Steward: Japanese people will rise up from this and be a hundred times stronger because of it

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s ix OFF-SET questions is James Steward, Headmaster of the Tohoko International School in Sendai. The school is located on the northern section of Japan’s main island of Honshu, and has 100 students in grades K – 12.

What happened at your school when the earthquake struck?

Everybody reacted extremely well under the circumstances. They took cover immediately—they are instructed to take cover under tables, desks and in doorways—anything that’s solid.  And as soon as there was a chance to evacuate the building—which was approx two minutes after the quake had started—students and staff evacuated superbly.

 We had a lot things fall off shelves, but most of the damage was falling glass in the building. Of course, falling glass is quite dangerous, especially from three stories. Amazingly, there were no injuries.

All phone service was cut off. There was no communication available. We have a bus at the school and we tried to get the bus into the city to drop off kids whose parents were able to meet them, but the remainder of the children–about 15–we divided between two homes and we had a sleepover with some teachers and kids who could not find their parents that night.

 I am 100 percent sure that all students are accounted for and safe.

How did you get information?

After the earthquake, all communication was down, so for the first 3 – 4 days, information was limited. No television, no phones, no internet.

I guess we heard snippets from people who had occasional cell phone coverage, but that coverage was very, very limited, so we got word-of-mouth information from people with limited access.

We understand that you, your wife and your children (ages 3, 12, and 14) left your home in Sendai. Why?

We stayed for four days in Sendai. We are actually going back very soon. But we had an obligation to make sure the staff was safe, so on Monday, we transported staff to a place where they could feel safe, a little outside of Sendai.

I have no concerns about radiation, I know it’s a factor, but not it’s a concern in Sendai. There is power now, and water is slowly coming back. When we left there was no power water or fuel.

By the way, my mother was visiting from Canada, so I had to get her to a functioning airport. She’s 69 years old and she left today.

You’re from North Bay, Ontario and have been in Japan for three years. Have you been through an earthquake before?

Earthquakes in Japan are a regular occurrence, so I have been through them many times.

How have you explained to your children what is happening?

We lived in a lot of different countries–they’ve seen a lot of things. So, in a way, we didn’t have to explain very much. It was a matter of doing what needed to be done so that everybody survived.

When might you be able to get the school up and running again?

I am a very optimistic, very positive person. Buy March 28–that’s the day after spring break. Mostly, we have to clean up the inside—lots of books and shelves are strewn everywhere–and also repairing the glass. It’s a very solid building.

Yes, we did a good job of getting out the building, but credit must go to the students and the staff and the parents–who all came together to make sure that everyone was safe. That’s the most important thing.

Secondly, Sendai in Japan is an absolutely fabulous city.  There’s a spirit in Sendai and northern Japan that cannot be and will not be broken. So no matter how devastating the earthquake was, people rallied together and I have seen no signals of people acting randomly or chaotically in Sendai.

In fact, everything I have seen was extremely orderly, and that just shows the true character of Sendai, Tohoku, and Japan as a country. They will rise up from this and be a hundred times stronger because of it.