I was assigned as a member of personnel support by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and was sent to Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture for six days from May 3 through 8, 2011. Ishinomaki, which received catastrophic damage by the massive tsunami after the earthquake in March, is the second largest city of the prefecture with the area of 555 km2 and a population of approximately 160,000 people. It features one of the busiest fishing ports in the nation. After arriving in the city, I visited a park located on top of a hill, to which a number of locals evacuated at the time of disaster. Looking down at the affected areas along the coastline and near the river mouth from the park, I found no trace of urban development but only piles of debris covering the entire area. Facing the reality of what powerful nature could do and feeling the suffering of those who lost their lives, I put my hands together in front of me and prayed.
During the assignment, I worked at the Ishinomaki City Hall to help the section that issued disaster victim certificates. Many municipal officials were sent from around the nation to this section to help the city handle hundreds of applications each day. The disaster victim certificate is a document that proves the damages of housing property of the victims and is required for them to receive relief money and other support and assistance during the recovery. My job was to help victims file the application by interviewing them about the details of damages, such as how deep the house was submerged, if the earthquake caused any cracks on the wall, if the house has been tilted, and so on. In addition, this was an invaluable opportunity to directly listen to the victims about the actual damages, which helped me feel the immense damage by the disaster.
During my assignment, a local worker of the Ishinomaki City Hall, who himself is a victim of the disaster, expressed his concern about problems we may encounter when a disaster like this should happen in Tokyo. From his words, I felt his compassion for the safety of our country’s capital city and its citizens, which strongly moved me and also made me think again of my important responsibility as an official of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
It was the season of cherry blossoms that I stayed in Ishinomaki. This strongly reminds me of how fast time has gone by since the disaster when it snowed at night. When I was there, I noticed some signs of gradual recovery of daily life in town, as students headed back to school and resumed the morning practice of club activities, and some local stores and restaurants started to reopen their business. I was able to come home with a feeling of fulfillment for being part of their efforts.
It will still be a long time before the complete recovery of the disaster-affected
areas. I will not forget what I have learned from this significant assignment
and will keep watching the reestablishment process of Ishinomaki and other
damaged areas, with the sincere hope of going back sometime again to help
them get their lives back. | 
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