The closer you are to the area damaged by a disaster, the less access you have to information.

That is how Kunihiko Asai, 59, an official in charge of communication at the fire department headquarters of Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, feels when he recalls the experience of being dispatched to the disaster-hit town of Watari, Miyagi Prefecture, immediately after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The huge jolt and tsunami caused large-scale power outages and interrupted communication services, meaning people weren't able to get breaking news updates via television and the internet.