Entertainment Sep. 08, 2011 - 07:10AM JST ( 18 )

TOKYO —

NHK will broadcast a series of special programs on Sept 10 and Sept 11 to mark the six-month anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

While progress is seen in the disaster stricken areas, many victims are struggling to rebuild their lives from scratch. NHK will address the issues that need to be solved, delivering the voices of people facing up to the challenges.

Goro Taguchi, who heads NHK’s cross-department project on the Great East Japan Earthquake, said, “We want to fulfill our missions as a public broadcaster by delivering programs that support the recovery and encourage people. I would also like to share with the world the latest situation of the disaster stricken areas.”

The programs include:

Sept 10, 19:30 – 20:45 on General TV: “The Great East Japan Earthquake: Six Months of Lumbering Reconstruction”

Six months on from the earthquake, some 82,000 victims still live as evacuees, and many feel left behind. The lack of financial resources, difficulty of planning and the ongoing nuclear crises hinder the reconstruction of many communities. The program looks into various issues surrounding the disaster stricken areas, and using a questionnaire collected from local governments, addresses possible solutions.

Sept 10, 21:00 – 22:13 on General TV: “Earthquake Recovery”

Professor Michael Sandel of Harvard University will discuss issues surrounding the recovery with university students in Tokyo, Harvard University and Fudan University, via the Internet. Prof Sandel will pose questions such as: what is the liability of government in the case of natural disasters, to what extent should it compensate personal losses, and whether the same principle applies to the nuclear accident?

Sept 11, 21:00 – 21:53 on General TV: ”The Great East Japan Earthquake: The Unknown Threats of Mega-Tsunami”

The program features the unknown power of tsunami that turned fishing boats and fuel tanks into “weapons” that burned the cities as well as the deficiency of seawalls in minimizing the damage. As the second series of NHK Special “Mega-Tsunami” broadcast through various international broadcasters, the program will re-examine the destructive power of tsunami using various footage gathered by NHK. The program is also scheduled to be broadcast on NHK World TV, an international English-language television service, at 10 a.m. on Oct 1.

Sept 11, 18:05 – 18:50 on Radio 1: “How to face radiation ~food, life, future~“

Professor Masaru Kaneko from Keio University and Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama from the University of Tokyo will discuss various issues regarding radiation, including effects on soil and food, protection of children, and the long-term issue of decontamination.