◆APIC Orientation and Welcome Dinner

On the morning of April 3rd, an orientation was held by APIC for Director Williams, with APIC President Shigeie giving a welcome speech proceeded by a briefing on Japanese politics, economy, and social conditions, which was then followed up by APIC Secretary-General Araki's explanation of the schedule. APIC Executive Director Tanaka accompanied the Director to Sendai, and Secretary-General Araki joined her for the Tokyo visits.

A dinner was held on the evening of the 8th to commemorate Director Williams' visit, with a total of eighteen members, including the current Jamaican Ambassador to Japan, H.E. Shorna-Kay Richards, professors from Sophia University Graduate School of Environmental Studies, former ambassadors of Japan to Jamaica and Barbados, and Japanese government officials from the Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

◆JICA Visit

On the morning of April 3rd, Director Williams met with Mr. Keisuke Ito, Director-General for Latin America and the Caribbean Department of JICA. Director Williams thanked Mr. Ito for the Japanese grant aid given to Jamaica immediately after the destructive July 2024 hurricane, and the visit to Jamaica by JICA President Dr. Akihiko Tanaka. Director-General Ito replied that JICA is currently considering giving Jamaica yen loans for improvements in the disaster prevention field.


◆MoFA Luncheon, Embassy Visit, & Kabuki

In the afternoon, following a luncheon hosted by MoFA Director-General of Latin American & Caribbean Affairs Bureau Mr. Yasushi Noguchi, Director Williams visited the Jamaican Embassy in Tokyo, which was proceeded by a viewing of the traditional Japanese Kabuki play.

◆Experiencing Disaster Prevention at Tokyo Fire Museum

Director Williams partook in various hands-on disaster prevention training at the Tokyo Fire Department's Tokyo Fire Museum on the morning of the 4th. Experiences included those such as earthquake shocks, putting out small fires, using an AED machine, evacuation guidelines from a burning building, etc., all of which aimed to increase disaster prevention skills and knowledge. Director Williams took an active interest in the activities, as Jamaica is also plagued by the same natural disasters as Japan, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. A movie based on the records left by one of the September 1st 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake survivors, Mrs. Nobu Matsumoto. By reliving that day, the video hopes its viewers will put disaster prevention in daily life in the forefront of their mind, learning about how to act in order to save lives and mutual assistance. This movie serves as a sort of textbook in current times on how to take action in order to protect lives in an unexpected disaster.

◆Visit to Japan Meteorological Agency

During the visit to the Meteorological Agency on the afternoon of the 4th, Director Williams listened to an explanation about how natural disasters, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. occur at the Meteorological Science Museum. She was then led to the floor where weather, typhoon, and tsunami forecasts are made. While she stood in the hallway looking behind glass windows into the room where numerous monitors filled the room and forecasters were working, the officials in charge explained the each forecaster's job and the tenseness surrounding the nature of the work, in particular when the decision is made to announce an impending tsunami and how they judge the timing on contacting the Prime Minister's office in the event of a tsunami etc., with all members working to keep the room running 24/7.

Afterward, the officials explained the job details of the forecasters observing earthquakes and volcanic activity. The Director was surprised to hear of the earthquake monitoring technology developed 30 years ago after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, a technology which Jamaica has yet to introduce.

◆Sophia University

The Director met with Dr. Puthenkalam and Dr. Huang at Sophia University. President Miki Sugimura joined the meeting halfway through, talking about how former Sophia University President Takashi Hayashita accompanied former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his visit to Jamaica in 2015, and how Sophia University and UWI(1) signed an MoU(2) with the University of the West Indies in the presence of PM Abe and the Jamaican PM. Following the agreements, Sophia University signed another MoU with UWI Cave Hill Campus accepting exchange students, which has allowed two current students from Barbados to further their studies at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, and Dr. Puthenkalam and Dr. Huang are supervising the students in their studies. Subsequently, there was talk about accepting exchange students from UWI Mona, Jamaica Campus in the future. Director Williams was also excited to learn that one of President Sugimura's PhD students is from Jamaica.

(1)UWI (the University of the West Indies): a university delivering higher-level education in English to the 17 countries in the West Indies and its surrounding region. In addition to its four campuses (Mona Campus Jamaica, St. Augustine Campus Trinidad & Tobago, Cave Hill Campus Barbados, and Five Islands Campus Antigua & Barbuda), it has global campuses (correspondence schools) at each location.

(2)MoU: Memorandum of Understanding. A formal but non-binding document in regards to academic exchange.



◆Kyoto Visit

Director Williams visited Kyoto's most photographic sites on the weekend, including Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion), Ryu'an-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Nishiki Market, and Nishijin Textile Center, experiencing traditional Japanese culture in historic Kyoto. She was quoted as saying that the most memorable visit was to the Golden Pavillion.



◆Tohoku Disaster-Experiencing the Force of Nature and its Threat (Sendai-Onagawa)

・Okawa Elementary School Ruins, Ishinomaki

(1)This region had no history of tsunami damage, and although it was not on the city's hazard map as a risk for tsunami disaster (it was situated on a slightly elevated hill, blocking the view to the ocean), the newly-built bridge across the Kitakami River was destroyed in the earthquake, changing the course of the 30-meter-high tsunami and directing it towards the school. After the earthquake occurred at 2:46 pm, and despite that all students gathered in the schoolyard, they did not evacuate to safety until 3:36 pm, where they started to move not towards high land, but to open land, when at 3:37 the tsunami arrived, taking 78 out of 108 students (4 of the 78 are still missing) under school supervision (excluding those who went home early or were absent), and 10 out of 11 teachers as its victims.
(2)Regardless of the fact that the Ishinomaki City Educational Committee had instructed the school to revise its disaster response based on Miyagi Prefecture's Earthquake and Tsunami Worse-Case Scenario, the school had not changed its response to evacuating to higher mountainside. The surviving family members filed a lawsuit with the school and educational committee, not only to confirm the facts, but also to hold the prefecture responsible. In 2018 a high court ruled that if the manual had properly reflected the changes in evacuation destination, evacuation would have been possible immediately after the earthquake, and the number of victims could have been kept to a minimum (the Supreme Court of Japan has supported this verdict).
(3)Director Williams listened to the story very solemnly and intently, stating that the visit was a "very sobering experience".



・Lunch at Marine Station Onagawa
(1) The Director had lunch at Seapal Pier Onagawa, the newly-built commercial area centered around the city offices (Onagawa was severely destroyed in the 2011 earthquake), with restaurants, souvenir shops, hair and nail salons, etc.

(2)After lunch, Director Williams visited the ruins of the Onagawa police box at the Onagawa port. Although it was a two-story reinforced steel building, it was submerged and toppled by the force of the tsunami, and is left today as a reminder of nature's force.

・3.11 Disaster Recovery Memorial Museum, Higashi Matsushima
(1)The Memorial Museum resides in former Nobiru station on the JR Sengoku line, reviving and renovating the building. The tsunami reached the top of the second floor, but quick-thinking staff stood on top of desks and other furniture, saving all lives in the building.
(2)The museum had various displays on the disaster and rebuilding of the city, including the Japanese Self Defense Forces Matsushima base (the aerobatic demonstration team Blue Impulse is stationed there. The sound of fighter planes could be heard throughout the visit to the museum). Director Williams could be observed intently watching the 45-minute-long video.