which is exactly the reaction they are designed to elicit. In the wake of the earthquake, power needs have been challenging. These posters help residents remember to limit their power use, but in such lovely and creative ways. (Via Pink Tentacle)
We are lucky enough to work with some fantastic companies, and I have to share what one of them is doing to assist in Japanese recovery efforts.
If you do send a crane to Miya Company, please send us a picture as well. And thank you for supporting us and the wonderful companies we work with.
I read about this in the NY Times on Sunday and as a runner, the idea is right up my alley.
“They had just moved back to Britain from Japan, and for several days, the British marathon star Mara Yamauchi and her Japanese husband watched coverage of the developing catastrophe and felt moved beyond words, yet powerless.
Then their friend, the British marathon coach Martin Yelling, called with the right idea. Yelling and some of his colleagues wanted to help relief efforts by mobilizing the global running community, asking people to dedicate one of their runs to Japan with a corresponding donation.
The Web site, runforjapan.com, was started Thursday, and by the end of the day in Britain, with word just starting to spread, runners from places as farflung as India, Australia, South Africa, the United States and Japan had registered their runs and support.”
Here’s the goal:
With a death toll in the thousands, an economic cost in the billions, and the threat of nuclear meltdown imminent, the people of Japan face their greatest disaster for decades.
Inspired by Japan’s great runners Run For Japan is about bringing together the global running community and showing solidarity and support through dedicating runs around the World to the people of Japan. (via)
Wow! Want to Run for Japan?
If you do it, please let us know too. I’d love to see who of our fans are set to Run for Japan!
Crayon art from Diem Chau. (via)
Artist Diem Chau is raffling the chance to win one of her customized Crayon Sculptures in the form of a family portrait. All raffle proceeds will go to Red Cross Japan. Wonderful gesture from an artist I’m so happy to learn about, and I so appreciate the way she channeled her grief into something productive.
As of Friday, she’s had 450 people buy raffle tickets, and more to come for sure.
48 hours, 206 people, 450 tickets, and $4800. Wow.
To participate, and you’d better hurry since the raffle ends March 23rd, visit her blog. She’s had an overwhelming response already, and has added a second portrait series to her offerings.
Let’s help her keep that momentum going as she works toward 1000 tickets and $10000. And Diem Chau – thank you for your generosity and hard work.
UPDATE: As of March 24th, Diem Chau sent $6590 to the Japan Red Cross Society! Wow! Amazing generosity from everyone involved!
It’s a question we have asked ourselves many times in the last week as we grieve for the people of Japan, the unfathomable sadness and loss that we can’t wrap our heads around. We follow the news obsessively, hoping that the nuclear reactor situation changes and that people are safe, warm, and getting the food and water and supplies they need.
We are hearing from friends and business associates in Japan and their message is consistent. Yes, do what we all can to help. Give money, send warm thoughts, and do not forget.
It is a time when the business of our business seems inconsequential at best.
At the same time, we are being asked to continue. Our friends and colleaques in Japan have grave concerns about the economic future of their country in the wake of this tragedy. Many have expressed that the recent events make them fearful about what comes next. And so, they ask us to continue our work. Continue to import the things we love, continue to support Japanese vendors, and continue to grow the U.S. presence of Japanese products. For them, it is part of the recovery process, even as the crisis continues.
With that wish in mind, we will begin, slowly and respectfully, to return to our business. This does not mean we will forget or ignore the events in Japan. We will follow events as they happen, continuing our coverage via Twitter and Facebook. And we will do our work with the Japanese people in our hearts, doing everything we can to support recovery efforts.
The emergency has not ended, it is clear. But in the interest of seeing a brighter future ahead, we will do what our friends in Japan ask of us. We hope you understand.
A friend just uploaded this photo of the empty shelves in a Tokyo food store.
According to The Mainichi Daily News, grocery stores across Tokyo are being emptied as citizens fear shortages.
“Hoarding was apparently sparked by the quake and tsunami damage done to factories, as well as difficulty in obtaining raw materials caused by chaos in the distribution network, and the prioritization of the devastated northeast in the provision of basic supplies.
However, the trend was spurred to the current extremes by the rotating blackouts imposed to conserve electricity after the quake knocked out a number of nuclear power stations. Consumer worries that the blackouts will halt operations at factories producing staple items appear likely to continue for some time, despite Consumer Affairs Agency calls for calm.
“I went through all the trouble of getting here, and there’s nothing to buy,” said one housewife at a supermarket in Musashino, Tokyo, her shoulders slumped. The store was scheduled to lose power under the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)’s rotating blackout system, but the area was granted a last-minute reprieve. When the doors opened at just after 10 a.m. on March 14, customers came flooding in. The supermarket had limited purchases of 2-liter bottles of water to six per person, but they were all gone in moments. All the rice and instant noodles were sold out before noon.
Supermarket chain Itoyokado has said that its stores in the Tokyo region are already running short of everyday items such as canned foods and instant noodles, as well as flashlights, while some stores are completely sold out. Aeon supermarkets, meanwhile, has put priority on sending vital supplies to the disaster zone, and is also experiencing shortages at its Tokyo-area stores. The supermarket chain is boosting shipments of non-perishable foods from the Tokai region south of Tokyo, and is “expending every effort” to keep stores in and around the capital “sufficiently supplied,” according to the company’s public relations office.
Meanwhile, Kenichi Ito of the Japan Consumers’ Association has added the organization’s voice to the calls for consumer calm, emphasizing in written comments to the Mainichi that “there are no definite reports of interruptions in the supply of any specific item,” and comparing the current rush on the shops to the toilet paper hoarding that accompanied the oil shock.
Ito also pointed out that neither the Tokyo region nor western Japan had been severely affected by the quake, and that production and transport facilities in these areas had not been lost.
“If consumers don’t remain calm and buy unnecessary amounts of supplies, it will only promote general panic,” Ito wrote. “Furthermore, there is a need for the central and local governments along with private firms to provide accurate and detailed information on supply constrictions and shipments of goods.”
Here is a live stream of video from NHK World, the Japanese state broadcaster’s English-language news channel, which is providing rolling coverage of the nuclear crisis and the aftermath of Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami:
Live streaming video by Ustream
At this time of crisis, I am struck by the simple, hopeful beauty of these images from Inoue Takehiko. In the days since the emergency in Japan began, Takehiko has added many images to his Smile series. It’s his way of praying for Japan, but I also see it as a sign of resiliency. (via bleeding cool)
We continue to hold the people of Japan in our hearts.
Just got word from the woman who was my incredible translator during my trip to Japan. I am so happy to know she is okay, and wishing her and her family continued safety. Here’s what she had to say about the current situation:
Both of my husband and I are fine. My husband’s parents living in Gunma, north of Tokyo, are fine. I have a brother living in Tokyo, and he is fine too. I couldn’t contact him for nearly 2 days because the cell phone networks were down, which worried me a lot.
Although the earthquakes shook Kansai area quite hard, little damage has been done here compared to northern and eastern Japan. Those areas are suffering unbelievable devastation.
I saw TV footage showing a car trying to escape from the approaching tsunami. finally was engulfed by the wave. I saw a TV reporter, shooting the area destroyed by the tsunami, saying, “There used to be my home, but there is nothing left.” I also saw a woman who was waiting for her husband at a shelter saying, “I’ve been waiting for my husband to get here for two days, but he hasn’t come…”
They say more than 10,000 people are still missing. It breaks my heart that so many people are apart from their family. As long as you are together with your family, you could move on, but when you are left alone or someone is missing from your family…, it’s so sad.
Please continue to keep the people of Japan in your hearts, and hug your loved ones. For more, we have dedicated our Japanistic Twitter Feed to providing the most up-to-date information we can find.
Like so many others today, we here at Japanistic are saddened by the news of the devastating Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.
We have been in contact with friends in Japan and so far, everyone is okay. It is clear, however, that many people will need help in the days to come.
Today, we ask that if you feel as helpless as we do, visit the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, already hard at work in Japan as they have been recently in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and so many other countries around the world.
There, you can read updates about Red Cross and Red Crescent work, and learn about ways to Donate to the Red Cross.
Out of respect for the people of Japan, this blog will remain silent but for updates on the situation in Japan until such time as we feel it is appropriate to return to our normal fare. At some point, we all need a bit of beauty, or laughter, but for right now, let us focus our attention on those in need.
Thank you from all of us at Japanistic. Be well.
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