Music has played an important role in easing the pain of many people in the Tohoku region whose lives were affected by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
But for Sendai-based violinist Satoko Sato and pianist Mitsuhiro Sakakibara, performing for the survivors is not the only way they can help.
The duo have helped students at four elementary schools in tsunami-hit Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, record their school songs. The schools will close for good at the end of March and merge with neighboring institutions, and when that happens, their songs and names will be done away with.