Tokyo Photo News March 2011

At 2時46分 p.m. on March 11, a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 struck Japan. The Great East Japan Earthquake, with its epicenter off the Sanriku Coast, triggered a devastating tsunami that ravaged the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. These disasters caused tremendous damage, leading to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, large-scale power outages, and other problems. With transportation lines disrupted in the Greater Tokyo Area, large numbers of people faced difficulty returning home.

Photo: People evacuating to Shinjuku Central Park immediately after the earthquake (taken at 3時36分 p.m., March 11)

On March 30, Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress paid a visit to Tokyo Budoh-kan in Adachi Ward to console the people who had evacuated to Tokyo after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Over the course of 40 minutes, they met and exchanged warm words with each and every evacuee. Tokyo also sheltered evacuees at the Ajinomoto Stadium and Tokyo Big Sight.

Photo: Their Majesties speaking with evacuees (March 30)

Tokyo was struck by power shortages following the Great East Japan Earthquake. On March 16, shortly after 6 p.m., almost all the stores lining Ginza Chuo-dori Avenue, one of Tokyo’s main shopping streets, had lowered their shutters, closing shop to save power. Even the ubiquitous neon lights were turned off in this “city that never sleeps.” In the darkness, bicycles rushing home and empty taxis had transformed the symbolic Ginza 4-chome intersection.

On March 22, the first floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building was buried in relief supplies donated by civilians. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government had been accepting relief goods to be sent to the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Items brought directly to the TMG Building between March 18 and 23 filled some 15,000 cardboard boxes.

Photo: Several hundred TMG personnel and civilian volunteers sort supplies into boxes