MINAMISANRIKU, Miyagi Pref. — A woman occupies herself by arranging boxes of supplies for evacuees at a sports arena in Minamisanriku on the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, one of the communities hit hardest by the magnitude 9.0 quake and massive tsunami on March 11.
Amelia Sasaki, a 30-year Filipino resident of the town who lost her own home in the disaster, says she just needs to keep herself busy.
"I have been staying at my sister-in-law's house on high ground since the earthquake but I come here for volunteer work because otherwise I would just be in a daze, doing nothing. I would get a headache in the end," said Sasaki, who is married to a local Japanese man.