Tohoku Update

[ TOHOKU UPDATE ] THE UNSEEN IMPACT

We chat to the founder of APRICOT, an NPO that’s committed to counselling children who survived the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake. Words Nick Narigon

The kids are too skinny, thought Andrew Grimes. The Tokyobased clinical psychologist was entertaining a group of toddlers last October in Date, a city 60km from the crippled Fukushima The kids aren’t all right Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and the APRICOT hosts regular children’s body weight, bone and muscle development all seemed well events to raise money and awareness below normal.

‘It was an eyeare still dealing with opener,’ says Grimes, the psychological who has over 25 trauma. For a year years of professional One in three after the earthquake, counselling experience. ‘The children in aftershocks continued to rock children in Fukushima Tohoku are Japan nearly every and in other parts of Tohoku are not being suffering from day. By the second year, the suicide rate allowed to go out of the mental health had increased, and house at all. They stay with their mothers all issues reports of domestic abuse were emerging the time because of fear of radiation.’ from homes with no prior history of

Grimes believes there’s a growing violence. Four years later, a quarter mental health problem in Fukushima, of a million people are still living in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures – the temporary housing. main areas devastated by the 2011 Research has shown that one in Tohoku earthquake and tsunami – four people in Fukushima suffer from and that it’s on the verge of becoming depression, and one in three children a national crisis.

The disaster killed nearly 16,000 people, and those who survived

in the wider Tohoku region are already experiencing mental health issues. To address the situation, the government has set up regional mental healthcare centres headed by local universities, but Grimes dismisses these as mere ‘window dressing’.

‘Nothing was changing in a fundamental way,’ he says. ‘The infrastructure, roads, railways… For business purposes, the government did that. But regarding the need to protect and provide professional mental healthcare for people who were already developing mental health disorders, and those at risk of developing mental disorders, there was virtually no effort whatsoever.’

Taking matters into their own hands, local mental healthcare professionals have been forming

non-profit organisations (NPOs) to help counsel survivors and provide accurate information.

‘[We] couldn’t ignore the people who were suffering from fear of radiation,’ says Kanae Narui, a counsellor with the Fukushima Society of Certified Clinical Psychologists. ‘There were lots of rumours everywhere, so most people were confused, especially parents who have children and had to decide [whether] to stay there or move immediately. In such a terrible, confusing situation, it was necessary to organise and to gather necessary information, and to create some special place to support them – not only physically, but also psychologically.’

Although the NPOs have provided counselling and assistance to thousands of people, Grimes says there are still hundreds of thousands more who need professional help. He founded APRICOT (Allied Psychotherapy Relief Initiative for the Children of Tohoku), which gained NPO status in 2014, to provide financial support for the Tohoku organisations that are habilitating people with developing mental health disorders.

‘We are sitting in Tokyo: we’re in a place where money is around,’ he says. ‘What we are trying to do is raise money here in Tokyo through initiatives we organise... but we are also trying to raise awareness.’

An APRICOT event held at the Belgian Embassy in March this year raised ¥1.5 million. Grimes says the next step is to get accepted by the online crowdfunding platform GlobalGiving, which charges only the minimum transfer fee to NPOs for monetary transactions.

‘We have to take it a step further,’ he says. ‘In February I went up to Minamisoma, which is in the 20 to 30 kilometre range [from Fukushima Daiichi], and the sense of hopelessness was tangible. It is tangible throughout Fukushima.’ For more information or to find out how you can help, visit apricotchildren.org

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Head straight for Moshi Moshi Box

about our popular series of free maps: pocket-sized guides to the multifarious delights this city has to offer. They’re hard to miss these days – as well as our ever-popular ‘101 things to do in Shibuya’ edition and the comprehensive ‘88 things to do in Tokyo’, we’ve come out with maps for nearly all the top areas including Roppongi, Shinjuku, Nihonbashi, Marunouchi, Koenji and Ginza. We even have a special map just for those of you visiting Tokyo on business: ‘50 Things to do in Tokyo for business travellers’, produced in collaboration with Japanese airline ANA.

Each edition squeezes the best of the capital into a compact pamphlet, complete with a city map, and we’ve included everything from offbeat art galleries and otaku meccas to ancient shrines and hipster hangouts. A s the shopping district that symbolises Japanese pop culture, Harajuku is a must-visit for any tourist. But anyone who’s jumped into the shopping fray will tell you it can be a little intimidating. Which is why you’ll be pleased to hear about Moshi Moshi Box, the tourist information centre that’s right in the heart of the area.

To find it, walk five minutes from the station and look out for the centre’s symbol – a big, colourful world clock designed by Harajuku kawaii impresario Sebastian Masuda. The centre provides sightseeing information for the Shibuya area, including Harajuku. It also provides essential information and services such as courier assistance, a foreign currency exchange machine, and free wi-fi. But that’s not all: aiming to serve as an entertainment centre in itself, it’s a place where overseas visitors can experience J-pop culture through activities such as karaoke. There’s also a souvenir shop where you can pick up must-haves like a traditional tenugui, Mt Fuji artwork and even a pair of sushi socks. And don’t leave without trying the character-themed crepes. 3-23-5 Jingumae, Shibuya (Harajuku and Meiji-Jingumae stations). 03 6447 2225. moshimoshi-nippon.jp.

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