In order to overcome the difficult situation together with local people, I did whatever I could

When the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck, Mr. Shikata lived in Fukae Honmachi in Higashinada Ward, Kobe, one of the most seriously damaged areas. He was only 30 meters away from the point where the Hanshin Expressway collapsed.

A large closet fell down on the place where I was sleeping. Window glass and the television almost hit my daughter’s head, who was an elementary school student. However, miraculously, all of my family members were all right. I quickly broke the entrance door and evacuated to a nearby park with my family. At first, it was dark and I didn’t realize the situation, but soon I found that the Hanshin Expressway had collapsed. When day broke, we headed for the nearby elementary school to take shelter.

Shortly before that, Mr. Shikata had taken the position of board member of the Kobe City Employee Labor Union. Although he himself was a disaster victim, he couldn’t come back to his family for 10 days after he left for Higashinada Ward Office on the morning following the disaster.

While the town was almost completely destroyed, we tried to establish a route to distribute relief goods to evacuation centers, and built secondary bases in parks. We had no tents, so we had a lot of trouble when it rained.

Higashinada Ward Office was located along National Route 2. To avoid traffic jams, we decided to establish a base in a nearby small park. As the relief goods arrived one after another from all over Japan, around the clock, I stayed at the park as a responsible official, on duty at all times for several days.

Everything was in chaos, and difficulties came up persistently. However, I was able to build a relationship of trust with local leaders through frequent communication. I think everyone wanted to help the evacuees.

Under the cold winter sky, Shikata made efforts to distribute relief goods and to establish a cooperative relationship with local people. There are too many episodes to mention to prove his words, “I did whatever I could.” Being a disaster victim himself, he was able to devote himself to support activities, thanks to the help from his relatives and other people around him, as well as the understanding of his family.


To repay people who came from all over Japan to help

While continuing his support activities, he resumed his duties as a member of the Kobe City Employee Labor Union. He was in charge of accepting officials who came from local governments throughout the nation for support, and of organizing them to operate evacuation centers or to issue Disaster Victim Certificates.

From January, when the earthquake occurred, through the end of March, approximately 30,000 officials came from other local governments to assist, and helped us overcome the situation that could not have been dealt with by Kobe City officials alone. At that time, I decided to repay their kindness as a supporter in the future.

Based on that decision, Shikata led the Kobe City Employee Labor Union to offer support in the aftermath of disasters such as the Nakhodka tanker oil spill in the Sea of Japan in 1997, the eruption of Mt. Usu in Hokkaido, and the great earthquake in Turkey. They continued to provide support little by little, to the best of their ability.

He first participated in support activities in the affected area in the former Hidaka Town, Hyogo (now in Toyooka City), which suffered tremendous flood damage caused by Typhoon No. 23 (Tokage) in 2004. There were many reconstruction support volunteers in the areas which had been given coverage by the mass media, but little support was given to the areas not covered by the press. Feeling that he must do something, he rushed to such areas to help. As there were many elderly residents in Hidaka Town, and the flood damage was very severe, it took at least two days, with 20 to 30 people, to sweep the mud away from a house, wash furniture, and return the house to a livable condition.

Local people cried with happiness. Since then, we have tried to reach disaster-stricken areas, where insufficient support is given.

Photo: Support activity in Hidaka Town

Whenever disasters occurred both in Japan and around the globe, Shikata led the labor union to ask city officials for cooperation in fundraising and sending the money to consular offices. What drove him to continue such activities was his experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. When he visited disaster-stricken areas, the victims said, “We are energized by the support from Kobe, the city that underwent such a severe disaster.” He says that such words were also rewarding for him.

I believe it is a Kobe official’s duty to provide support. After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, we received a lot of support from people in other cities and towns. We hope to be of help, if only a little, to disaster victims and local governmental officials.

“Mutual-aid agreement” created from ties with local people

The labor union which Shikata belonged to kept the following points in mind when involved in disaster support activities: to see the situation of the affected area with their own eyes, arrange accommodation for themselves, and bring their own food and tools, so that they would not burden local people. It was also important to have city hospital nurses accompany them to maintain the good health of dispatched officials, and, the most important thing – to identify areas which had received only limited support.

When the Noto Peninsula Earthquake struck in March 2007, they went to help the people of Anamizu Town, adjacent to Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. It was a town with a population of approximately 10,000. As Anamizu Town had no labor unions, they had to start by establishing a support system.

Shikata and his colleagues steadily built a relationship of trust with people in Anamizu Town, and suggested that they held the Town Festival scheduled in July as the “Reconstruction Festival.” Having learned that the Anamizu Town Festival featured parades every year, Shikata asked for high school students in Kobe to participate, to bring more atmosphere to the festival.

I asked two groups to take part. One is Ryushidan, a Chinese dragon dance and lion dance group from Kobe Municipal Hyogo Commercial High School, which had participated in world championship events. The other is the Japanese drums club from Kobe Municipal Suma Shofu High School (Kobe-Nishi High School at that time).
The high school students talked to each local citizen, and the elderly people shed tears of joy. Since then, Anamizu Town has invited high school students from Kobe to the festival every summer, and the exchange continues to this day.

Photo: Anamizu Town Festival 1 / High school students from Kobe taking part in the Reconstruction Festival parade in Anamizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture

Photo: Anamizu Town Festival 2 / Local people happily smiling in the Reconstruction Festival in Anamizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture

Shikata has built a relationship of trust with other cities and towns in this way, and on the occasion of the 2007 Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake in Niigata Prefecture, he participated in reconstruction support activities in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata, with people from Anamizu Town. It was the first experience for him to work with people from other local governments. Inspired by this experience, he founded the “mutual-aid agreement” under which labor unions support each other in case of a disaster.


Ties with Sendai Municipal Hachiken Junior High School

When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in 2011, the City of Kobe quickly established a support system and dispatched officials to the Tohoku region three days after the disaster. They found that approximately 200 people had evacuated, with only the barest necessities, to the gym and martial arts hall in Sendai Municipal Hachiken Junior High School, located in an inland area of Sendai City.

At first, it was difficult for us to open up to each other. However, I followed my principle of coming face-to-face with disaster victims, and doing whatever I can. I believe we were able to build a good relationship little by little with the local people.

During his stay in the affected area, Shikata used his ingenuity to the maximum, to offer the best reconstruction support. One of his ideas was preparing bicycles with the aid of local neighborhood associations, so that it would be easier for affected people to look for their missing families.
In the meantime, basic utilities were recovered and school classes resumed. Around that time, Shikata learned that the brass band and chorus club of Hachiken Junior High School, a top-ranking club in the Tohoku region, had to give up participating in the national contest held in Kyushu due to the disaster.

For the students who had practiced hard, a concert was to be held, inviting their parents and families only. On this occasion, the school principal was worried about the program, which included a joyful march by the brass band. So I asked representatives of evacuation centers and other people for their opinions. They said, “We definitely want to listen, too.”

Shikata also listened to the concert. He was deeply impressed by a song entitled “Asu to iu higa” (meaning “The day tomorrow”), sung by the students.

NHK crews were there to cover the event, and the song was used as a BGM for the NHK news for some time. When a city official introduced this via social media, teachers in Kobe Municipal Tamatsu Junior High School felt great sympathy and began fundraising through monthly concerts.

Exchange with Hachiken Junior High School has continued even since I came back to Kobe. When we invited them to the Kobe Marathon, they held a concert entitled “Thank you Kobe” in front of 600 or 700 Kobe city officials and labor union members. They also presented us with a flag saying “Thank you, Kobe citizens.” The school principal read aloud a message from third grade students, which made me emotional.

Photo: Concert of the Hachiken Junior High School brass band and chorus club, held in Kobe

Photo: Flag of gratitude from Sendai Municipal Hachiken Junior High School. It still encourages Shikata and his colleagues.


To repay people throughout Japan for their support as best I can

Shikata continued to devote himself to countless projects, including support activities in Ishinomaki City in Iwate, which were carried out with people from Anamizu Town and Yamaguchi City. A “mutual-aid agreement” has been made with Yamaguchi City, and Hita City and Nakatsu City in Oita Prefecture, in addition to Anamizu Town.

Of course, I don’t want disasters to happen. Meanwhile, it is also true that a new relationship is born and developed through support activities. This experience is a great asset to me.

Shikata left the headquarters of the Kobe City Employee Labor Union in March 2013, and retired from employment in March 2014. At present, he works as a staff member at the Hasetani Branch, Nishi Ward Office, Kobe City. On holidays, he serves as a volunteer tourist guide.

As an extension of my past activities including the “mutual-aid agreement,” I would like to steadily continue what I do, so that I may be able to repay people throughout Japan for their support as best I can, little by little.

Photo: In the observation lobby on the 24th floor of the Kobe City Hall. This is one of the places where he volunteers as a tourist guide. He hopes to continue supporting others in different forms.


(Photographed by Kyoko Kataoka, interviewed and written by Aya Yamamori)