Archbishop Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, primate of Nippon Sei Ko Kai (The Anglican Communion in Japan), said March 22 that while there are no Anglican churches in most of the areas affected by the March 11 magnitude-9 earthquake, “it is the NSKK’s desire to stand with all people there and to do whatever we can to support them.”
Uematsu’s pledge came in a statement issued by Anglican Communion News Service.
More than 9,000 people died when the quake struck on March 11 and caused a destructive tsunami that pounded the country’s northeast coast. In addition, nearly 13,000 people are unaccounted for. More than 300,000 people who are enduring hardship at various evacuation centers, the archbishop said, including those evacuated from the area near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors.
The earthquake — estimated to be at least 700 times more powerful than the magnitude-7 temblor that hit Haiti in January 2010 — caused Japan’s main island to move about eight feet to the east, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. ”We Japanese are accustomed to earthquakes and tsunamis, however no one could have imagined that such a major earthquake or tsunami could have happened,” Uematsu said.
The archbishop said that immediately after the quake, he began receiving “messages of support and concern from churches, mission agencies and people all around the world.” ”I am very grateful for such concern from everybody, and I am also very sorry to say that I am unable to respond individually to these people at the present time,” he said, adding that he is also grateful for the many offers he has received of money and goods for the relief effort. The NSKK office has established a fund to handle those donations.
Uematsu also said people are inquiring about how they might help the victims and Japanese churches, and want to know where to send medical teams and other volunteers. He said basic infrastructure, such as electricity and water supply, has not been restored and that food, water, petrol and medical supplies have not reached the affected people.
“But as time passes some restoration of the transport network and also distribution of food and other supplies have begun,” Uematsu wrote. “Use of personal transportation to deliver supplies to affected areas has been restricted [by the government]. Even the church[es] are unable to deliver goods to the devastated areas at the moment.” The archbishop said that “there is no structure or system to receive [volunteers] in the devastated areas at the moment” and only official personnel are allowed to provide care to those affected.
Church officials in the Sendai-based Tohoku diocese, hard-hit by the quake and tsunami, are attempting to determine the extent of the damage to church buildings and other institutions, and confirm the safety of parishioners, Uematsu said. “In the future, once the extent of the damage to churches and other facilities becomes clear, I anticipate that volunteers from other Anglican dioceses across Japan will travel to Tohoku to help with relief and rehabilitation activities,” he said.
Tohoku Bishop John Hiromichi Kato wrote to the communion March 18 outlining the state of his diocese. Churches in the Diocese of Kita Kanto also have sustained some damage.
“I know that we will need to consider the rebuilding of these in the future,” Uematsu wrote, adding that many parishioners’ home will have to be rebuilt. “This all needs to be done after we know the extent of the damage and calculate the cost,” he said. “At that time, the NSKK will run a fundraising campaign to help the reconstruction efforts.” Uematsu said that the relief and rescue phase will soon end, “but the restoration phase will go on for a long time.”
“As the NSKK, particularly as Tohoku Diocese, we believe that it is during this second phase when God will most use us to do his work,” the archbishop said. “Nippon Sei Ko Kai is a small church. Tohoku Diocese is a small diocese within that small church. So we know that what we can do is limited.”
Uematsu added that the NSKK recognizes that, in addition of its communion partners, it will need to work with ecumenical partners as well as government, private, non-profit and non-governmental organizations in order to do this relief and restoration work. Meanwhile, he asked overseas organizations that have offered to send medical teams, medical supplies and pharmaceutical goods to contact the Red Cross or their nearest Japanese embassy or consulate.