I uploaded two Japan Relief T-Shirts, “Hope for Japan” at CafePress in March in response to relief efforts for the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and some of them were sold and a portion of the sales were donated to the American Red Cross through CafePress.
On April 03, 2011, I heard the news that two workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plants who went missing since the earthquake and tsunami were found dead. The two workers, aged 21 and 24, were trying to protect the nuclear plant while being hit by the earthquake and tsunami. When I heard this news, I decided to create the design of “Fukushima 50” to honor workers who died young to protect their country. There are more than 50 workers, actually at least 300, but the workers who stayed at the nuclear plants are known as the “Fukushima 50”, and their work conditions are extremely dangerous, and some sources say that they are expected to die with radiation within weeks and months.
I wrote a slogan to honor them.
“Honor the 50 nameless heroes who stayed behind at the Fukushima nuclear plants to save countless others following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.”
This slogan is too long for T-Shirts, so I wrote “Fukushima 50, Unknown Heroes” and “Fukushima 50 “ in Japanese, and the final product is here. These people who have sacrificed themselves to save their country must be remembered as true heroes.
On April 7th, the biggest aftershock with a magnitude 7.4 hit the northern areas in Japan, and millions of people faced blackouts. Their minds must be full of fears and worries. The right after the tragedy deprived everything from people on March 11, they were helping each other and organized at the evacuee centers, patiently lining for food, with no looting or stealing. The media all over the world reported their civilized manners at the devastation with a great wonder and respect. I hope they will get back their normal life as soon as possible.
On April 10th, I uploaded “My Heart is with Japan”
I originally planned to make a heart in red, but made it in pink so that the cherry blossoms around the heart match well with the heart.
It's been a month since the earthquake hit Japan, and I read the news that people offered a silent prayer to the victims at 2: 46 PM when the earthquake hit the northern areas in Japan. According to the news, the aftershocks will keep happening for the next ten years. I hope they will survive and handle the situation well.
"Tsunami surviving dog"
A dog was rescued after 3 weeks floating in the sea on the top of a roof. The two year old female mix later met her owner at the shelter. This news touched my heart as well as many all over the world. I decided to create art work of this amazing story. We sometimes see hope and courage in small animals. It might be a little too late to create the design about the tsunami surviving dog, but I wanted to express the hope in “A Little Survivor.”
