Minamisoma – The Forgotten City in Japan – Response!

Remember the post about the mayor who needed break. His town is near the nuclear danger zone, many evacuated, but many are still there. He needed supplies and help but was cut off and in danger of not having anything for his people. He made a YouTube video and lo and behold, he got 200,000 views and is getting calls of help and much needed supplies. As reported in The New York Times, some Katsunobu Sakurai remarks,

“Suddenly, the world was extending its hand to us,” said Mr. Sakurai, 55, an energetic man who still wears the same beige uniform as in the video, but now smiles and seems more relaxed. “We learned we’re not alone.”

The idea of using social networking, in this case a plea via YouTube worked well for a town who probably never thought of using this type of technology. I’d like to think that because this worked here, perhaps more could will use it where they see fit. This is just another small reason to have free wifi everywhere which will then hopefully get people more involved in using technology instead of waiting for media and bureaucracies to catch up with their work – which may never come through. NY Times