Among the countless thousands who lost their lives on March 11 in the Great East Japan Earthquake was a dedicated police officer in his late-30s who was working for the Iwate prefectural police department.
Among the countless thousands who lost their lives on March 11 in the Great East Japan Earthquake was a dedicated police officer in his late-30s who was working for the Iwate prefectural police department.
This officer was expecting a promotion to section chief in the department's criminal affairs division on March 15. The Asahi Shimbun received a letter from his wife. With her permission, her heartfelt and touching message appears below:
"As time passes on, our life is gradually regaining some semblance of normalcy, although things are still unstable. Yet, sharing my story about my husband is still a bit of a challenge because part of me still does not want to accept his death.
My husband was a well-respected police officer. He was a huge fan of the popular Japanese police drama 'Bayside Shakedown,' and often associated himself with the drama's main character, 'Aoshima,' who never hesitates to take any risk to ensure the safety of people's lives. And I totally agreed with him.
The shocking scenes of the gigantic tsunami on TV make me despair when I consider his unflagging devotion to his job.
Just before the earthquake, since my husband was scheduled to transfer to another location on March 15, I left our children with my mother and went to the place where he temporarily lived by himself for his work. From March 8 through 11, I was there with him, and on the morning of March 11, we ate a plate of curry together for breakfast. I recall that he used to say he wanted to eat as much curry as possible when he was about to die. During my stay there, he was busy with work and after-work drinking parties, so that we could not spend much time together. Yet, one time he did not go to a party, and we prepared together for his move for about five hours.
On March 11, I received a call from our children's school and was notified that our child was having a stomach ache. I initially planned to leave late in the afternoon on that day, but I left before 2 p.m. to pick up our child at school.
It was about 3 p.m. when I felt the devastating quake in my car. Shortly after the big tremor, I received an e-mail from my husband, saying 'Be careful.' I then felt relieved because this e-mail indicated that he was OK. However, I could not contact my mother or my children's school, so I e-mailed him back saying, 'All the traffic lights are out and I cannot reach our children's school or my mother.' He e-mailed me again, saying 'Be careful, be careful. I cannot reach you other than by e-mail.' That was his last e-mail. He was concerned about me until his last breath.
He tried to evacuate as many people as possible while making sure that all he could do was done.
When his wallet was found later, my 'Good luck' card I made for him with a family photo was found in that wallet. This truly touched my heart because it indicates that he tried hard to survive for the sake of our family. He also must have felt helpless at being able to be there for our children, at which my heart aches.
My husband often said that because he does not want to be a policeman who only thinks of his own family and cannot fully focus on helping people near him, he may not be able to be with me in emergencies like a natural catastrophe. So he asked me to take care of our children if such an event were to occur.
I began to realize that my husband was a police officer who bears responsibilities for supporting not only our family but also others. Yet, he was still the man on whom my family relied.
I told my children that my husband is no longer in pain, in cold, or in sorrow, and try to live our lives as normally as possible.
This letter may not be well-structured, and I cannot remember what I said in here, but all I want to say to my husband is thank you.
He was raised in a warm-hearted family and loved by many people. I can never forget the big smile on his face when he ate food he loved.
I am surprised to know so many people are supporting us. We gratefully receive their support as we move on with our lives."