Ten Years after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami: Renewed Resolve to Create a Society that Coexists with Nature

May the many souls that were lost in the disaster rest in peace. We also express our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to all who were forced to leave their homes and are still living in difficult conditions after the disaster.

That year, I travelled along the coast from Sanriku to Chiba every single day to study the effects of the radioactive pollution from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the marine environment.

“What’s going on with our ocean? Nobody is telling us the truth.”
“Please expose all the results of the studies, before our lives and agony are covered up by lies.”

Motivated by such desperate calls of local fishermen who lost their ships, homes, and comrades, I collaborated with many people to conduct the studies while fumbling in the process.

I was stunned by the overwhelming power of the earthquake and tsunami that laid waste to cities, shocked by the high becquerel readings I got from the seaweed samples on the coasts, and dumbfounded by the collapse of local communities due to vested interests and cover-ups.

We never ever want to experience another nuclear accident that inflicts such a grim man-made disaster on both human society and mother nature. I believe that the only way to secure a safe and prosperous future for our children on earth is by using 100% renewable energy, instead of nuclear energy, and achieving carbon neutrality.

This is not limited to just energy. How to coexist sustainably with nature is now the foundation of the New Normal. My vision of returning finite nature that we are borrowing from our future generations back to them with interest and in abundance, putting the spotlight on localities that are implementing such initiatives, and turning Japan into a forward-looking country that will lead the way in establishing and implementing such systems, remains strong and grows stronger by the day.

Ten years after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami.
Holding the word “Creating a Society that Coexists with Nature” that I swore in my heart during the time when I continuously travelled along the coasts of Sanriku, we at Seafood Legacy will continue to protect the future of the fishery society in Japan and the World from the menace that threatens to break the connection between the ocean and humans, such as overfishing and IUU fishing, with the ultimate purpose of “Designing seafood sustainability in Japan, together.”

While we have limited capabilities, through these initiatives, we will do our very best to continue to work with those who live by the motto of Build Back Better with strong determination despite all the difficulties they face to hand down fertile oceans to future generations.