Shrine Network in Tokyo to Help Distribute Supplies After Big Quake; Noto Disaster Spurs Progress

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Tomoaki Takahashi reflects on the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward last year, saying, “Advance preparation and cooperation among shrines are important.”

In anticipation of a massive earthquake hitting the capital, the Tokyo bureau of the Association of Shinto Shrines has stepped up efforts to establish a relay system to distribute relief supplies from shrines nationwide to those in central Tokyo.

In the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, many people in affected areas evacuated to shrines that were not designated evacuation centers. Tokyo-Jinjacho plans to create a system to quickly deliver relief supplies to such places by leveraging the strong ties among shrines.

Under the Tokyo metropolitan government’s disaster prevention plan, only emergency vehicles are allowed to enter central Tokyo from outside Ring Road No. 7 in the event of an earthquake measuring lower 6 or stronger on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the capital. For this reason, providing support to the about 550 shrines inside the ring road is an issue.

Tokyo-Jinjacho has designated 10 shrines in Tokyo, including ones in Hachioji, Kiyose and Katsushika Ward, as temporary hubs in the event of an earthquake. Of them, eight are located outside the ring road. Under the envisaged system, relief supplies will be gathered at these hub shrines first and then transported by cart and other means to shrines in central Tokyo, where disaster victims are expected to be staying.

“We want to be prepared to act as a base for connecting the city center and the suburbs,” said Jun Sawatari, 40, associate chief priest of Okunitama Shrine in Fuchu, Tokyo, one of the temporary hubs.

According to Tokyo-Jinjacho, it designated the hub shrines in 2016, but no concrete efforts regarding the system had been made since. However, in the wake of last year’s Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the bureau has resumed discussions on the idea in earnest. It said it will draw up specific details of the plan, such as transport routes.

Tokyo-Jinjacho has so far deployed collapsible carts and emergency power generators to all the hub shrines. It also provided about 420 shrines with water-activated lights and 30-meter-long ropes that can be used for temporary repairs among other purposes.

Tomoaki Takahashi, 49, senior priest of Setatamagawa Shrine in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, recalled his visit to his hometown in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, about a week after the 2011 disaster. At one shrine, about 200 local residents had evacuated and were staying inside its office. Although the shrine was not a designated evacuation center, it was said to have accepted evacuees for about three months.

“The shrine was a public facility for the local residents,” said Takahashi.

“We want to deepen discussions on how we can provide support by making use of our day-to-day relationships among the shrines,” said Takayuki Wada, 53, chairperson of Tokyo-Jinjacho’s disaster prevention committee.