Fourteen and 7 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake (also known as the Tohoku Earthquake), the Miyagi Police announced that the remains they found in February 2023 belonged to a six-year-old girl from Iwate prefecture, who had gone missing during the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Her mother, Chiyumi Yamane (49), answered the interview from the Iwate Menkoi Television.
“I had already given up hope that she’d ever be found. When I saw the news after getting the call, I felt both happiness and sadness at the same time.” Chiyumi recalls. “In the afternoon, I went to work, and since I let her skip daycare, my mother and Natsuse were the only ones home. Then the earthquake and the tsunami came. My mother probably never imagined that the tsunami would reach all the way here, to our house. They were a little late to escape. My mother managed to survive, but…” She also describes how much her mother regretted after the Tsunami had swallowed Natsuse. “After that, a fire broke out, and there was nothing we could do. Or anyone could do. The next morning, we went to see how things were, but again, we couldn’t do anything. We couldn’t even get close. All we could do was watch from a distance.” Chiyumi describes the helplessness she felt through this experience and how tough it was to go through the situation.
Though this heartwarming story of Natsuse and her family is a reminder of love despite the long search period, it also highlights the importance of being aware and prepared for natural disasters. Approximately 20,000 people were either found dead or went missing during the Great East Japan Earthquake. If Natsuse were alive, she would’ve been 21 years old, about 3-6 years older than the students in high school. The discovery of victims near our generation reminds us of the impact and the tragedy of being a little late to escape, unprepared. As Japan is known for its high number of disasters, we, as citizens of Japan and high school students, must raise our awareness of possible natural disasters in the future.