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NHK prepares special programming on the Great East Japan Earthquake anniversary
March 11, 2021, will mark 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the mega-tsunami that it triggered. Over the past decade, national pubcaster NHK has reported on the experiences of survivors and the challenges of recovery through a diversity of programs and events. In the runup to this anniversary, it will air special programs that look back on the past decade from a variety of perspectives, examining how communities have recovered, how survivors have been supported, and how lives can be protected in future disasters.The special programs in NHK’s schedule include dramas and music programs. They also include documentaries that analyze how people escaped from the tsunami. Meanwhile, the online streaming service NHK Plus (launched last year) will stream programs from the past decade. NHK Plus will focus on themes including tsunamis, children, and Fukushima.
Also, along with five major commercial broadcasters, it has launched a disaster preparedness project. Program-makers who have reported on disasters are teaming up to examine how lives can be protected, and the participating broadcasters are making programs using each other’s footage. NHK also plans to raise public awareness through events such as an exhibition using footage from its archives of news and other programs.
Throughout the year, NHK and NHK Enterprises will be releasing some of these programs for the international market. Programs available for international distribution include 3/11—The Tsunami (2x'49) with Episode 1 "The First 3 Days" and Episode 2 "Episode 2: The First Year" showing people's experiences on that day. Footage filmed in 2011-2012 by NHK and eyewitnesses in the disaster-hit areas have been collected and edited together in chronological order to convey the impact of this unprecedented mega-disaster that crushed buildings and cars and led to the nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. This special 2-part series serves as a valuable lesson.
Decommissioning Fukushima 2021: Ten Years on from the Nuclear Accident ('49) documents the unprecedented task of decommissioning the three reactors that suffered core meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The Japanese government says the process will take up to 40 years, but the schedule has already been revised five times as key tasks have been postponed. Meanwhile, people are returning to homes in surrounding areas, but residents and the government are arguing about how to dispose of huge amounts of radioactive waste resulting from the cleanup. The latest documentary in the series uses footage shot by NHK to look back at the 10 years since the nuclear accident, and ahead to Fukushima’s future.