“Nanakorobi yaoki” (Fall seven times, stand up eight), all stood up to rebuild the cities and towns that were devastated on the day of March 11th

Mr. Muhame Ivan from JICA Uganda Office reported a study tour to Tohoku region. He accompanied participants of “Comprehensive City Planning” to the study tour. The participants have leant how the municipalities are reconstructing their towns and communities affected by the tragic disaster of March 11th.

As part of the 6 weeks of rigorous training in comprehensive city planning, participants drawn from Asia, Africa and the Middle East were taken on a study tour to Miyagi Prefecture. Given that the training was on city planning, the tour was aimed at giving the participants an insight of how planning and reconstruction activities were being undertaken in Natori City and Onagawa town that were severely destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 2011.

The trip brought mixed feelings as participants were filled with sorrow when taken through the events of what transpired on that day of March 11th, the number of lives lost and the level of destruction of property. However, like the famous Japanese proverb says- “Nanakorobi yaoki” (Fall seven times, stand up eight), the sad feelings that were evident on participants’ faces were lit by the way residents, community organizations, private sector, regional and central governments have all stood up to rebuild the cities and towns that were devastated. All the stakeholders were bringing out their best including state of the art technology to make the cities and towns look more attractive and resilient than before, while at the same time preserving the important historical features and monuments in remembrance of the disaster. The historical preservations were also aimed at keeping generations on alert should another disaster strike.

Participants came from the trip re-energized to tackle planning challenges in their respective countries head-on by utilizing such Japanese experiences.

Reported by Muhame Ivan
Program Officer – Infrastructure Development
JICA Uganda Office

【Course Period】From September 24 to October 30
【Course Title】Comprehensive City Planning
【Countries】15 participants ：Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Zambia