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Hisaya Sugiyama, AIA, the president of AIA Japan, discusses his personal view of how Japan has fared since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated the northern region of his country. Sugiyama talks about relief efforts there, the level of destruction he has seen, the nuclear crisis and the state of efforts to rebuild infrastructure damaged during the tragic event.

Did the earthquake or tsunami have any impact on you personally? Was there any damage in and around your home or the area you live in?

Yes and no. Fortunately for us, the epicenter was 300 km away. Most of the earthquake and tsunami damage occurred in the Tohoku Region away from Metropolitan Tokyo, except some oil refineries were damaged and one was caught in a spectacular fire on the east side of Tokyo Bay. The damages around my neighborhood are limited to some cracks and tiles fallen off the exterior walls of residential buildings.

How is the relief effort going there? It appears from what we see in the U.S. that your nation is doing a very good job in dealing with this tragedy.

Because of the sheer magnitude of the destruction and the expanse of the areas affected, the relief effort is not moving as quickly as they did after the Kobe earthquake in 1995. The government deployed 100,000 Self Defense Forces troops (out of 230,000) to this effort, and the US armed forces are putting up personnel, equipment, and materiel for us, too.

There was first physical breaking of roadways, railways and airports. Then an issue of fuel shortage came up compounding the problem. The recovery of corpse is still continuing today, and the clearing of debris in tsunami hit towns has just started, which is expected to take three years to complete. With so many people having lost their houses, one calculation says we need 20,000 temporary housing units in Miyagi prefecture alone (expected to be completed in a year), while 170,000 evacuees are struggling in make-shift shelters, which lack the basics like heat, bathing facilities, and decent toilets. We have already lost 50 or so elderly people in these shelters.

What role would you like to see AIA Japan play in recovery in the months and years ahead?

AIA Japan alone cannot do much because of our limited resources. But when AIA starts involvement with JIA and governmental ministries, AIA Japan can help AIA work smoothly in Japan. We are also planning for the Joint Conference of AIA Northwest Pacific Region and Committee on Design to be held in Tokyo and a few other locations within Japan in November 2011. Through this conference, we are trying to offer some insightful seminars related to earthquake, tsunami, etc. so that our AIA colleagues can learn first-hand what Japan has been doing to protect its citizens (and where it failed).

What are your thoughts on the support you have received from your colleagues in at the AIA in the United States and elsewhere?

It was overwhelming to me because I did not expect it to happen; so many people sent us e-mail asking about our safety and expressing condolences for the victims and sending prayers for all. It made me proud of being a part of this professional organization, so large and yet, very human and compassionate. It also made me think in two dimensions; one as a husband and father thinking the best course of action for my family; the other as a professional, though I am still struggling, thinking for the greater good of the society, what I can do, what our organization can do, etc.

From an infrastructure standpoint, how do you view Japan’s level of preparation for the earthquake?

Japan has steadfastly improved on the infrastructure and building structures to prepare for big earthquakes. Compared to most other countries, Japan is probably the safest place on earth in this regard. However, when a big one hits, there is always a “soteigai” or “outside of assumed level” of seismic movement or tsunami height, or chain reaction of mishaps, etc. There can never be anything that is 100% safe. It is important for engineers and architects to be humble about the force of nature, and be imaginative about possible effects to the structures they design and the people who use them.

In downtown Tokyo, most buildings satisfy the most recent seismic building code; we strongly believe that they should be OK when the next big one hits. Then again, that is what we kept saying every time we saw earthquake damage in foreign countries until Kobe, where even a section of raised highway fell to one side. It was not supposed to happen, but it did. The design could be faulty. Or construction could be faulty. It also depends on which way the ground shakes, at which frequency, and whether the epicenter is directly below or at a remote location. We just have to have faith in our code and the quality of construction in general. I am personally not worried about my own apartment building, though.

Was your nation prepared for the tsunami? Are changes needed and, if so, what might they be?

This time, apparently we were not prepared for tsunamis of that magnitude. One thing that was soteigai was the fact that there were three consecutive earthquakes happening within 6 minutes over 500 km in length along the edge of three isolated fragments of the North American plate. Academics warned that there was a high possibility of a big one off Sendai. But they did not think of three happening at the same time.

Thus produced were tsunamis surpassing the design height by 2-300%. Japan has tried to protect seaboard communities from tsunamis by dropping concrete everywhere. In the end those concrete structures lost to the power of incoming tsunamis, having given a false sense of safety to residents who did not rush out to a secure ground as fast as they should have. The coastal disaster management strategy must be revised dramatically, I believe.

An obvious solution is to rebuild the community; houses, schools, hospitals, retail and business districts on a high ground nearby, while only the harbor / fishing facilities remain on the waterfront. The space in between can be playgrounds and parks owned by the government. For small fishing communities, this would be totally feasible.

Looking back at what happened, what made you proudest of your nation?

Well, I am not that proud yet. If Japan can pull itself out of this mess and rebuild with the collective resolve not only the region affected, but the sense of pride in the new direction of the country for a different future, I’d be proud.

What is your sense of the current state of Japan’s nuclear energy structures and what will need to be addressed going forward?

One big problem that surfaced was that the regulatory agency, who is supposed to oversee the safety issues, is under Ministry of International Trade and Industry, who is the promoter of nuclear reactor technology and products overseas. The academics also benefit from grants, commissions, and salaries from the industry and the ministry. It is one big group of shared interest. One cannot deny existence of corruptive elements. This must be reconfigured with transparency, or no more plants would be allowed in any part of the country. The government has issued an order today to require all existing plants to provide for another layer of emergency power back-up for cooling systems, extra power vehicles, hoses, etc. within one month. It is a good start. All plants must be watched over by the neighboring communities, instead of the national government, for compliance and emergency preparedness. Some older reactors must soon be retired (those at Fukushima Daiichi are the oldest in the country – 40 years old).

Do you think Japan’s reliance on nuclear energy will change after this unfortunate event? What is your sense for the presence of alternative energy solutions in Japan today?

Japan relies on nuclear energy for about 25% of power supply at peak time. Because of the accident, it may shift towards more use of LNG in the immediate future. As to alternative energy sources, the wind, geothermal, tidal, and PV account for only 1% of supply so far, and they cannot realistically replace the nuclear power in any near future.

Japan will have to look at ways to reduce energy consumption first. For example, we can get by with lower indoor lighting levels in many cases. We should put value in design incorporating natural day-lighting in buildings. I am sure industries will advance technologies for better efficiency in electric power usage as well as better efficiency in extracting power out of fossil fuels, so we become more efficient in using as well as producing electricity. People are talking about the day light savings time. Factories will just have to consider taking turns operating at night time and/or taking days off during the week to reduce the peak load.

In the meantime, Japan should be working to improve the nuclear reactor technology that is more efficient, safer, and cleaner. The Japanese tend not to reject something only because a problem arises and makes it undesirable, because it would mean denial of the people who had promoted it. There are thousands of people in academia, industry, and governments, who promoted the nuclear energy as being safe and clean. Now that the negative side of the nuclear energy came up in the worst possible way, effectively negating the claims of those promoters. But their faces must not be tarnished, the Japanese would think, and the technology cannot be denied outright. So, they will find excuses to continue research on improved versions of nuclear energy. Because Japan does need reliable (well, to some extent) source of energy, and fossil fuels are less and less desirable for a myriad of reasons, they can easily justify the continuation.

Most countries were stunned at what happened in Fukushima and putting a moratorium in pushing the installation of nuclear plants; but in order to accommodate the energy needs of developing countries, the world will realistically have to build more nuclear plants. If the bureaucrats in Japan have any smart, they’d analyze what went wrong in Fukushima, be totally transparent about the mistakes they have committed, and become respectful “experts” in the nuclear power technologies and operations so they can do some good to the rest of the world.

What advice would you give your colleagues in the United States after this event?

Back up your files and store them in a safe place.

Do not sleep in a room with any furniture taller than your bed.

Don’t procrastinate because there may not be tomorrow.

Hisaya Sugiyama, AIA, the president of AIA Japan

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