Meet the man who welcomed Israeli doctors to a town hit by a tsunami after 3/11

When the Tohoku region was hit by a massive earthquake that triggered a deadly tsunami in March 2011, volunteers from home and abroad provided various forms of support, from medical supplies to rescue teams.

A lesser known effort was made in the aftermath of the disaster by a team of about 60 doctors from Israel, who were sent to the town of Minamisanriko, Miyagi Prefecture. The operation was carried out in large part thanks to Isamu Sato – the then mayor of Kurihara, as well as in Miyagi – who coordinated with the Israeli Embassy in Japan and the central government and local municipalities.

Former Kurihara Mayor Isamu Sato coordinated the dispatch of Israeli doctors to Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture in the wake of the March 2011 tsunami earthquake. | Kahoku Shimbo

On March 20, 2011, the Israeli ambassador to Japan contacted Sato about the possibility of sending an Israeli medical team to Minamisanriku, which was settled by the tsunami disaster. A State Department official in the department’s Middle East division also contacted Sato for advice.

Sato studied in Israel when he was in his twenties, lived in a kibbutz farming community, and later worked for an Israeli government research institute. He reminded him of the envoy approach with the love he received in his youth days.

Sato had gone to Minamisanriku the day before, aware of the fact that most of the medical supplies at a general hospital had been washed away by the tsunami and that the city needed medical support.

When he contacted other relevant ministries, Sato learned that the central government had decided to accept the Israeli team of doctors as long as the Miyagi Prefectural government agreed to the plan.

But although Minamisanriku Mayor Jin Sato also wanted medical help for the city, the Miyagi government was reluctant, worried that Tohoku University doctors sent to the affected area might have difficulty coordinating with foreign doctors.

Time was of the essence, so on March 21 Sato went to the Miyagi government office to impress the officials. Around midnight, Miyagi Prefecture gave the green light on the condition that Israeli doctors follow the instructions of their Japanese counterparts.

On March 29, doctors arrived in Minamisanriku on a two-week assignment, during which they stayed in Kurihara.

Although initially reluctant, patients in Minamisanriko gradually began to see doctors. Doctors also treated Jin Sato, the mayor of Minamisanriko, and helped transport the expectant mother to Kurihara Hospital.

When the town asked them for X-ray machines and blood tests, she was taken care of right away. With the new medical equipment, the local general hospital started treating patients.

“I was struck by their charitable mindset,” Sato said.

The night before they left, Sato thanked them for their work and sang with them “Holy Gold,” a popular song in Israel.

“I felt like I was able to return my gratitude after 40 years,” he said.

This section presents topics and issues from the Tohoku region covered by Kahoku Shimpo, Tohoku’s largest newspaper. The original article was published on July 26.

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