For comic book artist Fumio Obata, the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami is far from over.
He has uploaded or published about 60 works regarding the 2011 catastrophe that ravaged the northeastern Tohoku region on his website and in a magazine. And he shows no sign of stopping.
“I want to keep challenging myself to express more with my works especially because these are such tough themes to tackle,” said the artist, 41, who is based in Cheltenham, southern Britain.
In April, Obata visited Dokeiji temple in the Odaka community of Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, which was designated an evacuation zone following the crippling of the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant during the disaster.
“How can we help fill the gap in the heart of those affected by the disaster?” he asked the head monk of the temple.
Born in Tokyo, Obata moved to Britain when he was 16 and graduated from the Glasgow School of Art and London's Royal College of Art. He has been producing numerous animations, illustrations and comics while working as a lecturer on illustration at the University of Gloucestershire near his home.
He remembers the day of the disaster vividly.
When he switched on his computer on March 11, 2011, the Japanese and British media were frantically reporting the devastation. It was difficult to understand the entire scope of the horror, as the situation was so chaotic.
“I had no idea what was going on, even though it was something that was happening to my own country,” Obata said.
But that did not stop him from producing the artworks.
Obata uploaded illustrations based on information he obtained in the media on his website for 50 days straight.
Since summer 2012, when he visited tsunami-ravaged Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, the artist has been returning to Japan during his long vacations from his university job. His aim is to learn more about the disaster-stricken areas so he can accurately cover them in his artworks.
In a six-part reportage comic he drew for an Italian journalism magazine, he described his experience in the disaster zones, including how he walked through Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, with a dosimeter in his hand. He also depicted the state of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, where a large fishing boat that was washed up by the tsunami was still left stranded on the ground when he visited.
Obata added that his journey through the disaster zones reminded him of the reality that his life in both Tokyo and Cheltenham was supported by electricity produced by nuclear power plants in rural areas.
Plans are under way to build new nuclear power plants in Britain. His friends ask him what he thinks of such projects as a Japanese, but he still doesn’t have an answer.
“Japanese living abroad have the task of showing the state of the disaster victims and the nation to the people around them,” Obata said. “I think it’s my duty to convey that through my comics.”
Obata's website is at http://www.fumioobata.co.uk/