301 Mita Higashimon Bldg., Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan Phone: Fax:

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1 301 Mita Higashimon Bldg., Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan Phone: Fax: NEWS UPDATE DATE: Sunday 13 th March, 2011 TO: FROM: All Business Partners The J Team, Tokyo Head Office & Kyoto Office Report on current conditions in Japan following the Earthquake & Tsunami of It is difficult to imagine that anyone has not heard of the disaster that struck northern Japan on the afternoon of Friday 11 th March. Its exact scale will only be known in the coming days and weeks, but we can already say that it was a phenomenon powerful enough to change time (the Earth s rotation sped up by 1.6 microseconds), move the planet (the earth s axis reportedly shifted by nearly 25cms), and realign the Japan s north-east coast by 2 metres. This was the fifth largest earthquake ever recorded, with only the slightly larger Northern Sumatran Earthquake of 2004, and slightly smaller Chilean Coast of Maule Earthquake of last year being comparable in scale in the past 40 years. Images and reports of the aftermath have been flooding television and the internet over the past 48 hours, some so vivid and disturbing that it would be easy to believe that Japan is about to sink or possibly explode into oblivion. Unquestionably, an extreme human tragedy is unfolding in the vicinity of the quake. Early reports of hundreds dead have increased to thousands, and it is sadly certain that these figures will continue to multiply before reaching a final total. The focus of everyone in Japan is and will continue to be to secure the safety of as many people affected by the quake as possible, and from there, to support the people and areas affected in the inevitable and painstaking rebuilding that lies ahead. Those who are familiar with Japan will know the japanese to be highly resilient in the face of adversity, but this is likely to be a process of years rather than months in the coastal regions of the prefectures most significantly hit, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima on Japan s northern Pacific coast. We would like to start by thanking the countless friends and acquaintances around the world who have sent good wishes over the past 48 hours. Those thoughts and wishes are deeply appreciated.

2 While our own thoughts are of course with our families, friends, and the people directly affected by last Friday s events, nevertheless, as a company whose business is to introduce Japan to potential visitors, and whose prime professional concern is always the care and well-being of visitors in Japan, we feel obliged to provide as much, accurate, objective information as possible. There is a huge volume of information in the media, from a variety of different sources, much of it accurate, but as is inevitably the case nowadays, some highly opinionated, some intentionally sensational, and some simply wrong. We would like to try to provide a flow of accurate information describing the current situation on the ground here, specifically from the locations most frequented by and significant to visitors to Japan. This will be an ongoing process, and we will attempt to provide daily updates during the coming week, but would like to start with a general report on conditions here two days after the tragic Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, (1) Areas worst effected by the Earthquake & Tsunami Tohoku (North-Eastern Japan): Japan has a population totaling just over 125 million, spread over 47 prefectures (counties /states) encompassing a total area of around 380,000 sq. kms, and measuring just over 2,500 kms from the north eastern tip of Hokkaido Island in the north to the southern end of Okinawa Island in the south. The most serious damage, seemingly resulting mainly from the Tsunami rather than the earthquake itself, is to the coastal areas of three prefectures on Japan s north eastern Pacific Coast, Miyagi Prefecture (130 kms off whose coast the epicenter was located, population 2,340,000), Iwate Prefecture (immediately north of Miyagi, population 1,350,000), and Fukushima Prefecture (immediately south of Miyagi, population 2,050,000). To give an idea of location, Fukushima, the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, is located 270 kms north of Tokyo, while Morioka, the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, is 535 kms north of Tokyo. (a) Situation on the ground (based on constantly updated news reports): As television images have shown all too vividly, some villages and towns within a few kms of the coast in these areas have been devastated, almost obliterated by the tsunami. It is difficult to give accurate details at present, so we will wait for more reliable data before doing so. One situation of immediate concern is obviously the status of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, where there was an explosion at the no. 1 reactor yesterday, and the potential for a further explosion at the no. 3 reactor. Theories abound across the internet as to the potential dangers of this situation, and they cannot be understated, but based on the information so far released, it is impossible to say with any certainty what has happened and what the likely consequences are, and as such, we will send out updates on this situation as soon as anything definite is known.

3 (b) Lifeline Services (electricity, water, gas): A total of more than 380,000 people are reported to have moved into government-run shelters across Northern Japan. Many have lost their homes; others have homes currently without electricity, water and gas supplies. 2.5 million households across north-eastern Japan are reported to be without electricity, and 1.4 million without water, though these figures are decreasing as electricity lines (which also power the water supply) brought down on Friday are restored. (c) Communications (mobile and landline phone networks): Mobile phone network access is extremely limited, with priority being given to emergency services; landline telephone access is better but sporadic. (d) Transportation: The Tohoku Shinkansen Bullet Train link between Tokyo and Aomori, the most northern prefecture on Japan s Main Island, has been closed down since the Friday s quake, along with almost all local railway lines in the area most affected by the quake. No timetable for the line s reopening has yet been announced. Many expressways in the area are closed, and while road access to the surrounding regions is possible, it is restricted, and access to the areas most badly affected is currently not possible. Sendai Airport, which was partially covered by the tsunami, and Iwate Hanamaki Airport will be closed for the foreseeable future. Instead, flights into and out of Fukushima Airport from all parts of the country have been increased. (2) Tokyo (living population 12,800,000; estimated daytime population 20,000,000): (a) Situation on the ground (by Geraint Holt, Managing Director, The J Team, resident in central Tokyo): I have lived in and around Tokyo for the past 25 years, and Friday s earthquake was by far the most violent I have experienced, and my first time under the desk (earthquake drill in Japan is to stay in buildings, and go under desks, where the best bodily protection can be secured from falling objects); while it s difficult to be objective about experiences such as this, these simple facts demonstrate both the severity of the quake, and how extremely rare anything of this severity is. Visible damage in our Tokyo office was limited to spilt coffee; aftershocks, have subsequently continued,

4 with lessening frequency, though we have been warned to expect them to continue this week. As we did not have any clients in Tokyo at the time of the quake, once the safety of a group of clients staying in the Fuji-Hakone area (see below) was established, Friday evening was spent ensuring that all of the staff got home safely, as, other than some falling masonry, including a ceiling at an Old Hall which tragically killed 5 people, the only noticeable effect of the quake on the working population of Tokyo was the city s transportation system shutting down for much of the remainder of Friday. Some people walked home, others waited for the subway to reopen, and while a number of workers in Tokyo chose to spend the night in government-operated shelters opened specially for the purpose, the last of our own staff reached home just after midnight. Saturday involved checking and confirming the progress home of the above mentioned clients, who took the Bullet Train from the Fuji-Hakone area to Osaka, and flew safely back to Australia in the evening; besides this, the day was spent answering countless calls and s from friends and family around the world, and trying to get as much reliable information and detail as possible as to what had happened and was happening in the areas worst affected. Through the day, I became acutely aware of an almost shameful yet undeniable irony, which is that, here in Tokyo, excepting the ongoing aftershocks, which we are told will continue through the coming week, life was back to normal by Saturday morning, with all of the local train lines were running again. So much so that visitors without access to a television, the internet or printed media, would not have found yesterday to be anything other than a normal Saturday in Tokyo; this, less than 24 hours and 300 kms from a region where a great tragedy is unfolding. Just to clarify Tokyo s position with regard to tsunamis, although a tsunami warning, which has since been rescinded, was in place for much of the japanese coast immediately after the earthquake, this did not include Tokyo, which is a sheltered inland bay, 50 kms from the Pacific Coast. (b) Lifeline Services (electricity, water, gas): All of the above services functioned without interruption during and after Friday s quake. The Japanese Government and national Electrical Supplier today announced the introduction of a scheme to limit electricity use to certain facilities in certain areas for a limited time during the day over the coming month, to preclude potential shortages of electrical power resulting from the shutdown of nuclear-power plants described above; exact details of the scheme are yet to be clarified, but indications are that this will be aimed at factories and individual homes, and will not affect hotels and other commercial facilities, such as restaurants, sightseeing venues or airports. We will provide precise details of any potential effects of this scheme a soon as full details are announced. (c) Communications (mobile and landline phone networks): Mobile phone network access is generally available in Tokyo, although calls sometimes show as engaged and can take two or three attempts to complete, due again, we are told, to priority being given to emergency services; landline telephone access and broadband internet is operating as normal. (d) Transportation:

5 As mentioned above, the transport network did go down for around 5 hours on Friday afternoon, as checks were made on line safety throughout the subway and national railway network. However, the Tokaido Shinkansen Bullet Train Line, connecting Tokyo with Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima went back into operation on Friday evening, and was running a full, regular timetable from Saturday morning. The Tokyo Subway network came back into operation on all lines except one on Friday evening, and was fully operational from Saturday morning, as was the local National Railway network. The only significant railway lines out of Tokyo not working are the 3 Shinkansen Bullet Train lines which connect the Capital with north and north-eastern Japan, the Tohoku, Akita and Nagano Shinkansen Bullet Train lines. As noted above, no timetable for reopening these lines has yet been announced. Roads in and around Tokyo were open but crowded on Friday evening, while the rail network was down, but back to normal from Saturday morning, with the only precautions relating to expressways leading into the Tohoku area most severely affected by the disaster. Both of Tokyo s International Airports, Narita and Haneda, closed down fully or partially on Friday, the day of the earthquake, and reopened yesterday with a limited service. They are functioning as normal today, with a minimal number of cancellations domestically (relating to the airports closed in the disaster-struck area) and internationally (resulting from flights to Japan cancelled over the past 2 days as a precaution). While all travellers are strongly advised to check the scheduled operation of flights, operations can be considered normal, and the usual rail and road access to each airport is fully functional. (3) Fuji-Hakone Region (around Mt. Fuji, approximately 100 kms south-west of Tokyo, so approximately 400 kms from the area most badly affected by the earthquake): (a) Situation on the ground (report by Toyoko Umeda, Licensed English-speaking Guide, The J Team, guide for a group of Australian guests in the Fuji-Hakone area on Friday 11th): The group of guests I was accompanying did feel the quake on Friday afternoon. We were visiting the Asahi Beer Brewery and were just about to go for beer tasting. The trembling started rather mildly but gradually became intense. We managed to keep standing until the shaking ceased. 1-2 minutes of the quake we left the building and proceeded to an open area of the grounds. The Asahi Beer Factory Manager told everyone that we could not go inside as it was too dangerous and gave us can coffee to express his apology. The guests had to wait outside for about 30 minutes, as I could not contact the coach driver immediately,

6 as the mobile phone network was jammed, but the driver came down on foot to find out how we were and then brought his coach around to pick us up. The driver suggested that we should go back to our hotel (the Hyatt Hakone) in the Fuji Hakone National Park as soon as possible as some roads (especially the highways) were reported to be closed and local roads would become very congested as a result. I tried to contact The J Team Office and the Hyatt to ensure that all was OK at the hotel, but for the same reasons of limited mobile phone access, could not immediately get through, so we drove back to the Hyatt and I bought some chocolate and refreshments for the group en route. The reaction of the guests to the earthquake was, at first, one of surprise, combined with a noticeable determination to stay calm, while some quickly tried to see the funny side by thanking the organizer for the special arrangement. Once we got onto the coach and switched the television on, the guests were simply amazed by what was going on, and glued to the television. The tour escort was, rather miraculously in view of the mobile phone difficulties, able to speak to her office in Australia almost immediately, and I was finally able to get through to The J Team Tokyo Office, confirm the group s safety, and reconfirm that all was OK at the Hyatt via the Office. The guests returned safely and without incident to the Hyatt Hotel, which was unaffected, and after discussions about the schedule for Saturday, when we were due to take the Bullet Train to Osaka and the Airport Express to Kansai Airport for the guests to take the evening flight back to Australia, it was decided that I would go down to the nearby town of Odawara, to check on the operation of the Bullet Train, which had stopped immediately after the quake, and then resumed operation with a limited service. At the station, I was able to confirm that the Bullet Train between Tokyo and Osaka would be operating a full service on Saturday. On Saturday morning, we took the guests to see Hakone Shrine, and though we then left the hotel early, in case of any difficulties or congestion on the road down to Odawara Station, we reached the station more quickly than usual, in just 30 minutes, and were able to catch the Bullet Train and Airport Express as schedule, allowing the guests to return home to Australia as planned on Saturday evening. My comment on the situation in the Fuji-Hakone National Park is that, after brief road closures for safety checks on the afternoon of the earthquake, the whole area was functioning normally by Saturday morning and continues to do so. (b) Lifeline Services (electricity, water, gas): All of the above services functioned without interruption during and after Friday s quake. Again, it is not anticipated that the Government s system to limit electricity use to certain facilities for a limited time during the day over the next two weeks will affect hotels, other commercial facilities, or individual homes in the area. (c) Communications (mobile and landline phone networks): Mobile phone network access is available in the Fuji-Hakone, although calls to and from the region around the earthquake can be difficult to connect; calls to Tokyo, Kyoto and the rest of Japan can be made normally, and landline telephone access and broadband internet are operating as normal.

7 (d) Transportation: As mentioned above, the Tokaido Shinkansen Bullet Train Line, connecting Tokyo with the Fuji-Hakone area, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima went back into operation on Friday evening, and was running a full, regular timetable from Saturday morning. The Hakone Mountain Railway, Hakone Ropeway and Lake Ashi Cruise services are operating as normal. As noted above, some roads in the area were closed on Friday, but all are now open normally. (4) Kyoto-Osaka ( kms west of Tokyo, and around kms from the area most badly affected by the earthquake): (a) Situation on the ground (report by Kanako Murayama, Manager of The J Team s Kyoto Office, which opened in February 2011: Being here in Kyoto, it s almost surreal to watch the images of the disaster area on TV, as here in the Kansai region encompassing Kyoto and Osaka, life is just as usual, with absolutely no effects from Friday s disaster. As a survivor of the Kobe Earthquake 16 years ago, I remember getting the same feeling of surreality after being evacuated to Osaka, only 70km away, but a totally different world. It may sound cold, but this is surely the same feeling that the rest of Japan will have to the Tohoku Region and what is happening there. At the time of the quake hit on the 11 th, I noticed nothing at all in the office, although I was later told that certain buildings in central Kyoto swayed a little, and that the earthquake registered as size 3 on the Richter scale in Kyoto, almost 1,000 kms from its epicenter. A tsunami warning was in place for much of the japanese coast immediately after the earthquake, but that has since been rescinded. All television news and newspapers are now reporting only about the Tohoku, of course, so there is really little or nothing to report about Kyoto and Osaka, but I have checked with the relevant authorities and can confirm the data indicated below. (b) Lifeline Services (electricity, water, gas): These have been fully functional before, during and since the earthquake and tsunami, with no hint of interruption. (c) Communications (mobile and landline phone networks): Mobile phone network access is normal, although calls and the region around the earthquake can take time to connect; calls to Tokyo, Kyoto and the rest of Japan can be made normally, and landline telephone

8 access and broadband internet are operating as normal. (d) Transportation: All rail and bus services in the region are operating normally. Osaka International (Kansai) and Domestic (Itami) Airports are operating normally, with the only effects of the disaster being the cancellation of flights to airports in the distaster area currently closed. All roads and expressways are open and operating normally. Other sightseeing destinations in Japan popular with foreign visitors: The following cities and areas can be considered to be totally unaffected by last Friday s earthquake: Nagoya Takayama Shirakawago Kanazawa Okayama Hiroshima The only major sightseeing destination significantly affected by Friday s earthquake is Nikko, located in Tochigi prefecture, located around 150 kms north of Tokyo. Road and rail access are currently affected, and as we do not, as yet, have confirmation of any potential damage to the sites in Nikko, or restricted access, we recommend guests not to travel to Nikko until these have been established. Closing Comments: As mentioned at the start of this Flash, this is in no way intended as an attempt to understate the seriousness of the current situation here in Japan, less than 72 hours after one of the most violent natural disasters in recent history. Rather it is intended to give our business partners and clients the fullest possible picture of the reality on the ground here, and the environment for travel, as it is now, and will be in the weeks and months ahead, to allow them to make informed decisions regarding potential visits to Japan. We are aware that the US and UK Governments have issued short term travel advisories against non-essential travel to Japan, and while we would not recommend anyone without a compelling need to come to Tokyo in the next week, in view of the ongoing aftershocks, would reiterate that the rest of Japan is totally as normal, and, the consequences of any nuclear accident notwithstanding, Tokyo will be too, as soon as the aftershocks subside. We do not presume anything other than to ask that anyone planning to travel to Japan in the coming weeks and months does not jump to immediate conclusions based on the picture painted in the worldwide media this weekend. We strongly hope and sincerely believe that Japan will look very

9 different very soon, and ask only your patience in giving a chance for this to happen. And, as those who have visited Japan will know, please rest assured that anyone who comes to Japan, at any time, will be subject to the most attentive care, the most personal but unobtrusive service, and the unstinting desire of a whole country to ensure that their stay is enjoyable and safe. As noted in this mail, although not yet officially announced, The J Team now has an office in Kyoto, in addition to our Head Office in Tokyo. This allows us not just to provide a better, more attentive and personal service in Kyoto, but to improve our risk management, guaranteeing that in a situation such as occurred last Friday afternoon, when Tokyo is temporarily difficult to contact, our office in Kyoto will be ready, willing and fully capable of servicing and attending to any needs. We hope that this information is helpful, and will send (much briefer) updates on the key ongoing situations in the coming days. Best wishes to all, The J Team Japan s Specialist Destination & Event Management Company The J Team is: Tokyo Office: Geraint Holt Managing Director Kozo Yamazaki Product Director Mai Enoshita (Ms.) Co-ordinator Nozomi Hirakawa (Ms.) Co-ordinator Akiko Komatsuzaki (Ms.) Co-ordinator Koki Matsuoka Accounts Manager Yoko Kadonaga (Ms.) Director Kyoto Office: Kanako Murayama (Ms.) Manager Tel: +81-(0) Tel: +81-(0) mail@thejteam.jp mail@thejeam.jp