Surviving Japan
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''3.11: Surviving Japan'' is a
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
about the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
and the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
written and directed by volunteer and resident Christopher Noland.


Content

The film spans from March 11, 2011 to September 19, 2011, starting with Noland's own experience in the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
, followed by volunteer activities in Ofunato. After meeting with volunteers and residents of the affected region that stated huge oversights in the disaster management, Noland continued to volunteer while going on an investigative journey through the
Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...
. He set out to Minamisōma, Fukushima near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to speak to the Mayor who had appeared on YouTube with a distress call that the
Japanese Government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
had neglected the town during the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
. He then returned north to the
Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
to interview officials about the crisis management of the tsunami victims. While on the same food delivery mission that May, he met a woman in
Ishinomaki is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...
that had been denied food and shelter, stating she felt thrown away as a Japanese citizen, which led him to further investigate and document the events. Noland went back to
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, where he interviewed
Tokyo Electric Power Company , also known as or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiw ...
in an effort to gain a better understanding of the impact of the disaster. Unsatisfied with the little amount of information, he went on to interview more residents who shared the same frustration. In June Noland returned to the
Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...
to volunteer and see how the people, communities, officials and cities were coping with the rebuilding efforts and
radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
. He spent the entire summer visiting the largely hit communities of Miyako,
Kamaishi is a city located on the Sanriku rias coast in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,609, and a population density of 74 persons per km2, in 16,230 households. The total area of the city is Geography Kamaishi is ...
, back to
Ōfunato is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 35,452, and a population density of 110 persons per km2 in 14,895 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōfunato is located in southeastern ...
,
Rikuzentakata is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. In the census of 2010, the city had a population of 23,302 (2005: 24,709), and a population density of 100 persons per km². The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage to the c ...
,
Kesennuma is a city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 59,803 and a population density of in 26,390 households. The total area of the city is . Large sections of the city were destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake an ...
, Minami Sanriku and
Ishinomaki is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...
, which led him to further investigate and document the events. By August Noland saw another distress call from Minamisōma again on YouTube, this time from a city councilman. Noland contacted the councilman through the volunteer network and arranged a meeting after checking on citizens affected by high levels of radiation in
Fukushima city is the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It is located in the northern part of the Nakadōri, central region of the prefecture. , the city has an estimated population of 283,742 in 122,130 households and a population density of . Th ...
and Kōriyama. It was Noland's conclusion that despite everything, he felt the media had most importantly ignored the children's safety due to radioactive contamination and further awareness of the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
. Making appearances in the film are Helen Caldicott, founder of PSR; professor Cham Dallas, a disaster management specialist; Kimiaki Toda, Mayor of Ofunato;
Tokyo Electric Power Company , also known as or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiw ...
, owner and operator of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant; Katsunobu Sakurai, Mayor of Minamisōma and Kouichi Oyama, City Councilman of Minamisōma.


Production

''3.11: Surviving Japan'' was conceived, directed, filmed and narrated by Christopher Noland. The executive producer was
Simon Hilton Simon Hilton (born 1967 near Bournemouth) is an English music video, concert and documentary director and editor and multimedia creative based in London. Early life and career Hilton grew up surrounded by science and theatre, as his father w ...
; producers were Q'orianka Kilcher, Dave Parrish and Noland; the cinematographer was Noland; editing was done by Noland, MB X. McClain and Andrea Hale; the sound editor and mixer was Scott Delaney; "Kurushi" by
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
contributed to the soundtrack. The documentary was made in exactly one year. Noland began the project as a one-man crew until September when he was joined by MB X. McClain to edit over 100 hours of footage down to 180 minutes until Noland moved back to the United States in late November to finish post-production with editor Andrea Hale. Noland credits the moral support of
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
,
Simon Hilton Simon Hilton (born 1967 near Bournemouth) is an English music video, concert and documentary director and editor and multimedia creative based in London. Early life and career Hilton grew up surrounded by science and theatre, as his father w ...
, and Imaginepeace.com for their undying support during his one-man production. ''3.11: Surviving Japan'' had its first pre-screening at Simon Fraser University on March 10, 2012 for the one-year anniversary of the disaster. The film was Officially released on March 11, 2013 and Premiered at Laemmle Noho 7 Theatre
North Hollywood, CA North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...
with coverage by
NHK World NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...
and AMC Theatres in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The film Premiered in Osaka, Japan at Cinema 7 in 2014.


Reception

''3.11 Surviving Japan'' was immediately picked up by
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
's Imagine Peace Website, won the
Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
project of the week, and Noland won the
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
Nextup Contest in 2011 using clips from the film.
CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
's '' The Current''
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
interviewed Yumie Keller, an evacuee from Minamisōma who appeared in the film. The film received considerable press coverage from Vancouver, Canada and Noland's birthplace in
Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
. Noland was interviewed on television by NBC
King5 KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Plate C ...
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, NHK World News, and RT News. NHK did a feature segment which appeared on the Japanese 11'oclock News on the 2nd Anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. The Premiere was in the
LAWeekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
and was promoted by
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
, Q'orianka Kilcher and
Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golde ...
for the Los Angeles Premiere. The film is also available in the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival archive as an educational and historical documentary.


References


External links

* *{{IMDb title, 2262171 Documentary films about Japan Documentary films about disasters Documentary films about nuclear technology Documentary films about the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami 2012 films 2012 documentary films Japan in non-Japanese culture