An American survivor of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York who reached out to the Tohoku region following the triple disaster in 2011 has for years fostered a unique bond with its people, finding the connection mutually beneficial in coping with the traumatic events.

"I thought we would be helping them, but they were helping us," said Jeanette Gutierrez, 56, an office worker who volunteers as a docent at the 9/11 Tribute Museum in Lower Manhattan.

For nine years after the attack that brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers, which she witnessed from her nearby office, Gutierrez said her memories of the chaos and destruction were too overwhelming to talk about, even with people close to her.