Bob Stilger

Today, communities in the region are struggling to reinvent their lives, but what will their future look like in a context that is permanently changed?

Before the triple disasters of March 11, 2011 most people had to be persuaded that transition was important. Now, the questions are about how – not about why. The organizers work consciously with excitement and joy. “I love what I am doing, and it attracts others.” Work always begins at a small scale and then travels through friendship. “People who are sympathetic to the idea of transition are attracted to ideas about new ways of living. There’s a combination of sympathy and passion – transition is not something to be pushed. It is something people feel. Of course, as we work, there are many failures, but that’s okay — we continue to make joy.”

Here’s what’s going on in Fukushima and across the region. Funds which were available for the “emergency phase” are almost gone. The clear focus and purposefulness of what needs to happen next that was present in the emergency phase is gone. The NPOs and others supporting communities during the emergency phase are cutting back — in part because they don’t have funding and in part because they are not sure what to do. Meanwhile, things are stabilized, but the “new now” has not come into form. Many, many small scale initiatives and projects and small businesses have been launched. The government is busy creating City Plans and other plans to which most people feel no connection. Climate of cooperation is decreasing.

I’m on my way home to Kyoto for a brief visit before returning for a for five final days of work in Fukushima. Deep learning continues for me and for all of us as we discover how to support communities in Tohoku in creating a new future.

Before 3.11 I rarely heard people in Japan talking about happiness. I did not hear people asking questions about what is good society. But that is what is in the air now.