Encouraged by their families or governments back home, droves of foreign residents are fleeing areas in northeastern Japan hard hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami. But others have decided to remain behind to lend a hand to their home away from home.
Encouraged by their families or governments back home, droves of foreign residents are fleeing areas in northeastern Japan hard hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami. But others have decided to remain behind to lend a hand to their home away from home.
Throngs of non-Japanese carrying rucksacks and suitcases gathered Friday morning at the municipal government building in Sendai for buses chartered by the embassies of the United States, China and other countries.
For many, the decision to leave is a heart-wrenching affair.
A 39-year-old U.S. citizen who said he coaches the lacrosse team at a private high school in Sendai was waiting in line with his 29-year-old Japanese fiancee.
After the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake knocked out power and water at his apartment, he was forced to stay with the woman's family.
Although he wanted to remain in Japan, the American's father in the United States raised concerns about the radiation leakage at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and strongly urged his son to leave the country.
The son obeyed. He said he planned to stay in the United States for about 10 days.
His fiancee, who lives with her 59-year-old father, wanted to join her future husband on the trip. But her father did not respond favorably to her plan.
"I decided that it would be better (to stay) than to go off where only I would be safe and regret it later," the woman said.
After the two hugged each other, the American vowed to return.
Among those waiting for the bus chartered by the Chinese government was a 38-year-old man, his 31-year-old pregnant wife, and their 1-year-old daughter.
The three had been holed up in an evacuation center since the quake, but they said they often had only one slice of bread among them for a meal.
The nuclear situation also nudged them in the direction of their homeland, they said.
"I will return after a week as I have work here, but I intend to have my wife and child stay in China for a while," the man said.
About 10,000 foreign nationals were living in Sendai before the quake, according to local statistics.
However, foreign governments have advised their nationals to leave the disaster-hit areas.
China, South Korea and the Philippines have chartered buses for their nationals so they can head to Tokyo or the Kansai region--or to flights back home.
"We are not sure about the exact numbers, but a large number of people have fled the prefecture," an official at the Sendai municipal government's international exchange division said.
The Tohoku University International House and two other facilities in Sendai were home to about 460 students and academics from China, South Korea and other countries. However, after the quake, about 90 percent of them left the prefecture.
But for a 22-year-old American who works as an international exchange staffer at the town government of Shichigahama, Miyagi Prefecture, leaving is simply out of the question.
He said he was invited by his former host family in Kobe to stay with them until the crisis ends.
But he turned down the kind offer, and is now helping to clean evacuation centers and prepare meals for evacuees.
The man said he came to Shichigahama about six months ago. He said he was touched by the kindness of the town's residents, including the mayor who helped him when the pipes froze and he could not get water at his home, and the townsfolk who delivered confections to his workplace.
Referring to Kobe's successful rebuilding efforts after the city was devastated by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, the man said he was confident that Shichigahama would also recover.
Brock Emerson, a 31-year-old assistant language teacher from the United States who teaches English at elementary and junior high schools in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, said he chose to stay despite recommendations from the U.S. Embassy to leave.
He said he wanted to help with the reconstruction of the city.
Emerson said he is touched whenever children try to cheer him up using English they learned from his classes. He said they mean so much to him.
(This article was written by Nobuhiro Shirai, Tatsuya Chikusa, Nasuka Yamamoto and Hikari Maruyama.)