They were so young and they had experienced such a terrible tragedy. The third gift the students gave me was not a craft, or even a material object. So I accepted this gift as a symbol of resilience and hard work. I understand that red cows in this region were traditionally known for being the hardest-working animal. You may know this is a traditional doll associated with the hot springs in Tohoku. I'd like to congratulate for your strong support and resilience.Īfter the earthquake, I visited Fukushima Minami High School. I'm very happy and encouraged to see Sendai, such a beautiful city but badly hit, inundated by a tsunami, now fully recovered. They were all happy to hear me speak in Japanese and encourage them, and I'm just thinking about the four years of my very moving experience meeting so many people who are very resilient and courageous and determined to recover. I've been meeting many of them with very limited Japanese, I've always been saying: When I came here four years ago, I was visiting these camps where many affected people, homeless people, were housed. Kokusai shakai mo kokurn mo ouen shiteimasu. I voice my strong support for Japan’s vibrant reconstruction efforts. Nihon no chikarazuyoi fukkou wo ouenshite imasu. I welcome all of the impressive rebuilding efforts in this region. It can also keep track of how we are doing on the future sustainable development goals. I count on this valuable Centre to help monitor progress on the new global disaster risk reduction framework. I am especially grateful for Tohoku University’s collaboration with a number of United Nations agencies on a new Global Centre for Disaster Statistics. You have responded to this tragedy with more than 100 recovery projects. I extend my deepest condolences to all those who suffered, especially the families, friends and professors of the three students who died. This institution was badly damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake four years ago. Tohoku University is a valuable member of the United Nations Academic Impact, an initiative which I launched a few years ago. I hope you do not mind if I try to speak a little Japanese: I deeply appreciate this opportunity to address such a dynamic gathering.

Heroes and generals japan