INTERVIEWS

The sympathy with the aftermath of the earthquake almost doesn’t exist abroad. But there are still tons of problems to be solved in Tohoku.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Andrew Grimes Psychotherapist/Clinical Psychologist   One day, we received a mail from a gentleman. “I am very impressed by your website and the interviews there. If you would be interested in interviewing me, I would be grateful to you. We need to remind the rest of the country that there are still tens of thousands of people and children living in poor accommodation and with the fear of radiation”. He is Andrew Grimes, a UK-born psychologist/psychotherapist who has been working in Tokyo for about 30 years. He asked us to

Features

Never forget 3.11

Two years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. It occurred at 2:46pm on March 11, 2011 (JST) and 2,668 people are still missing (As of March 11, 2013). So the 3.11 Earthquake is not a thing of the past at all. So My Eyes Tokyo features the interviews with expats who had the earthquake and who have given aid to the devastated areas. Read them when you have time and pray for Tohoku’s recovery. ● Kathy Bauer (From US, interviewed on Apr 3, 2011) http://www.myeyestokyo.com/46 ● Sri Lankan Curry Kitchen Project (Interviewed on Apr 24, 2011) http://www.myeyestokyo.com/42 ●

INTERVIEWS

No one will ever be able to destroy the relationship between us and people in China.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   GYPSY QUEEN Musical group When we heard that they call themselves “Asian band”, we wondered why they didn’t say they are a Japanese band. But they said with a laugh. “Japan is part of Asia, isn’t it?” Absolutely! But it’s not the only reason for it. They’ve performed in 10 countries so far, such as China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia and Japan. Such an “Asiatrotting” band has tons of stories but we were limited in time so they picked the stories of their first tour in China.

INTERVIEWS

We hope to help other areas around the WORLD, not just in Japan.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Angela Ortiz (USA) Part2 Director of Administration of O.G.A. For AID Interview with Angela Ortiz, who’s been supporting people in the devastated area in the Northern part of Japan since 3.11 Earthquake occurred, still continues. In this part, we tell you about her team’s long-term projects for supporting residents in Tohoku. *Part1… click here! *Interview at Sea Side Center (Minami-sanriku, Miyagi Pref) 日本語 Photos by O.G.A. For AID   Supporting evacuees by farming In June 2012, we applied for NPO / Ippan shadan houjin (general incorporated association) status. We used to

INTERVIEWS

“Japan is home. we’ve been here for too long, to do anything other than stay.”

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com   Angela Ortiz (USA) Part1 Director of Administration of O.G.A. For AID My Eyes Tokyo flew to Tohoku finally in the summer 2012. We wanted to see an American woman who’s been supporting the 3.11 earthquake evacuees and residents in a quake-stricken area since the disaster occurred. And we wanted to say thank you to her. Isao Tokuhashi, My Eyes Tokyo organizer, sent a friend request to Angela Ortiz on Facebook in 2011 because he was going to ask her to tell us what was going on in Tohoku at that

INTERVIEWS

I don’t want to associate my activities with the anti-nuclear movement.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Kateryna (Ukraine) Bandura player/singer (She’s been in Japan since Dec.2006) We interviewed a foreign musician in Tokyo for the first time in ages – introducing Kateryna from Ukraine. A friend of ours took us to a piano concert. She knows that we’ve been interviewing foreigners so she provided us the chance to meet Kateryna. It consisted of two parts and she performed in the beginning of the second part. A woman in a colorful costume beautifully plucked an Ukrainian instrument called “Bandura“, which has dozens of strings, and began to

Features

AP Tokyo Bureau

– A report from a local paper journalist – A Japanese journalist who works at a local paper joined My Eyes Tokyo’s talk session with AP Tokyo correspondent. He contributed his coverage about “How AP Tokyo reported on the Great East Japan Earthquake?” to us. The following is a summary of his memo of our talk. *Edited by Daniel Penso 校正協力:ダニエル・ペンソ 日本語   The talk session which introduced how reporters of the Associated Press covered and conveyed the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accidents to the world was held in Tokyo on June 26, 2011. Yuri Kageyama, AP Tokyo correspondent, and

INTERVIEWS

I really wondered when and where Japanese people learned being friendly and caring about each other.

Interviewed by Isao Tokuhashi & Masayuki Abe Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Tanja Sobko (Sweden) Nutritionist/cooking instructor (She’d been in Japan from 2006 to early 2009) We introduce you to a wonderful lady. Tanja Sobko, a Swedish nutritionist who currently works in Hong Kong. She came to Japan in 2006 after she gained the chance of coming to Japan. It has been her true love since she was a little girl, and she interacted with folks here with boundless love. Japanese people also became big fans of her, too. So she came over to the people like

INTERVIEWS

We want to help needy people from the bottom of our hearts.

Interviewed by Isao Tokuhashi & Katsutoshi Ito Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Sri Lankan Curry Kitchen Project   Today we introduce you to a group of Sri Lankans, who set up soup kitchens for the earthquake victims. They contacted devastated areas and municipalities which received evacuees right after the earthquake, then headed to sites in the disaster area of Fukushima with tons of curry meals. They’ve visited three shelters in Fukushima and dished out 2000 meals. Also they distributed about 330 portions to people in Asahi City, which is located at the far end of Greater Tokyo area. What is

INTERVIEWS

The crisis situation made Japanese people more courageous and united to rebuild the country.

Tasnoova Tahia March 11, 2011 – Alone on the 45th Floor During the Big Earthquake   Tasnoova Tahia, a Bangladeshi woman who lives in the waterfront area of Tokyo, will be our guest on My Eyes Tokyo radio program on 84.0 ChuoFM on April 16 and April 23, 2011. She has written an essay about her experience. *Tahia on radio: 4/16/11 4/23/11   日本語   “I’m going to die” We got earthquake alert from the emergency center of our building 20-30 seconds before. I just got back home when the alert went on, on 11th march, around 14:45. As always, I