Caritas Japan President: Accompany our people in prayer after earthquakes

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

A week after a major earthquake struck the west coast of Japan, thousands of people are still without water and electricity and have yet to be told when plans to rebuild can begin.

The quake, which reached an estimated magnitude of 7.6, struck the Noto peninsula on New Year's Day, killed more than 200 people, injured more than 500, and caused massive destruction. Sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow and rain have hampered the delivery of aid, leaving thousands with diminishing supplies and little information.

In an interview with Vatican News, the President of Caritas Japan, Bishop Daisuke Narui, SVD, of Niigata, discussed the current situation, the greatest challenges, and what is needed to move forward.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father, who visited Japan in November 2019, for his closeness to the suffering Japanese people at this time, and the need to never underestimate the power of prayer.

The Bishop also relays to Vatican News that another earthquake struck shortly before our interview, but that it should not be a cause for too much concern.

Pope Francis personally mourned the lives lost in the deadly Japan earthquake through a telegram following the disaster, and in his words at his Wednesday General Audience. He prayed for the victims and rescuers of those affected by the earthquake, also remembering rescue crew workers killed in an airplane collision in Tokyo. 

The day after the quake, a Japan Airlines Airbus collided with a Coast Guard aircraft loaded with emergency goods for earthquake-hit areas, killing four of five of the Coast Guard crew onboard. All 379 Japan Airlines passengers and crew survived, quickly escaping the firey crash in time via evacuation slides.

Caritas Japan is actively collaborating with the worldwide Caritas network in over 20 human development projects worldwide. Caritas Japan General Secretariat in Tokyo employs 5 staff members who work closely with the 16 Dioceses, staff and thousands of volunteers to guide and coordinate activities.

Q: Bishop Narui, how would you describe the situation? After about a week since this major earthquake wreaked havoc, we see the death toll is climbing.

First of all, let me explain what happened on January 1st. At 4:10 p.m. Japanese time, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit the northern central part of Japan called Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. Actually, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake is not that big in Japan, but because the epicenter was very shallow, the shake on the surface of the land was very strong.

So, it destroyed so much: houses, roads, and there were landslides in the mountains. So many houses were destroyed. And actually, I visited the severely affected area for two days, until yesterday. I saw roads were cracked. The coastline area was risen about four meters, and many houses were down. Yes, it's kind of difficult to describe.

If you see the situation, you will be certainly shocked. I saw in the area: there are still so many aftershocks. I heard there have been more than 1,000 aftershocks since January 1st. Just five minutes ago, we were hit by another earthquake. And then there was alert shouting. So, it's still an ongoing issue.

Q: With the January 1st earthquake, the death toll now has surpassed 200, correct? With hundreds injured and many missing?

As of today, there are 202 people confirmed dead, 102 missing, and 565 injured. There are more than 400 evacuation centers opened and 28,000 people evacuated to those evacuation centers. But, more than that, there are so many people who are isolated in their own villages and towns, because the roads are cut off, and many people are there who cannot even go to the evacuation centers.

Q: What projects has Caritas Japan put in place to help the suffering population and their loved ones?

In Japan, the Catholic Church is quite small in population. So normally, Caritas Japan works for foreign assistance. We do not have projects inside Japan. Of course, each diocese has its own charitable activities, but not as Caritas. So, in such a case, when a huge disaster hits Japan, normally what Caritas Japan does is support the affected diocese. This time it's Nagoya diocese.

As the president of Caritas Japan, I visited the affected place until on Monday for two days, together with the Bishop of Nagoya Diocese and parish priests and a few people from the Bishops Conference who are staff of the emergency response branch of the Bishops Conference of Japan.

Now, this severely affected area, which is Noto peninsula, whose length is about 100km—, there are only two parishes covering such a huge area, and those are quite small parishes. Maybe every Sunday Mass there are 10 to 20 people participating. But there are kindergartens attached to those parishes.

What we are thinking to support the parish is to do so through these kindergartens. Through the kindergarten, we try to reach out to the affected places and people by providing materials like water, food, hygiene kits, and gathering other things. And then, through Caritas Japan, we see how the aid activities will be developed by the local government and other NGOs. We normally work together with other civil societies and NGOs. We will see how we can support people. But most likely, since it's very cold, we will help provide heaters and other heating materials. That's what I'm thinking now.

Q: What are the greatest challenges? What is still needed, and how can others help?

The issue is that the roads are cut off because of the cracks. Huge cracks. So it's quite difficult for people to go there, actually. Now the police, the fire department, and the self-defense force have special equipment—cars and helicopters—so that they can go, but for other people, it's quite difficult to reach there. It's impossible to send volunteers there.

So the biggest challenge is to reach out there and for the people who are in the evacuation centers and in their own villages. For some of them, they do not have enough food. Power and water are cut off, and it's so cold. So it's quite a difficult situation. Those are the challenges. Once the roads are fixed, I think things will be much better because many people can go there to provide assistance.

Q: What is still needed? And is there a way, even if people physically cannot arrive easily or at all, that others, even around the world, can assist?

The head of the Ishikawa Prefecture says to the civilians, 'Please do not come,' because if, the ordinary people try to go there by their own car, maybe the cars will be stacked because of the cracks and other things, like snow, and it causes delays in the assistance provided by the professionals, like the self-defense force and the police and fire departments.

So, even for the nearby people, it's difficult to go there to provide things. At this moment of time, as I said, we need to wait. The roads will be fixed. After that, maybe we can bring many things.

But of course, it's very important to accompany by prayer and through other means of accompaniment, because for those people who are isolated in the affected area, not only physical strength but also mental and spiritual strength is quite important in such a difficult time. Therefore, I really appreciate the prayers from around the world for those people affected.

Q: And speaking of prayers, we know that the people of Japan have been in Pope Francis's prayers. He spoke about and brought attention to the tragedy in his condolences and words. What has the Pope's closeness meant to you, the people of Japan, and the faithful?

I personally really appreciate that the Pope is thinking about us, the people who are affected, and that he invited people around the world to pray for the affected people.

I really believe that prayer is very powerful, especially in such a difficult time. It really encourages the efforts of the people, as well as the people who want to support those affected. Prayer also connects people around the world to accompany the affected people and victims. I actually experienced it during the great earthquake and tsunami in 2011, in Japan, because at the time, I was a director of Caritas Japan, and I was there in the near-epicenter area. I really felt the power of prayer at a difficult time.

Q: Your Excellency, is there anything else that you would like to add?

I personally believe the strength of the Catholic Church in times of disaster is its accompaniment. It's really important to provide materials, but we also do not think that we live only by bread; we also live with prayer, spirituality, accompaniment, and support from others. Such accompaniment is very important.

Thus, I really hope that people do not forget about the victims, and we wish to accompany those affected people in Japan, not only for the rescue and emergency time but also for the rehabilitation and then the longer period.