10 Years After 9-11: Japanese Remember
Yesterday, Japanese TV news programs focused on the anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks. Here is a clip from one channel’s coverage, focusing on how three Japanese people have coped with what happened:
Their first example is someone who is still struggling to deal with the loss of a family member. The second and third examples are of Japanese residents of New York who have worked hard and achieved success after 9/11 disrupted their lives.
The first person they feature is 71-year-old Haruhiro Shiratori, who lost his only child on 9/11. He had encouraged his son to go out and see the world, and was proud when he graduated from a university in America and started a career at a financial firm in New York. Although 10 years have passed, Shiratori still feels immense grief. Every day he wears clothing that had belonged to his son. (Not mentioned in the video but very relevant: Shiratori has traveled to Afghanistan and taken part in a project to build a park in Kabul.
The second person featured is Manabu Nishigaki, the owner of Ise, a Japanese restaurant that was only about 100 meters away from the World Trade Center. When the buildings collapsed, the restaurant’s windows were shattered and its interior was filled with dust and debris. Nishigaki had to close the restaurant, and its building was eventually torn down. He opened a new restaurant, and he’s been successful.
The third person featured is Toshiaki Kondo, who used to work at Nishigaki’s restaurant. The shock of the terror attacks made him realize that his life could end at any moment, so it was important that he pursue his dream without regrets. He quit his job and in 2004 he started his own izakaya-style restaurant, Rockmeisha. He specializes in food from his hometown, Hakata. The restaurant is pretty popular, and has even been featured in Michelin guide books.
The report notes the sense of recovery one gets when visiting the area around Ground Zero. It is clear that New Yorkers have been working hard to rebuild.
[Note: This video clip was edited. The same channel also devoted a lot of coverage to the American victims of the attack. ]
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