CA-TF2 Returns

On March 19th, at the Los Angeles Fire Department in Pocoima, Search and Rescue Team CA-TF2 returned home from Japan after an exhausting search effort in wake of the resent earthquake and tsunami catastrophe. Several Nikkei families were part of the many that were on site to welcome their loved ones home from their 8-day operation. Among those families is Sumiko Uehara, the mother of one of the rescuers, Atsushi Uehara.

Finally, at just after 7pm and 3 hours behind schedule, buses pull up to the bays where the rescuers’ families await. It’s been 8 days since the rescuers have seen their families. CA-TF2 is a special rescue team that this time sent over 74 workers and 6 search and rescue dogs to Ofunado, Japan.

The damage caused by the tsunami was much greater than the rescuers expected. On top of the damage, the area had been completely overtaken by a cold. Rescuers found many victims who had survived the earthquake and tsunami only to be taken by the bitter cold.

During the rescue operation in Sendai, CA-TF2 team members always wore protective gear and equipment for monitoring radioactivity. There were also four doctors present on the team.

Fukushima Kenjinkai

The Fukushima Kenjinkai meeting was held on March 19th at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute. Much of Fukushima Prefecture is at risk from leaks in its nuclear reactor plant due to the Great Northeastern Pacific Ocean earthquake. At the meeting, a heated debate was exchanged by those who are from the area.

It has been decided that all of the relief funds that were raised for the area would be sent directly to the Fukushima prefectural government.

Shunji Iwai

From Los Angeles, one man has be very active on Twitter about the disaster in Japan. That man is film director, Shunji Iwai. Iwai is from Sendai, the area stricken most by the earthquake and the tsunami that followed.

He was able to quickly confirm that his family was safe, but he was most concerned by the safety of his old schoolmates. Until their condition could be confirmed, he unloads his feelings on Twitter. “I feel like I’m falling apart,” he writes.

Finally, after seven days, he receives word on Twitter about his schoolmates’ safety. So now his biggest concern is the issue of the Fukushima nuclear plant. Even before the recent happenings, Iwai has always had a deep interest in the issue of nuclear energy.

Looking at Japan from Los Angeles, he feels the situation is in crisis.