11 March 2011 was a tragic day. Japan was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami unprecedented in history. Latest statistics show that close to 16,000 (15,845) precious lives were lost in that disaster and more than 3,000 (3,339) people are still missing with very little hope of survival.

This year, on 5 March 2012, the Embassy of Japan held a commemorative event to pray for the thousands of lost lives and give thanks to those who showed strong solidarity with the people of Japan at a time of great need and national mourning.

The first year anniversary commemoration was held at Hilton Addis with a photographic exhibition showing the damage of the tsunami, the reconstruction efforts and the life-saving emergency deployment by different countries of the world. The exhibition also included  paintings by children from the Tohoku area (the most severely affected by the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami) which clearly depicted a thank you message to the world that lent them a hand.

A short documentary of footage from the tragic 3.11 was shown to the gathering which was soon followed by heartfelt offerings of prayers by the five religious leaders. His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church led the prayer followed by Rev. Dr. Wakseyoum Idosa from the Ethiopian Evangelical Mekaneyesus Church, Haji Azam Yousuf, representating the Ethiopian Muslim Affairs Council and Aba Hailegebriel Meleko, representative from the Ethiopian Catholic Church.

In his opening speech, H.E. Ambassador Hiroyuki Kishino said “Time flies like an arrow, to signify the freshness of the memory of 3.11.   

The Ambassador also talked about the tragic consequences of the tsunami and the resilient efforts his government and people have been employing to mitigate the problems. He also shared his traumatic experience at the moment when the 3.11 incident happened while he was at home in Tokyo. 
“Photo frames, vases and ornaments on the top of a cabinet slid and crashed to the floor.  A heavy stone lantern in my garden also toppled to the ground.  Then we experienced unprecedented chaos in public transportation and disruption in power supply.  Tokyo was in confusion despite being 370 k.m. away from the epicenter of the earthquake. It was later on that I saw on CNN the awful scenes in which houses and cars were drifting like toys, swept away by monstrous tsunami waves. I was shocked, and every time I recall those scenes my heart aches”, Ambassador Kishino told the gathering.

His Excellency also remarked on the solidarity shown from all over the world, which he described as a light of hope in the middle of the crisis based upon ‘kizuna’-bond of friendship.”
“To date, 124 countries/regions and nine international organizations have extended various kinds of assistance to Japan.  Ethiopia provided us with a generous donation of 5.4 million ETB that the Ethiopian Government raised from various quarters of society”, His Excellency Ambassador Kishino said. 

In his address to the gathering, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ato Hailemariam Desalegn described how the earthquake and tsunami affected the people and government of Ethiopia. “For us Ethiopians to see the pictures of the disaster that shocked Japan made us emotional. The devastating effect of the earthquake and tsunami is still a fresh memory to all of us. The Ethiopian people expressed their solidarity with the Japanese people through different means. Religious leaders prayed for the victims and the country as a whole. School children expressed their emotions by sending drawings, business organizations (private and government) made modest financial contributions to support the rehabilitation effort”, H.E. Hailemariam said.  

Appreciating the resilient and fast reconstruction efforts of the people and government of Japan, Hailemariam further expressed his admiration and underscored that Japan’s wellbeing is to everybody’s interest, and more so to developing countries like Ethiopia where sizeable grant assistance and technical cooperation from Japan have enabled Ethiopia to implement various economic and social infrastructure visible on the ground.
“Even after the tragic disaster, Japanese assistance never reduced in its scope and magnitude”, H.E. Hailemariam told the gathering.

Commending the Japanese as industrious and a highly disciplined culture, and referring to the founding fathers of Japan as farsighted, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos honoured the activities of Japanese ODA in Ethiopia.

“When we heard the brutal and tragic consequences of the severe earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, we were deeply saddened and shared your anguish at the time of national grief with deepest sympathy and profound condolence”, His Holiness remarked.

The Patriarch also commented on his impression of the manner in which the Japanese were able to develop, deploy and efficiently implement quick recovery plan to reinstate the infrastructure and to resettle displaced people.

The commemoration event was attended by H.E. Ato Hailemariam Desalegn, Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Dr. Fasil Nahom, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, H.E. Ato Ahmed Shide, State Minister of Finance and Economic Development, H.E. Ato Tadesse Haile, State Minister of Industry, a representative of the Ministry of Justice, His Holiness Archbishop Dr. Abune Gerima from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Rev. Dr. Wakseyoum Idosa of the Ethiopian Evangelical Mekaneyesus Church, Aba Hailegebriel Meleko, representative of the Ethiopian Catholic Church, and Haji Azam Yousuf, representative of the Ethiopian Muslim Affairs Council.

Moreover, Ambassador John Aggrey, Diplomatic Advisor to the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union and Mr. Ramtare Lamamra, Commisioner for Peace and Security of the African Union attended the event with the presence of Ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps residing in Addis Ababa, business and civil society leaders, representatives from a cross section of society and the media.