EO North Japan Presents
Our journey from 3.11 and Beyond / Event Report

日本語

Greetings

  • Event Committee ChairmanTetsuya Orikasa

    After the Great East Japan Earthquake, EO North Japan was launched under the slogan, "It is important to foster entrepreneurs for the reconstruction of Tohoku," thanks to the tremendous support and cooperation of EO Osaka and Tokyo members at that time as well as globally.
    We were the only chapter in EO All Japan that was established and operated without any members who had experienced EO, so there were various difficulties and conflicts with the members who supported us at that time.
    Nevertheless, we are truly grateful to all of you who stuck by us and supported us without giving up, and we are now EO North Japand thanks to your support.
    Thank you very much.

    In September 2021, EO North Japan held "EO North Japan Presents Our journey form 3.11 and Beyound" to mark the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
    The Great East Japan Earthquake was an unprecedented disaster that caused the largest magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan's recorded history and the subsequent nuclear power plant accident.

    Nowadays, catastrophic disasters are occurring frequently all over the world due to the effects of global warming.
    There is also a possibility that pandemics such as COVID-19 may recur in the future.
    How should we, as entrepreneurs, face these challenges and continue to move forward?
    We have organized this event to share our experiences with you to give you a big hint.
    Originally, we wanted to hold a global event with global members in Sendai, but due to COVID-19, the event was held only for the Japan Chapter, but we are very happy to be able to show the video of the event.

    In this event, we will look back on that time and share with you how we survived and the path we have taken since then.
    And while looking deeply into our view of life and death, what are we going to live for and what are we going to manage our business for in the future? This is a video that will make your axis as a manager thicker as you think together about the future.
    We hope that as many of you as possible will watch it, and together we will overcome the disasters that will continue to occur around the world, and grow together!
    We sincerely hope that this will be our way of repaying everyone who supported us at the time of our founding as EO North Japan.

  • President of EO North JapanRyota Saito

    Hello everyone, I am the President of EO North Japan. Early last fall, we held a presentation event by entrepreneurs looking back 10 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. I learned a big lesson from my colleagues who gave presentations, which is to "move forward with honesty".
    No matter how difficult the situation may be, we have no choice but to look forward and move forward with an image of tomorrow. Even if we experience a little bit of success, we have no choice but to move forward as we have always done, without being complacent. And, while we are working in a foolish manner, we must also imagine the future 10 or 100 years into the future, and work hard at it. Moving forward in a foolish manner. Even though this may seem like an obvious realization, there are times when I find myself clinging to the past, making excuses, and unable to look forward. This event gave me a tremendous insight into myself. I would like to invite people all over the world to watch the presentation of this group of soulful people. With this in mind, I have decided to make this presentation available to the public on March 11, 2022 (11 years after the earthquake). Let us move forward together in a spirit of honesty.

Part I Theme - That Day "Original Experience on 3.11 and Views on Life and Death"

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami hit the Pacific coast. This is the story of the friends who were doing business around it. And another story that happened on the other side of the disaster.

  • Yamanaka Corporation. Shinji Takada
  • East Japan Auto Tomohiro Yamauchi
  • YOKUSURU CO.,LTD. Morito Suzuki

Part II Theme - Human Reconstruction "Light from Conflict”

Human beings are the only creatures among all things that are allowed to think deeply. At the same time, it is human beings who feel conflicts. Here we see the light from conflict.

  • Mirai Design Works Emio Ojima
  • 47PLANNING CO.,LTD Kenji Suzuki
  • Mayor of Onagawa Town Yoshiaki Suda

Part III Theme - Shinzenbi (True, Good, and Beautiful) "Toward the Future"

Ten years have passed since the disaster. We entrepreneurs look ahead to the next 10 years. Because we have hope for living in the future.

  • GRA Inc. Hiroki Iwasa
  • Bihan Corporation. Keizo Mase
  • MAKOTO Inc. Tomohiro Takei

Special Performance

At the opening of each theme, a special performance was given by a singer, theater company, or wadaiko drum group with ties to Tohoku.

  • Ibuki (Fukushima Prefecture)
  • Tabidaiko, Shiro-A, and Datebusho-tai (Miyagi Prefecture)

Talk Session

Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, members of the EO Tokyo and Osaka Branches rushed to the Tohoku region to support the affected areas. Is there anything we can do in the course of providing humanitarian assistance? He or she was conflicted. What we can do, to build a sustainable economic ecosystem by fostering entrepreneurs. We supported the establishment of EO Tohoku (now EO North Japan). The talk session was about 2 years until the establishment of EO Tohoku, and the participants looked back on their memories of that time.

Excursion

On the second day of the event, the participants visited Yamamoto-Town, Miyagi Prefecture, an area hit by the tsunami, and Okuma-Town, Fukushima Prefecture, which was hit by a hydrogen explosion at a nuclear power plant. The event raised awareness of disaster prevention.

Poem of the Beginning (Shinzenbi)

The past 10 years and
The future to come.

It struck suddenly.
And took many away.

Each of them is living with their own thoughts and feelings,
not to mention their apparent recovery.
The way we live strongly as human beings.

Many people lost something.
But they still lived with hope.

Creating the future. We will open the way.
If each and every one of us lives with such a spirit
Something will change. Something will be born.
The thoughts of each and every one of us will create the future.
It is the passionate heart of each
and every one of us that will lead Tohoku in the future.
Keep your heart burning!
Keep your life burning!

It is you who will create the future.