Japan
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Photo: Chris Cabatbat/Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Restore jobs and services to coastal towns heavily damaged by the March 2011 tsunami.
The context
One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded triggered a tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people, spurred a nuclear crisis and caused an estimated £141 billion in damages — Japan’s worst disaster since World War II. Entire coastal communities were wiped out by the surging waters.
Our work
- Emergency response: Provided relief supplies to meet the basic needs of 42,000 people living in shelters and helped children heal from trauma after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami
- Economic opportunity: Delivering start-up grants, employment incentives and loan-interest subsidies to encourage new businesses and hiring in tsunami-affected towns
All stories about Japan
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Japan: Final impressions of Japan April 1, 2011
As I prepare to leave Japan, there are so many impressions of this disaster and the Japanese people that stick in my mind. I’d like to share a few.
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Japan: Q&A with Peace Winds' Natsu Nogami March 30, 2011
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Japan: “We have bread and rice” March 28, 2011
Northern Japan is struggling to get back to business. Riding through Kesennuma town in Miyagi Prefecture, we saw checkered activity: some stores destroyed, others being gutted and cleaned, still others with doors wide open and — in some very lucky cases — their lights on.
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Japan: Three-year-old Rin Suzuki, displaced tsunami survivor March 26, 2011
Rin Suzuki, age 3, has been living in the Kesennuma gymnasium with her parents for two weeks.
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Japan: Helping the Japan tsunami’s littlest survivors March 26, 2011
The youngest survivors of disasters are often the most resilient, but also the most fragile. While earthquakes and tsunamis rob children of the same things that most adults hold dear — homes, families, friends — kids lack adult coping mechanisms. The emotional toll can be devastating.
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Japan: Neighbors for 33 years March 25, 2011
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Japan: The tsunami's lasting emotional toll March 24, 2011
It's been almost two weeks since people along coastal northeastern Japan saw the signs of coming tsunami waves and saved their lives by racing to safety. The water hit their cities and towns, taking away loved ones, their homes, their jobs.
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Japan: Learning to cope with the tremors in Japan March 23, 2011
I’m not used to being in a place where the ground shakes. I spent my youth and early career years in New Jersey and New York City — not exactly quake country.
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Japan: Report from the disaster zone March 21, 2011
About half the city completely ruined. A line visible from where the water surged, stopped and then withdrew. On one side of the line, everything destroyed. On the other side, everything normal.
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Japan: 8 P.M. in Portland, noon in Tokyo March 17, 2011
Before I call it a night, a quick update from our partner Peace Winds in Japan. I didn't get a hold of Tomoko until about 12:30 P.M. her time, which was 8:30 P.M. for me.