They received letters of encouragement after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and now people from Tohoku are themselves extending that sentiment to survivors of quake-struck Nepal.
In recent months the Himalayan nation was shaken by two major earthquakes and is still struggling to get back on its feet. A Kobe-based organization that provided "genki mail" to cheer up disaster victims in 2011 is delivering messages to Nepalese victims as part of another major project.
So far, the Asia Africa Cooperation Environment Center has sent some 10,000 letters to eight countries, including Russia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Colombia and Algeria, affected by natural or man-made disasters. Japan's victims have received about 20,000 letters from abroad. Nepal is next on the list.