To convey “disaster prevention” along with the importance of life through community development starting from “mutual assistance.”

That is my mission. A community where local residents can help each other leads to actions that protect lives in times of emergency. The evacuation of Ukedo Elementary School was also made possible because of the everyday communication that serves as the foundation for mutual assistance.

As a disaster prevention community designer involved in building towns where people can help each other during disasters, I would like to share the importance of mutual assistance along with what I have felt through my interactions with the people of Namie Town.

My disaster experience. Seeing the sight of my boss fleeing alone.

Early morning, January 17, 1995–. I woke up to a sudden, large tremor while it was still dark at dawn.

As a second-grade elementary student at the time, I hid under my futon without fully understanding what was happening, following my mother’s voice. When the shaking stopped, the inside of the house was a mess, and my mother somehow managed to pry open the door to the entrance, which was blocked by scattered furniture and objects, allowing us to escape.

I remember feeling immensely relieved when a neighbor spoke to me during the evacuation. Also, an older girl from the same apartment building gave me three pairs of socks.

My family and I had rushed outside barefoot. That girl had gathered socks thinking they might be useful. Thanks to her, both my body and heart were warmed even in such a dire situation.

I didn’t realize it at the time because I was desperately evacuating, but I believe such incidents happened because mutual assistance among neighbors occurred naturally on a daily basis. We had built up communication in an apartment building where greetings were exchanged daily.

Then, 16 years later, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred.

I was on the 31st floor of an office building in Tokyo. At that time, I witnessed my boss fleeing alone, leaving his subordinates behind, and saw the reality that sudden disasters cause people to panic, and even those with a sense of responsibility may run away.

I realized the importance of training and having a shared awareness, and felt that every daily action leads to split-second decisions. Through these two experiences, I work in town planning where people can help each other during disasters while valuing the word “mutual assistance.

A story of survival through the power of mutual assistance,
not a “miracle.”

I believe the evacuation episode at Ukedo Elementary School clearly demonstrates the spirit of “mutual assistance.” Isn’t the fact that “everyone was able to evacuate safely” a result of everyday communication?

In the course of events, a student told the group, “This way is shorter!” pointing to a path over Mount Ohira. Because the teacher believed the student’s words and proceeded, they were able to cross the mountain without being swallowed by the tsunami. The act of someone in a superior position, like a teacher, following a student’s words during a life-threatening evacuation.

I believe that was possible because it was an environment where students could normally speak freely and have their thoughts and knowledge accepted. Perhaps the teacher was able to believe the student because they had observed them closely on a daily basis.

There is also an episode where a local resident let the students ride in the bed of a truck while they were crossing the pass. Being spoken to, being helped. It’s a matter of mutual support in times of need, and I think it led to helping each other precisely because there were regular interactions with local residents.

I believe the fact that “everyone was saved” was neither a miracle nor a coincidence, but an inevitable result. It was achieved because of the communication that serves as the foundation for mutual assistance.

To ensure memories are not forgotten,
even if the traces of the disaster disappear.

I met Takaaki Kanno of the General Incorporated Association Machizukuri Namie in Tokyo in 2015, learned about Namie Town, and moved there in 2021.

My first visit to Namie Town was in 2017, immediately after the evacuation order was lifted. The buildings remained just as they were at the time of the disaster, and I could feel no sound, smell, or presence at all.

I wondered where people would return from, as the activities of people had vanished from the town. With what thoughts did the people who lived here leave their hometown, and how are the scattered residents living now? Various emotions welled up when I looked at the current state of the disaster-stricken area.

However, precisely because Namie Town is starting from zero, people are positive about challenges and many new initiatives are being undertaken. An episode where I truly felt this was participating in a “Camp to Think About Disasters” hosted by Machizukuri Namie.

It was a project where townspeople gathered to experience and learn about disaster response through camping, precisely because Namie Town had experienced an unprecedented disaster. In the camp, we cooked with limited food and assembled tents from scratch. Even when talking about the future of Namie Town, the participants viewed reconstruction positively, and a positive energy resided within them.

Seeing them, as someone involved in disaster prevention work myself, I felt I wanted to do something for everyone and strengthen the community of mutual assistance.

Since moving here in 2021, I have continued conducting interview surveys with people in the town. I listen to stories from various people, including returnees, those commuting to Namie from their current residences, and townspeople living in evacuation areas. Precisely because I am someone from outside the town, I want to know more about the local area and the feelings of the residents.

In particular, the story of someone who originally lived in Namie and is now living in an evacuation destination was striking. It was a person who lived their daily life while hiding the fact that they were a resident of Namie Town due to feelings of discrimination regarding radiation.

Memories do not disappear just because physical objects or landscapes are gone; they remain in the heart.

It seems they still spend their time in the evacuation destination while remembering their life in Namie Town.

However, they said they keep difficult memories and painful feelings tucked away deep in their heart, behaving as if they have already moved forward.

I believe there are many people who have spent their days like this, carrying unspoken thoughts and unable to tell anyone.

There are those who still have an attachment to their hometown even after leaving, and I want to one day create a place where people’s thoughts and experiences can be shared. I think if such a space existed, it would create time for dialogue and opportunities to face the disaster.

I myself sometimes feel the dilemmas that residents face. But honest dialogue is very important. Precisely because I love this town, I make an effort to communicate properly instead of keeping things to myself, wondering if I “shouldn’t say it.”

Profile

Ms. Yuka Kasai
Director of Inochi to Bunka-sha Co., Ltd., Disaster Prevention x Community Development Community Designer.

On March 11, 2011, she resolved to take up a profession that conveys “disaster prevention.” After working in broadcasting at a disaster prevention FM station, she is working on town planning that involves self-help and mutual assistance. Currently living in Namie Town, she is active as a standing researcher at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum （Futaba Town, Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture）.