Just after the earthquake happened on March 12th, the Konkokyo Headquarters dispatched two teams to the affected churches in Tohoku area. Rev. Hisakazu Fukuba, who visited the northern part of Tohoku, reported, “We could not enter sites which were shown on TV due to the traffic situations. We could visit only less seriously affected areas. In Aomori and Akita Prefectures, the churches did not suffer human or structural loss. Hachinohe City was seriously damaged and ships were carried onto the land by tsunami, but fortunately, the church located five kilometers from the coast was unharmed by tsunami.
Rev. Kazuhiko Obu, who visited churches in the southern part of Tohoku, reported, “In Yamagata Prefecture churches, offerings fell off the altars and some furniture collapsed. However, there was no human loss or injury or serious damage on the buildings. Thankfully, members were safe. In Miyagi Prefecture, we visited Sendai-Nambu, Sendai, and Ishinomaki Churches. Sendai-Nambu and Sendai church ministers and families survived injury and loss of lives. The buildings were not seriously damaged.”

Ishinomaki City was one of the areas most devastated by tsunami. The team successfully visited the church in the area. Rev. Obu said, “The church is located twenty meters from the river-end. We could see a water line on the walls of the church one and half meters from the floor, marking the height of the water in the church. When we visited there, the water already receded, but tatami mats were piled in the church resulting from being pushed by the water. The head minister was very busily taking care of the suffering people.”
The team could not visit Kesen’numa Church due to the traffic. Later, it became clear that the church barely avoided the damage by tsunami. Although it is located only two or three hundred meters from the coast, the church was saved by its location on a hill. Ministers and their families were all safe and hard at work helping the people in the community.

Seven churches are located in Fukushima Prefecture. Some churches’ buildings were damaged, but none of the members were lost. Reverend Shinsaku Nanao, Director of Konkokyo Tohoku Center, said, “Those areas are seriously impacted by the nuclear power station accident. There are no problems about the lifeline, but the variety of foods is limited and the prices have risen. Above all, the people have only limited information about the accident, so they are very much worried about their future.”

Rev. Mitsuaki Matsumoto, Director of Konkokyo Tokyo Center, made a condolence visit to the Konko Churches of Yuki, Matakuma, and Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture and researched the damage on March 24th. He presented the Sacred Rice from Konko-Sama. The next day, he visited four evacuation centers located in Kita-Ibaraki City, which suffered severe damage, and provided relief supplies. He said, “In Ibaraki Prefecture, the closer I approached the coast line, the more severe was damage I found. One church’s building was severely damanged. We need to provide continuous assistance to rehabilitate and reconstruct the affected areas through the Konkokyo Metropolitan Forum.”