no hands-on disaster memories.
Elementary schools in the Tohoku region are therefore working to pass down disaster memories and lessons to those children and develop a sense of involvement among them through visits to disaster-afflicted areas and exchanges with students at other schools.