KUBOTA CORPORATECOMMUNICATIONMAGAZINE

2012

Revivalfrom Natural Disasters

Prologue

Coexistence and Struggle with Nature― Humanity’s Eternal Destiny—From the Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Thailand Floods —Since the dawn of history, hardly a single day has passed without the occurrence of some form of natural disaster,whether it is an earthquake, typhoon, flood, drought, or other calamity.
In a sense, human history chronicles our struggle against the forces of nature. In reverential awe, we human beings
have maintained harmony with nature, at other times battled against it, and have time and again revived and risen
stronger from the ravages of natural disasters.
In March 2011, Japan was struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake, which inflicted lasting damage unparalleledin history.
Natural disasters raged in other countries that year as well, with the Brazilian great floods in January and those in
Thailand from July through October, a major earthquake afflicting Turkey in October, and a destructive typhoon
striking the Philippines in December.
The United Nation’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) estimated that in 2011 natural disasters
the world over claimed a total of 29,782 lives and a record-high economic loss of approximately 28.18 trillion yen.
No matter how advanced scientific civilization becomes, natural disasters still pose a grave threat to humanity.
Such catastrophes not only cause physical destruction, but also leave behind serious emotional wounds that cannever be healed completely.
What must we do to overcome the danger of natural disasters?
In this issue of GLOBAL INDEX, we specifically focus on the Great East Japan Earthquake and Thailand great
floods to provide firsthand reports on the ongoing rehabilitation/reconstruction efforts in the affected areas. We
then conclude with our thoughts on what humanity should do to prepare for natural calamities.

Revivalfrom

Natural Disasters

The tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake left nothing behind but wreckage and seawater.
(Kashima Ward, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture)2

3

Revivalfrom

Natural Disasters

Prologue

Kubota’s Mission to Bring about
Rehabilitation/Reconstruction—Contributing to Human Welfare in the Areas of Food, Water, and the Environment —The development of scientific civilization has brought economic growth along with it; however, the price to be
paid for these advances has become manifest in the global warming and climate change that even now are plunging
our planet into a serious crisis.
As the global population continues to grow, it is expected that the world will face acute shortages of food and waterin the 21st century. There is also no small number of people who have asserted that the increase in massive natural
disasters is closely linked with environmental changes as a result of rising temperatures across the globe.
Upon celebrating the 120th anniversary of its foundation in 2010, Kubota set for itself the mission of “tackling
global problems in the areas of food, water, and the environment.”
Kubota thus reaffirmed its aspiration to drive its business forward through services to humankind.
That mission was quickly put to the test in a series of unfortunate events including the Great East Japan
Earthquake, and later the floodwaters that inundated a large expanse of land in the Kingdom of Thailand, one of
the key production centers for Kubota and many other Japanese companies.
“What can we do to help them to rehabilitate and reconstruct the disaster-stricken areas?”
As an answer to this question, Kubota decided to make its technologies in the areas of food, water, and theenvironment available to the people in the affected areas.
Following the great earthquake in Tohoku in the northeastern part of Japan’s main island, Kubota set about thereconstruction of farming in that region by tapping into its rice cultivation techniques.
In Thailand, too, Kubota assisted efforts to bring production back to normal by offering its drain pumps. These
devices incorporate the latest in water and environmental engineering technologies that have been honed by thecompany for many years.
Fully realizing the duty that it must fulfill as a member of society, Kubota was spurred on to take another step
forward in assisting the rehabilitation/reconstruction process from the natural disasters.

Farmlands became like rivers due to the floodwaters. (Sai Noi, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand)

4

5

KUBOTA CORPORATECOMMUNICATIONMAGAZINE

Revivalfrom

Natural Disasters

Contents
2 Prologue

Coexistence and Struggle with Nature – Humanity’s Eternal Destiny
Kubota’s Mission to Bring about Rehabilitation/Reconstruction
6 Contents
7 Chapter I

Revival of Farming— Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake —8 Let Green Once Again Spread across the Damaged Earth
Prelude to an Innovative Farming Model

10 Direct Sowing of Iron-coated Seeds
Growing rice without the need to cultivate seedlings
16 Desalination by Rainwater
A desalination technique for cultivated fields in which agricultural water is not available

Front cover: Scars fromthe Great East Japan
Earthquake. Tsunami waves
bent even utility poles liketwigs. Houses were swept
away without a trace left
behind, and farmlands weredamaged by seawater.
(Kashima Ward, Minamisoma
City, Fukushima Prefecture)

23 Chapter II

Revival of Industry

Revival of

Farming— Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake —— Reconstruction from Flood Damage in Thailand —24 Achieving Symbiosis between the Economy and the Natural Environment
Seeking an Industrial Model that Maintains Harmony between the Farming and Manufacturing Industries

26 “Send Drain Pump Vehicles to Thailand!”A Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team Rushed to the Site
32 SKC and Industrial Estates—On the Path to Recovery“All-Kubota” Team Putting Plants Back Into Full Operation
37 Chapter III

OPINION— From a Nature Technology Perspective —38 “To Live with the Blessings of Nature, Let Nature Live, and Sidestep Nature.”
Hideki Ishida, Ph.D., Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University

42 Epilogue

Conditions for Survival on the Planet Earth
6

Back cover: Post-quake
ground subsidence left afishing port submerged. A
solitary utility pole with its
cables cut stands in theseawater. (Matsukawaura
Fishing Port, Soma City,
Fukushima Prefecture)*All affiliations, titles, etc. of
individuals in the text are
current as of March 2012.

7

Revival of

Farming

Let Green Once Again
Spread acrossthe Damaged Earth
Prelude to an Innovative Farming Model

Aomori
Akita
Iwate
Yamagata
Miyagi

Fukushima

IbarakiMagnitude
9.0
Epicenter

March 11, 2011 —­ ­It is with the most acutegrief that this day has been engraved deepin the hearts of every person who lives inJapan, both present and future. It was the
day that saw the occurrence of a natural
disaster of unprecedented scale now known
as the Great East Japan Earthquake, which
inflicted tremendous damage on the Pacificcoasts of the Tohoku and Kanto districts
and consequently had a serious impact on
Japanese society as a whole.
The brutal loss totaled to approximately
20,000 victims, including 15,652 deaths and3,287 missing persons. More than 370,000
buildings were either completely (128,704)
or partially (244,823)*1 destroyed, and theeconomic loss as a result of the disasterreached 16.9 trillion yen*2. In addition, having
temporarily lost its entire power supply inthe earthquake and subsequent tsunami, theFukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
became unable to cool its reactors, which led
to a serious nuclear accident that resulted in
the release of large amounts of radioactive
substances. With the roadmap to a complete
solution still obscure, the scars of this terrible

disaster have inflicted pain and cast a dark
shadow over the hearts of not only the victims,
but also many other people living in Japan aswell. The national economy soon decelerated
and the impact of its decline was felt across allindustrial sectors.
Over the past year or so, not only national
and local governments, but variousorganizations, groups, and individuals as wellhave been working toward rehabilitation andreconstruction of the affected areas, but it
seems that there is still a long way to go*3.
The three most heavily affected prefecturesof Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima are someof Japan’s largest producers of rice, and thethree combined account for some 10% of
the country’s farming market in terms of
production, labor, and land area. It is thus
safe to say that until now they have played
an essential role in Japan’s national diet.
Farmland either washed away or submerged
after the March 11 earthquake is estimatedat a total of 23,600 ha, with 15,000 ha lost in
Miyagi, 6,000 ha in Fukushima, and 2,000
ha in Iwate*4. The situation is particularly

grave in areas afflicted by the tsunami, where
there is no shortage of farmers who have
yet to resume their business. Levees andirrigation/drainage systems have collapsed,
and the land of farmers has been affected byground subsidence and the inflow of seawater,
compounded with the delay in putting thefarmers’ lives back in order. Having witnessed
the difficult conditions suffered by thesefarmers, Kubota began efforts designed toachieve early rehabilitation of the affected
farmers immediately after the earthquake
occurred. Among such initiatives are direct
sowing of iron-coated seeds and support fordesalinating rice fields flooded with seawater.
*1 As of February 20, 2012, Emergency Disaster
Countermeasures Headquarters, National Police
Agency of Japan*2 Estimate published by the Cabinet Office, June 24,
2011*3 For example, of the 22.53 million tons of rubble
generated in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima
Prefectures, final disposal has been completed for
only 5%. (Ministry of the Environment, February
21, 2012)*4 Estimate published by the Statistics Department,
Minister’s Secretariat , Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, March 29, 2011

Residual seawater changed farmland to a green color. (Kashima Ward, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture)

89Direct Sowing ofIron-coated Seeds

Shinchi Town,
Soma County
Fukushima
City

Soma City
Minamisoma
City

Iitate Village,
Soma County

Growing rice without the need tocultivate seedlings

Fukushima Prefecture

Harvesting gold-colored rice grown from iron-coated seeds (Yamamoto Town, Watari County, Miyagi Prefecture)

Extensive Damage and Imminent Problems
Making a Difference with Iron-coated
Seeds
Rice farms in Tohoku begin their annual
rice cultivation in March by selecting riceseeds. Careful selection of good rice seeds
is indispensable for growing and harvesting
quality rice. April then sees the beginningof seedling production, with many farmers
growing theirs in greenhouses. It would seemthat it was business as usual in 2011, as manyrice farms there had begun selecting riceseeds in March, hoping for a bumper crop in
autumn.

Wreckage of a tractor abandoned on farmland(Kashima Ward, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture)

Top: A fishing boat cast far up by Route 6 shows the extent of the devastating tsunami.
(Kashima Ward, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture)
Bottom: A train station completely wiped out by the tsunami(JR Joban Line Shinchi Station, Shinchi Town, Soma County, Fukushima Prefecture)10

Just as this routine was about to start, themassive earthquake and tsunami pummeled
the region. Farmland was either swept
away or submerged by the tsunami, field
infrastructures and irrigation/drainage
systems such as drainage pump stations weredemolished, and sludge and rubble carried by
the advancing waves accumulated over a wide
area of farmland. After the temblor, the groundlevel sank by 20 to 80 cm in various places,
forcing many farms to give up rice cultivation
altogether. Nonetheless, the possibility still
remained that farmers might grow rice in areasin which irrigation/drainage channels andother systems had escaped the destruction.

The problem, however, was that the rice seeds
and seedling cultivation equipment had beendamaged by the tsunami, even if the cultivatedfields and farm equipment had remained
intact. Without growing seedlings, there issimply no way to go about cultivating rice.
As a solution, Kubota came up with the ideaof doing away with seedling production. The
process known as “direct sowing of ironcoated seeds” is an innovative rice farming
technique that Kubota has attempted tospread nationwide for several years. As thename implies, the process involves sowing riceseeds coated with iron powder directly in ricepaddies.
This agricultural technique is truly innovative
because it can substantially reduce costs
and labor by obviating the need to raise andtransport seedlings, which is an essential
process in transplant production. With 60%of the farming population in Japan aged 65
or over, the liquidity of farm management
and farmland is accelerating, resulting in arising proportion of farmers owning land of 5ha or over. This in turn has brought about apolarization in the farming industry between“small-scale and aged” farmers and “largescale” farmers*5. The former group is being
subjected to the increasingly heavy load ofcultivating and planting seedlings, while thelatter is finding it almost impossible to securelabor for seedling cultivation and to provide
such facilities. Regardless of the scale, raisingseedlings poses a major challenge for every
farmer. Hence, direct sowing of iron-coatedseeds. Compared to transplant production,
this technique reduces as much as roughly
77% of labor and 36% of costs*6. Since
the seeds are coated with iron powder, italso prevents them from being predated bybirds. All in all, direct sowing of iron-coatedseeds could make a difference in solving
fundamental issues for rice farmers in Japan.
As competition among rice-growing districtsin the country can only intensify, the survivalof rice producers hinges on the prime
imperative of achieving farming that is laborconserving, less labor-intensive, and low-cost.
In the hopes of offering a clear-cut solution
to such challenges, Kubota was alreadyproactively promoting the diffusion of thistechnology when the massive earthquake
suddenly struck Eastern Japan.

*5 2010 World Census of Agriculture and Forestry
in Japan, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries*6 Company data, etc.
11All for the Customers“Save the Farmers with New Techniques!”

and iron-coated seeds were set to be sown in a
combined total area of 4.5 ha.

Soma Office, Fukushima Kubota Corporation– It is through this office that Kubota
distributes its products to the farming familiesof Soma City and Shinchi Town in Soma
County on the northern Pacific coast of
Fukushima Prefecture. Many of the customers
there are mainly involved in rice cultivation.
Because of their location along the Pacificcoast, Soma City and Shinchi Town wereheavily damaged by the tsunami, with 573
people left dead or missing (as of March 1,2012). In the immediate wake of the tremor,
members at the Soma Office began visiting allof the customers at their homes to determine
their safety, discovering that roughly half of theexisting customers had suffered harm in one
way or another. Toshihiro Niizuma, a solution
sales assistant manager, was one such member.

However, they were soon confronted with adangerous aspect of the quake’s aftermath:radioactive contamination stemming from theincident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station. At that time, the provisionalreference value for radioactive cesium under
the Food Sanitation Act was 500 becquerels(Bq)*7 *8. Agronomical surveys revealed thatthe radioactive cesium values of farmlands
in Soma City and Shinchi Town were below
this provisional reference value, but because
the government continued to suspend its
judgment on the matter they were not allowed
to crop the field using the direct sowing
method. As soon as the long-anticipated green
light was given in May, a team led by Niizuma
prepared rice seeds, while at the same timeiron-coating and oxidizing them as fast as
possible—a process that normally takes at leasta week or two—until the start of planting in
mid-May, about three weeks later than usual.

“Passing through Soma City and Shinchi
Town, Route 6 divides the farmland into the‘sea side’ and the ‘mountain side.’ Route 6also served as a breakwater for the tsunami
of March 11. As such, the tsunami dealt adevastating blow to farmland on the side closer
to the sea. Many of the farmers on the sea side
own large plots of land, and no small portionof their fields now requires infrastructure
redevelopment, as well as recovery from salt
damage. The seawater did not recede due toground subsidence, practically turning thefield into a part of the ocean, and so I had tovisit my customers on foot.”
While making his rounds, Niizuma heardsome farmers saying that, because their fields
escaped damage from the tsunami, they stillwished to crop the fields despite the loss of theseedling cultivation houses. Something clickedin Niizuma’s brain, and he became convincedthat direct sowing of iron-coated seeds would
be the best option for growing rice now.
He lost no time in showing the customers
this technique, which he had consistently
promoted even before the disastrous
earthquake. Eight farmers agreed to his plan,

Machinery directly sows iron-coated seeds.

12

Spreading the Direct Sowing Techniquefrom Fukushima
The Kubota Group’s Sincere Wish
Understandably, many of the farmers who
introduced this direct sowing technique grew
concerned upon seeing paddies without
any seedlings or sprouts. Once the seeds
began to germinate, however, the seedlings
grew smoothly and breathed new life into
the fields, transforming them into a verdantlandscape. When harvest time arrived inautumn, the crops produced from the fields
in which the technique had been introduced
were between 350 kg and 360 kg per 10a*9,
compared to 480 kg produced using the usual
seedling cultivation method in the Soma area.
Nevertheless, given the hard fact that the only
alternative to the introduction of this technique
was to have no harvest at all, it is safe to say thatthe direct sowing of iron-coated seeds certainly
did yield some positive results. Niizuma also
gained a strong sense of confidence that thisnew technique would work.

“After the farmers finished harvesting, manyof them came back to us to say that theywanted to try it again next year. This is simply
because they now have a clear recognition
that the direct sowing method helps them tosignificantly conserve labor by way of reducing
production materials and human power. Its
reputation has already spread to other farmers
by word of mouth and, as of February 2012,
the direct sowing technique is set to be usedby 11 farmers over a total area of 10 ha. I really
get the feeling that our technique has achieved
greater recognition and understanding inpractically no time at all.”Such being the case, what can be done toachieve even wider diffusion of the technique?
The answer is “adequate management ofcultivation,” according to Hisayoshi Hayashi,
the head of the Soma Office. Given thefact that a harvest level similar to that usingtransplant production was gained in someareas, he intends to put greater emphasis on theservice side of the scheme, i.e., providing moredetailed suggestions on cultivation methods
and techniques tailored to the conditions ofeach field. Also, under the recognition that thedirect sowing technique is in the process ofdiffusing, they assist farmers in doing coating
and sowing mostly for free, but will eventuallyneed to start promoting the machines in
the near future. “Our immediate target is tohave more farmers introduce the technique.
Through aggressive marketing, we hope to gain
30 customers with a total area of 20 ha. At thesame time, we will start selling direct sowing
machines so that we can see this innovativetechnique become truly ubiquitous.”With his own house also having been struckby the temblor, Niizuma’s determination toachieve rehabilitation and reconstruction isparticularly strong.
“Fukushima is now attracting nationwide
attention for its reconstruction efforts andthe nuclear incident, but I hope to turnthis attention to our advantage and makeours a sales office that draws the eyes of

Direct Sowing ofIron-coated Seeds

Checking the rice grown from iron-coated seeds (left: Toshihiro Niizuma, solution sales assistant manager;
right: Hisayoshi Hayashi, head of Soma Office, Fukushima Kubota Corporation)

everyone in the Kubota Group across thecountry. We sincerely hope that the direct
sowing technique will help us to deepen ourcommunications with customers and increase
their loyalty to the Kubota brand. I would bedelighted if doing so could be of some help
to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of
Fukushima, which is my home.”*7 This provisional reference value will be lowered to
100 Bq from the 2012 harvest. If this stipulation
is applied as is, the number of farmers who will
become unable to cultivate their fields in Fukushima will not be small. Accordingly, the Ministryof Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on February
28, 2012, announced in its guidelines that planting
in areas in which over 100 Bq but not more than
500 Bq of radioactive cesium has been detectedshall be allowed, so long as certain conditions aremet, such as testing of all bags of rice produced inthose areas.
*8 Becquerels indicate the quantity of radioactive
materials, whereas sieverts quantitatively evaluate
the biological effects of radioactive rays.
*9 Nationwide comparison has revealed that the crops
through direct sowing are between equivalent toand less by about 30 kg per 10 a than those throughtransplant production. (2010 by-prefecture yieldsurvey conducted by the company)

Rice seeds coated with iron powder

Directly sown iron-coated rice seeds

Harvested rice grown from iron-coated seeds

Soma Office, Fukushima Kubota Corporation

Supporting farmers through provision of
the latest technology and information

13

Feedback from a Farmer Using the Ironcoated Seeds
Rehabilitating from the Earthquake to Begin
Rice Cultivation Anew

Direct Sowing ofIron-coated Seeds

Leaving the Soma Office behind, oureditorial team then visited a farmer in thecity by the name of Yoshikane Ojima, who
had introduced direct sowing of iron-coatedseeds after the earthquake. An expert rice
farmer with 29 years’ experience, Ojima owns
farmland that is divided by Route 6 into 12 haon the “sea side” and 6 ha on the “mountainside.” When the earthquake occurred on
March 11, Ojima was applying additional
fertilizers to grains in his farmland on themountain side. Having grown uneasy due
to the violent tremor, he rushed to his housestanding close by his land on the sea side.
In almost no time at all the ominous blacktsunami, swollen and muddy, swept toward
Ojima’s farmland. The waters subsequently
receded, but his 12 ha of land on the sea sidesuffered tremendous damage.
“My land subsided by 28 cm, and all of the
field’s infrastructure, including the irrigationand drainage systems and everything else,
was completely annihilated. The seedlingcultivation equipment was also carriedaway by the water. Even the resumption ofordinary rice farming will involve a major civilengineering undertaking to redevelop theinfrastructure. They say that the project will
be funded by the government, but it has yet
to be decided when the work will start. Whatbothers me most is the sheer lack of visibility.”
Fortunately for Ojima, his mountain-side land
was spared from any damage by the tsunami.
Upon being briefed on the new technique by
Kubota, he took a chance with direct sowingof iron-coated seeds. When all was said anddone, he harvested 350 kg of rice per 10 a,which is less than the usual 480 kg. However,he says that he found the technique appealing
as it does not require the cultivation of
seedlings.
On the other hand, Ojima says that he isbecoming increasingly concerned about the
future of rice farming management, stressing
the need for farmers to become independent
from government subsidies, which many

farmers must now rely on, if they wish to
make their business more resilient. “I believethat farmers will be required to form acooperative venture, possibly by establishingan agricultural corporation. Unless we aim at
improving productivity through large-scale
management by combining land, there is
no way that we can survive the increasingly
globalizing competition. Also, I might
consider branching out into the “sextic”
industry*10, rather than just staying in the
primary industry.
It can be said that the earthquake brought
into painful focus the challenges that Japanese
agriculture is being faced with. The editors
also wish to point out the difficult situation of“farming of Fukushima.” The extent of direct
damage by the earthquake and subsequenttsunami, as well as indirect damage inflicted
on farmers by the nuclear disaster, is
continuing to expand on a daily basis. Sources
say that rice grown in Fukushima is “pilingup in warehouses” of the Japan Agricultural
Cooperatives (JA), and only a limited quantity
circulates in the market as a result of “damage
caused by rumors” regarding the nuclear
incident. Even though the authorities haveacknowledged that no radioactive substanceswere detected, the “Made in Fukushima” label
gives the market (= consumers) enough reason
to reject such products. It has been some timesince the term “kizuna” (or “bonds”) becamea buzzword in the wake of the earthquake.
Given these harsh realities, it seems that eachand every one of us must once again think
hard about what we can do in the aftermathof this natural disaster, by putting ourselves inthe shoes of those suffering from it.

Kenichi Sanpei from Fukushima Kubota (left) and Kiyonobu Yoshikawa from Kubota Farm &Industrial Machinery Service (center) have a chat with Ojima after harvesting.

The “reconstruction support” arm badge worn by Kubota Group employees*10 Management arrangement whereby proprietors operating in a primary industry (agriculture, fisheries,etc.) branch out into food processing (secondary
industry) and retailing (tertiary industry)
Expanse of developed farmland on the mountain (western) side of the Route 6 bypass (owned by
Yoshikane Ojima of Soma city, Fukushima Prefecture). Iron-coated seeds were sown on this side.

Yoshikane Ojima harvests rice grown from iron-coated seeds, Soma City.

14

On the sea (eastern) side of the Route 6 bypass
No progress has been made in infrastructure redevelopment for restoration of inundated farmland.

Yoshikane Ojima, a farmer in Soma City
Already moving toward the next vision of the future15

Miyagi Prefecture

Sendai City

Natori City
Iwanuma City
Watari Town
Yamamoto
Town
Demonstrations of desalination using rainwater took place here.
(Koya Agri-Service field, Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture)

Desalination by
Rainwater

A desalination technique for cultivated fields
in which agricultural water is not available

Lasting Damage from Seawater
Desalination Imperative to Restore
FarmlandThe March 11 earthquake caused extensive
damage but, being the closest to the epicenter,it was Miyagi Prefecture that incurred thewidest range of devastation to people andbuildings, local industries, and vital utilities
and other forms of social infrastructure.
This is clearly evident in the fact that the
number of dead and missing in that prefecture
accounts for approximately half of the total,
or more than 10,000. The same holds true
for its farmlands, which were destroyed andinundated by the tsunami.
Of the roughly 23,600 ha of affected land, an
overwhelming proportion of some 15,000 ha

16

belongs to Miyagi, representing up to 11% of
the prefecture’s total cultivated acreage. Mostof the damage was inflicted by the tsunami,
which destroyed the infrastructure andirrigation/drainage equipment of cultivatedfields, thus having a serious impact on thefarming of rice and other crops. Particularly
serious was soil damage by seawater as fields
became submerged, forcing some farmers togive up their cropping.
Being very vulnerable to salt, rice plants will
not grow on land after it has been submergedin seawater. The residual salt must therefore
be removed as soon as possible in order torestore the damaged farmland. The amount ofsalt can be lowered by pouring a large amountof water over the land. In other words, by“washing the soil with water” the salinity levelcan be reduced; i.e., the salt can be removed.
For the early recovery of its farmland, theMiyagi Prefectural government has beenworking toward desalination. Under the selfset target of removing salt by the end of March2012 from 5,250 ha of land—about 40% of thetsunami-affected farmland along the coastal
areas—they set about desalination in time forcrop planting in the spring of 2012. The basic
process involves the “free flow of freshwater,”whereby a cycle of flooding and draining isrepeated, and this is believed to be the mostefficient and effective way of removing salt
from the ground. However, this method islimited to areas in which agricultural water isavailable for the job. So, what can be done if
there is no access to water for desalination?

17

Managing Director Kazuhiko Michinobu of
Kubota-Agri East (left) and Assistant General
Manager Shunji Kiriake of Kubota Farm &Industrial Machinery Service (right) explain how
they removed the salt.
Dusk descends on the Yuriage district of Natori City. Many precious lives werelost in this area.

Koya Agri-Service. Harvested cotton branches lie scattered in front of the structure.

CEO Toshio Sato of Koya Agri-Service

Tsunami-hit drainage pump station in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture
It has since been repaired and is now in operation.

Demonstrations of Salt Removal by an
Agricultural Corporation in Natori City
Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture – Like manyother cities on the Pacific coast, this city also
suffered immense damage from the tsunami,
and the number of dead and missing reachednearly 1,000. Heartrending and almost too
terrible to look at is the Yuriage district, wherean entire community was lost to the waves.
Also, 506 ha of its rice paddies, or 41% of thetotal, were affected*11. In the city of Natori,
Kubota Farm & Industrial Machinery Service
has its Sendai Sales Engineering Promotion
Department, which is a one-stop service
center for agricultural machinery. Normally,
their sales engineers are busy customizing
solutions for any specific farming issues that
individual farmers might have, but this timethey were requested to come up with quick
solutions for desalination. Assistant General
Manager Shunji Kiriake was put in charge ofthis all-too-important mission. “I mapped out
the desalination plan in May. At the Miyagi
Prefectural Watari Agricultural Development
and Extension Center they adopted themethod of making the most of forced drainage
systems to repeat the cycle of flooding andtilling*12 to drain water containing salt. In
Natori City, however, we were unable tofollow this method, as many of the drainage
channels and pumping stations for agricultural
irrigation*13 had been destroyed by the18

Demonstrations of the natural penetration salt
removal technique using rainwater achieved
certain positive results and were completed in
the autumn of 2011. (photo taken on October 17,
2011)

Placed in front of Koya Agri-Service, this ruined tractor is evidence of theterrible violence of the tsunami.

tsunami,” says Kiriake.
Such being the case, Kiriake conceived an
original idea for farmland restoration basedon a past case of desalination in Kumamoto*14.
With guidance and cooperation from the
Miyagi Prefectural Institute of Agricultureand Horticulture, Watari Agricultural
Development and Extension Center, Miyagi
Prefectural Government, and Natori City
Government, he gave a demonstration of the“natural penetration salt removal techniqueusing rainwater” in a field provided by Koya
Agri-Service.
A local agricultural cooperation, Koya AgriService consolidates farmland within the city
to conduct large-scale production of paddy
rice, soybeans, grains, and the like. With 90%
of its 76 ha of farmland being damaged bysalt from the flooding caused by the tsunami,
it was barely possible to cultivate any crops
at all. Upon receiving Kubota’s offer, Koya
Agri-Service “accepted it like a drowning man
grasping at a straw” (CEO Toshio Sato) andagreed to make their field available for thedemonstration.
Prior to this offer to conduct demonstration,in farmland where drainage channels wereavailable they had attempted to remove
salt through the free flow of freshwater in a“flooding – tilling– draining” cycle. “We had

45 a of land available for cropping where
draining was possible without going throughdrainage pump stations. We wanted to treat
this farmland first so that we would be able toplant paddy rice. We believed that croppingand harvesting in 2011—the same year thatthe earthquake occurred—would bring a ray ofhope for reconstruction.”
After a month-long desalination process thatbegan in May, the soil’s electric conductivity(EC)*15, a measurement of salinity, had been
reduced from 6.2 to 0.4*16. Upon confirming
this value, they began planting the field withrice in June (late cultivation) to achieve a
bumper crop of some 600 kg per 10 a in theautumn.
*11 Survey by the Miyagi Prefectural Watari
Agricultural Development and Extension Center*12 Originally performed to break up clumps of earth
by irrigating paddy fields before rice planting. In
this case, fields were tilled to remove salt.
*13 Drainage pumping stations for agricultural
irrigation prevent farmland and agricultural
facilities from being damaged by heavy rains
through the use of pumps to drain rainwater intorivers and seas.
*14 In September 1999, Typhoon No. 18 caused astorm surge in the Yatsushiro Sea and Ariake Sea
coastal areas of Kumamoto Prefecture, causing
serious damage to farmland.
*15 As EC and salinity are closely related, salinity canbe inferred from EC measurements.
*16 Generally speaking, the permissible EC value forfarmland is between 0.3 and 0.5.

Deputy Engineering Director Tomoyuki Shibuyaof the Miyagi Prefectural Watari Agricultural
Development and Extension Center

Demonstrations of desalination using rainwater
without the need for irrigation channels weresuggested by Kubota. (photo taken on October
17, 2011)

Desalination by
Rainwater

Different techniques were used for demonstrations using rainwater on fields located on both sides of this road. (photo taken on October 17, 2011)19

Diverse Desalination Methods Sought
An Effective Option – Natural Penetration
Salt Removal Using Rainwater
For cultivated fields that lost their accessto agricultural water due to the damage
or destruction of drainage systems or forother reasons, Kubota came up with theidea of natural penetration salt removalusing rainwater. Simply put, this method
efficiently allows rainwater to permeate ricepaddies and then drains the water out of
the fields via a culvert (drainpipe) that isburied underground. Demonstrations of thistechnique were conducted in two stages.
In the first stage, a tractor-mounted implement
called a subsoiler was used to dig trenches thatintersect with the culvert at regular intervals to
promote the natural penetration of rainwater.
Then, to make it easier for rainwater topenetrate and drain, the topsoil was overturned
and tilled. In so doing, saltwater naturally
permeated the plowed layer and then reachedthe lower depths, thereby allowing watercontaining salt to be drained via the culvert.

In the second phase, sodium was removed.
One of the properties of sodium is that once
it has bonded with clay via absorption it will
not liquate out into water. When dried, soil
with high sodium content becomes hard
earth, which then results in poor germination
and barriers to growth. To prevent thisfrom occurring, a soil conditioner (calcium
carbonate) was used in an attempt to remove
the sodium by replacing it with calcium.
Tomoyuki Shibuya, the Deputy Engineering
Director of the Advanced Technology Teamat the Miyagi Prefectural Watari Agricultural
Development and Extension Center, waspresent at the series of demonstrations.
“The level and scale of tsunami damage varyconsiderably in the Watari area, which includes
Natori City, and so we are investigating how
we should go about revitalizing farmland frommany different angles. Removing salt is ofcourse one of the key challenges in this task.
We at the Miyagi Prefectural Government will
analyze data from these demonstrations sothat we can make use of any findings for theestablishment of more efficient and effective
techniques for desalination.”

As it turned out, the demonstration teamsatisfied its self-set numerical target (EC of0.5), which is equivalent to what free flowof freshwater can achieve. This has now
opened up the way to application of natural
penetration salt removal to farmland forwhich supply of water for desalination is
not available, dry fields without irrigation/
drainage channels, or farmland that has
hardened due to the use of heavy machinery
for reconstruction work.
Kiriake recalls that, “Not everything
went smoothly for the demonstrations.
Before starting, we held extremely difficult
negotiations with the administration. Throughthis experience, I was made to keenly realize
once again the importance of overcoming any
obstacles that lie before you and moving on,
no matter how difficult they may be. Afterall, we are doing all of this for the farmers.
To bring them happiness, we will remaincommitted to supporting them in manydifferent ways.”

With the drainage pump station restored, an abundant
supply of water poured into the field via the irrigation
channel. (photo taken on February 17, 2012)

Site of demonstrations. The field was plowed for penetration salt removal by way of subsoiling.
After the demonstrations, the fields on both sides
were filled with water. (photo taken on February 17,
2012)

Desalination by Rainwater

After trenching channels with a subsoiler to enhance the water’s natural
penetration, various types of machinery were used for different demonstration
methods.
Top left: Trenching channels using a subsoiler
Top right: Overturning and plowing topsoil
Bottom right: Plowing and leveeing

Finally ready for crop planting (photo taken on February 17, 2012)20

21

Desalination by Rainwater

Revival ofIndustry— Reconstruction from Flood Damage in Thailand —Raw cotton harvested by Koya Agri-Service – Soft and pure white, raw cotton symbolizes the reconstruction of farming in Tohoku.

“Cotton Project” for the Reconstruction of
Farming in Tohoku
Pursuing Multifaceted Solutions for
Mounting Problems
In addition to the desalination project, Koya
Agri-Service has embarked on many otherrehabilitation/reconstruction projects. One
such initiative is the “Tohoku Cotton Project,”which aims to cultivate “highly salt-tolerant”
cotton on affected farmland where it is
impossible to remove salt for one reason or
another. Joining in the project along with Koya
Agri-Service are other agricultural producers
and 16 apparel businesses, which work
together throughout the entire process from
cultivation and spinning to commercializationand marketing with the goal of acceleratingreconstruction from the earthquake disaster
under the initiative of the farming sector. This
represents what is essentially an attempt toengage in the “sextic industry” with cotton asa vehicle.
CEO Sato of Koya Agri-Service says, “I havenever cultivated cotton before, so at the startit was a major challenge for me. The project
has since spread nationwide and is becoming
one of the symbols of farming reconstructionin Tohoku. Cotton’s pure white flowers
22

restored serenity and inspired courage on theearthquake-devastated farmland. We hope that
we can be of some help to the reconstructionof Tohoku’s farmland and the farming industry
as a whole by continuing to grow cotton. It istrue that we are victims of the disasters, but
we believe that it is important to depend on
our own efforts first to strive wholeheartedly
toward reconstruction. We must take care ofourselves and act under our own responsibility
so that we can move forward, even if it is only asingle step or two.”
Sato also has a clear-cut vision of farmmanagement. “As an increasing numberof people are giving up farming after theearthquake, our land has become more
consolidated. We now own about 100 ha offarmland. So far, we have tried to increase
productivity by introducing three-crop
rotations over two-year periods with paddy
rice, grains, soybeans, and other crops. Thereis a natural limit to doing this with individual
efforts alone. What the farming business of the
future needs is to pursue collective approaches,rather than individual ones, by consolidatingand expanding fields. For any farming businessto survive, I believe that it is essential toreorganize private farmers into an agricultural
corporation. I am convinced that this will foster

a dream that we can pass on to our successors
who will carry on farming.”
This stance of Koya Agri-Service coincides forthe most part with the philosophy of Ojima,
the rice farmer in Soma City mentioned in
the previous section. This is the attitude oftrying to bring about changes on one’s own,rather than merely waiting for the central
government to offer aid. At present, Japan’s
farming industry finds itself beset with all sorts
of problems, such as the decrease in farming
families and farming population, aging farmers,lack of farming supporters, changing fooddemands, and ongoing globalization. It wasagainst this backdrop that the Great East Japan
Earthquake struck the country. This certainly
added to the difficulties but, if we thinkpositively, it also presents a golden opportunity
to bring about major changes.
While continuing to provide multifaceted
support for the reconstruction of farming fromthe earthquake disaster, Kubota will remaincommitted to proactively offering a diverse
range of solutions and helping customers toapply them. This is because we believe that, by
doing so, we will contribute to the developmentof regional farming and to the revitalization offarming throughout the country.
23Revival ofIndustry

Achieving Symbiosis between
the Economy and the Natural
Environment
Seeking an Industrial Model that Maintains Harmony between
the Farming and Manufacturing Industries
Thailand
Chao Phraya River

BangkokA flood-damaged neighborhood (north of Don Muang Airport, near Lak Hok, Pathum Thani Province)

24

Located approximately 4,600 km south ofJapan, the Kingdom of Thailand is often called
a “land of smiles.” In the mountainous areas
to the north rises the country’s highest peakof Doi Inthanon (2,565 m), while the Chao
Phraya River Delta spreads across its central
region to form one of the world’s largest grain
belts. The local climate is tropical, with a hotseason beginning in March and a rainy season
lasting from June to October, which is followed
by a rather cool, dry period. Extremely
abundant in solar radiation, the country’s
year-round temperature is about 30 degrees
centigrade. Blessed both geographically andin terms of climate, Thailand boasts fertile
soil that makes the country the world’s largest
exporter of rice. It is safe to say that farmingof rice and other crops formed the nucleus ofits national industry until the latter half of the
1980s, when the government shifted gears toresult in a fully industrialized country.
By welcoming with open arms foreigncompanies and direct investments fromJapan and Western countries, the Thai
economy experienced rapid growth in the
1990s. Although the Asian currency crisis
stemming from the country in 1997 caused
its economy to temporarily become sluggish,a V-shaped recovery trend was achieved
and high growth has been sustained eversince. Thailand’s manufacturing industry, inparticular, has developed so dramatically thatit may very well be said that it is now a full-

fledged industrialized nation. In fact, while
farming accounts for over 40% of the working
population, it contributes no more than 12%of their GDP, whereas manufacturing accounts
for about 34% of Thailand’s GDP and as muchas 90% of its exports, despite the fact that itconstitutes only about 15% of the working
population*1. One could say that Thailand has
aspects of both an agricultural country and an
industrial country.
It was this beautiful nation that was struck bymassive flooding about six months after theGreat East Japan Earthquake occurred.
*1 Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan(MOFA) web site25

Revival ofIndustry“Send Drain Pump
Vehicles to Thailand!”A Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team Rushed to the Site

Houses and utility poles hit by flooding (Sai Noi,
Nonthaburi Province)

Draining water from a marketplace (near Lak Hok,
Pathum Thani Province)

Saha Rattana Nakorn
Industrial Estate(flooded on October 4)
Chao Phraya River
Ayutthaya
Ban Wa (Hi-Tech) Industrial Estate(flooded on October 13)

Rojana Industrial Park
(flooded on October 9)
Factory Land Industrial Estate(flooded on October 15)

Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate(flooded on October 14)

Bangkadi Industrial Estate(flooded on October 20)
Sai Noi

Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate(flooded on October 17)

Traces of water can even be found on the Reclining
Buddha. (Wat Lokayasutha, Ayutthaya Province)

Nakhon Nayok

Pathum Thani
Lak Hok District

Nonthaburi
Province

Don Muang Airport
King’s Dike
Bangkok
Chachoengsao
Suvarnabhumi Airport
Samut Prakarn■ Flood damage map of Bangkok and its suburbs(data courtesy of JETRO web site)

Underlying Causes of the Floods
Switchover from Farming to Manufacturing
and Distinctive Topography■ Flood-damaged provinces(as of November 24, 2011,
data courtesy of JETRO
web site)

26

The 2011 Thailand floods affected
approximately 13 million people in 63 of thecountry’s 77 provinces. Claiming 813 lives*2,
this natural disaster wreaked tremendous
damage of a magnitude never before seenin the country. The direct cause behindthe severe flooding was heavy rainfall fromnumerous typhoons triggered by La Niña, an
ocean-atmosphere phenomenon in which thesea surface temperature across the equatorial
Eastern Central Pacific Ocean falls between
July and October*3. As a result, precipitation
along the upper basins of the Chao Phraya
River, which runs through the country, wasabout 50% higher than in normal years dueto the kind of downpour that occurs “onlyonce every 60 years” (Thai Royal Irrigation
Department). Originating in the north of thecountry in July, the floods gradually moved
southward, affecting virtually every province
in the central lowlands by September. The
floodwaters from the Chao Phraya Riveradvanced further south to inundate the historiccity of Ayutthaya (a UNESCO World Heritagesite) in October and the industrial estates
where many Japanese manufacturers are based.
The raging waters finally reached the northern

Flooded farmlands (Sai Noi, Nonthaburi Province)part of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok in
November.
The 2011 Thailand floods were heavily
reported by the Japanese media, but inreality the country has experienced flooding
on numerous occasions. Over the past 10
years, Thailand has suffered nearly 30 floods
that each claimed over 100 victims, andsuch disasters now occur with even greater
frequency than in the past. Delving a little
further back into history, the country was also
visited by severe floods that each took morethan 400 lives in 1983 and 1995 (coincidently,
the year of the Great Hanshin-Awaji
Earthquake), which spread as far as Bangkok.
Of course, the Thai Government has not sat

by idly. They have since built not only dams*4
but also the “King’s Dike,” a levee that encloses
Bangkok to prevent floodwaters from the northfrom pouring into the city, and constructeddrainage canals and flood gates. However, therainfall in 2011 was “beyond expectations.”
By early October, the storage capacities atmost of the country’s dams had reached theirlimits. Knowing that it could worsen thesituation in the lower reaches, the government
was forced to release water to prevent thedams from collapsing, thus triggering thesevere floods. When rivers overflowed in thepast, the vast paddy fields served as natural
reservoirs and halted the spread of damage,but some of these fields and wetlands had
been transformed into industrial estates andresidential districts through government-led

Water purification plant at the Nava Nakorn
Industrial Estate at the time of flooding

accelerated redevelopment projects, which
resulted in a significant decline in their waterholding capacity. Also, the floods lingeredover several months for various reasons, suchas the country’s geographical features and thecharacteristics of the Chao Phraya River, whichflows very slowly due to its extremely low
gradient*5.
*2 As announced by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)*3 It is believed that “La Niña” happens periodicallyand is not the result of abnormal weather. Due toits frequent occurrence in recent years, however,some suspect a cause-and-effect relationship with
global warming.
*4 Also intended to supply water to farmlands during dry months.
*5 The difference in elevation between Ayutthaya in
the north and Bangkok is only 2 m.
27

Revival ofIndustry“Send Drain Pump
Vehicles to Thailand!”Drain pump vehicles in full operation

Team members met daily to report on progresswith their work.

A Japan Disaster Relief team of drainage experts at work (Sai Noi, Nonthaburi Province)

Bangkok Escapes Flood Damage.
Water Damage at some 450 JapaneseCompanies in Industrial Estates
Our editorial team arrived in Bangkok in midDecember. Contrary to the sensational headlines
of some Japanese newspapers proclaiming“Bangkok Submerged,” not a trace of flooding
was to be found at the center of the capital city.
According to local residents, it was only thenortheastern regions and the riverside areasof the Chao Phraya River flowing across thecity that were inundated, and central Bangkok
managed to avoid any flood damage. However,this does not mean that Bangkok escaped thefloods without a scratch: in a desperate effort
to defend their capital from the floodwaters,
the Thai Government had built levees andsandbagged the levees to divert the incoming
southbound deluge to the east and west. Because
areas around Bangkok were damaged by thefloodwaters that had thus been diverted, thetransportation network was severed, which inturn resulted in the temporary cessation of the
supply of food and other goods. In a panic,
some people rushed to stockpile foods anddaily necessities, and not a few took temporary
shelter outside of the city, out of the concernthat “Bangkok might be submerged” in thefloodwaters. For the time being, the city wasplunged into a state of confusion.
One thing that must be made clear first of allis that, despite extensive media reports in Japan28

on how Bangkok was damaged by the floods,
the most severe damage was in fact suffered by
local cities, and most of the 800 victims were
living outside of the capital city. Also, one sharp
distinction between this instance of flooding
and previous disasters was the existence ofnumerous industrial estates. Director Panuwat
Triyangkulsri of the country’s Ministry ofIndustry stated that, “The Thai economy
suffered a major blow due to damage in theindustrial estates.” The floodwaters poured into
seven industrial estates to the north of Bangkok,
affecting some 450 Japanese companies—about
1/3 of those operating in Thailand. In an attempt
to proffer aid in this situation, the Japanese
Government decided in early November todispatch a Japan Disaster Relief expert team to
Thailand. Assembled by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), the team wascharged with the mission of supporting drainage
at industrial estates and elsewhere through theoperation of drain pump vehicles.
Self-sustaining, Highly Mobile “Kubota-madePumps”The Pride of Professionals Representing JapanTen drain pump vehicles owned by the Chubu
Regional Development Bureau of Japan’s
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism (MLIT) were shipped. With adrainage capacity of 30 m3 per minute, thesevehicles can empty a 25-m swimming poolin approximately 10 minutes. Kubota wasinvolved in the development of the drain
pumps mounted on the vehicles. Conventional
pumps of equivalent capacity weighed no lessthan 800 kg, and thus cranes were needed
for their installation. This made it no easytask to transport them to disaster sites andoperate them there. After painstaking efforts toenhance the mobility of the pumps by reducing
their weight to about 30 kg, Kubota came up
with drain pumps that could be installed andremoved without the use of heavy machinery.
Kubota went one step beyond to combine thepump with an independent power generator toassemble a self-sustaining, highly mobile drain
pump vehicle, the first of its kind in the world.
Their merits having been demonstrated in
the rehabilitation process following the Great
East Japan Earthquake, the vehicles were to besent overseas to assist reconstruction efforts in
Thailand. Having been involved in international
emergency assistance at many disaster-stricken
areas outside of Japan, Kei Jinnai of JICA
was assigned to the task of coordinating thework up to the commencement of drainage. “I
received an order from the government to go to
Thailand on November 2nd,” says Jinnai. “Thedrain pump vehicles left port for Thailand on
the 5th and arrived there on the 18th. Whilethey were being shipped, I was busy carryingout the preparatory work for the team, suchas requesting our counterparts in Thailand
to provide labor, fuel, and other necessities
for draining work, selecting places for our
assistance activities, and obtaining permission

for driving the vehicles on the road. In sodoing, I was often impressed by the instant andaccurate responses from my counterparts—solong as we made arrangements in Japan, we
could leave them to take care of the rest because
they have talented people and systems therethat work.”

the Thai floods, he volunteered to travel toThailand and caught a flight from earthquakeafflicted Sendai to another disaster site in
Thailand.

Unlike previous instances of international
emergency assistance, this case saw a “hybrid”
team combining members from MLIT, JICA,
general contractors, and Kubota. Jinnai recalls,“The teamwork among MLIT, JICA, generalcontractors, and Kubota was simply fabulous.
Clearly recognizing the objective of theserescue operations, they all performed theirduties with the pride of true professionals. I
believe that they did so in order to reciprocate
the support extended by the people ofThailand for reconstruction from the Great
East Japan Earthquake”*6.

“Before draining work began, the water at the
Rojana Industrial Park was about 1.5 m deep,”
remembers Kobayashi. “The entire area wascovered by the floodwaters, and so we had nochoice but to feel our way around. Our local
workers were wonderful in responding to our
expectations, which impressed me profoundly.
They also proactively shared their ideas as towhat they thought needed to be done next. The
pumps, too, did a marvelous job of operatingaround the clock*8 for seven consecutive days
under sweltering heat of more than 30 degrees
centigrade. I believe that everyone in the team
was keenly aware of the great responsibility that
we were shouldering as members of the ‘AllJapan’ team.”

The team of experts began draining work at the
Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya Province
on November 19. Hiroaki Kobayashi was oneof the eight members from Kubota involvedin the team. An experienced engineer fromthe Kubota Pump Engineering Department’s
Construction Section, Kobayashi had been
pumping water in an area of Miyagi Prefecture
extending across the towns of Minamisanriku
and Watari to assist in rehabilitation after
the Great East Japan Earthquake from April
to early November*7. Hearing the news of

The team moved from the Rojana Industrial
Park to carry out draining work at the
Bangkadi Industrial Estate, and then shiftedto neighboring residential districts, the Asian
Institute of Technology, the Nava Nakorn
Industrial Estate, a residential area in Plai
Bang, and the Lak Hok district (Rangsit
University and residential areas in its vicinity).
Thanks to the mobility of the drain pumpvehicles, draining work within industrial estates
progressed both quickly and smoothly over the
one-month period following their arrival.

A banner thanking the Thai people for theirsupport for reconstruction after the Great East
Japan Earthquake

Panuwat Triyangkulsri
Director, Ministry of Industry
the Kingdom of Thailand

Kei Jinnai
Director, Training Division
Secretariat of Japan Disaster
Relief Team, JICA

Hiroaki Kobayashi
Construction Section
Pump Engineering
Department
Kubota Corporation*6 In addition to donations, Thailand freely lent two
gas turbine generators and incidental facilities tohelp Japan deal with the power shortage in theTokyo metropolitan area that resulted from thenuclear incident.
*7 After the Great East Japan Earthquake, a totalof 71 drain pump vehicles of the same model as
those sent to Thailand were gathered from acrossthe nation to pump out water.
*8 Excluding downtime for refueling29

River Engineering for “Flood Control”
The Need for a Grand Design against Disasters
Sai Noi, Nonthaburi – One of Bangkok’s
northwestern neighbors, Sai Noi is locatedabout 20 km from the central area of thecapital city. As the appearance of the landscapegradually changed from urban to rural, we
began to see more and more areas that had
been inundated by the floodwaters. While it istrue that the country has numerous canals andwaterways, we were greeted by the sight of entire
surfaces of fields completely submerged bywater. Apparently, the floodwaters had receded
considerably, as the roads were sufficiently“visible” to drive on, but it did not seem that
farmers would be able to resume their work
any time soon. Our destination, Sai Noi, has 11
communities, and the drain pump vehicles wereat work in two of them. We were told that thedraining work had been proceeding according
to schedule and was now in its final stage*9.
We had the privilege of speaking with Village
Mayor Kanchanawat Funthong, who explained:“In our village, we have a population of about
1,000 comprising 380 families. The floodwaters
began encroaching on us from September. We
created ridges to defend against the waters, butthey were washed away on October 20, when
the floodwaters were at their peak. The waters
reached a depth of 1 m, and we had resigned
ourselves to waiting for them to recede when weheard the news of a Japanese team coming to ouraid with drain pump vehicles. I cannot tell you
how thrilled we were, and it felt as if our dream
had come true. If we had not had the drain
pump vehicles, it would have taken four months
for the waters to finally recede. As you can see,the roads are no longer submerged, and we are
80% to 90% back to normal. We are expecting
to be able to sow seeds very soon*10. Thanks toyour help, we can all go home and resume ourwork.” Joining his hands together, he said, “We
are truly thankful.”
We deliberately chose Nonthaburi Provinceand Pathum Thani Province, also a neighbor to
Bangkok, because they are in a sense symbolicof the recent floods. In a desperate move todefend the capital city from the impending
floodwaters that were steadily moving downfrom the north, the Thai Government raised
the height of the King’s Dike—the linchpin of
its flood control system—and placed several
thousand “big bag” sandbags along roughly 6
km of railway tracks in the east, thus successfully

damming up the deluge before it reached
Bangkok. As a result, the floodwaters ended up
pouring into the areas around Bangkok. Locatednext to the capital, Nonthaburi Province saw
floodwaters overrun its land. Although somepoint out that obsolete weather observation
radar equipment prevented accurate forecastingof the heavy rainfall, the floods also revealed
issues with Thailand’s irrigation and drainage
systems and dam operations. The Thai
Government has undertaken a variety of river
improvement measures, but they have yet totake a fundamental step toward “controlling
waters,” and are mostly focused on “protecting
the capital city.” Going forward, it is imperativethat they go back to the drawing board to map
out a grand design for disaster mitigation, which
would include drastic revisions to the flood
control infrastructure that also encompasses theneighborhoods around Bangkok, the integrated
management of rivers, and enhancement of theability to forecast floods.
*9 Sai Noi was also an area in which draining work
was finished. On December 23rd, the governorof Bangkok announced that the capital was completely flood-free.
*10 In Thailand, many rice farmers sow seeds
directly instead of planting out seedlings.

Large quantities of water pour in from the Chao Phraya River through flood gates. Several waterways spread across the entire city of Bangkok.

Revival ofIndustry“Send Drain Pump
Vehicles to Thailand!”“Big bags” protect railway tracks from thefloodwaters. (north of Don Muang Airport)

Highways also serve as levees against floods.
The current King’s Dike comprises paved roads andriverbanks. (near Lak Hok, Pathum Thani Province)
A city of water, Bangkok offers a large assortment of foods ranging from
fresh meat to fish and vegetables.
Even after
disastrous
flooding, people
do not forget
their reverence
for nature. (SaiNoi, Nonthaburi
Province)

Once out of downtown Bangkok, a calm and peaceful rural scene spreads
across the horizon.

Kanchanawat Funthong,Village Mayor of Sai Noi

As the city undergoes rapid urbanization,
the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS)
has been developed to ease traffic congestion.

Providing donations for flood victims (Taling Chan District, Bangkok)

30

31

Revival ofIndustry

SKC and Industrial Estates—
On the Path to Recovery“All-Kubota” Team Putting Plants Back into Full Operation

Many water trucks gather to receive pure water from the FILCERA purification system for cleaning their plants. (Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate water purification plant)

Many Japanese Manufacturers Were Forced
to Shut Down Due to Flooding of the Nava
Nakorn Industrial Estate, the Home of SKC

Top: After the waters receded, only
scattered rubble remained.
Bottom: All of the plant employees
came out to clean.

A banner for a bank advertises loans in
support of reconstruction.

(The three photos above were taken at the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate.)

32

Japanese manufacturers suffered flood damage
at the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate in
Pathum Thani Province, located 45 km northnortheast of downtown Bangkok. Siam Kubota
Corporation Co., Ltd. (SKC) is among the104 Japanese-affiliated companies operating
there (out of a total of 190 companies)*11. Of
the Japanese companies operating in Thailand,
Kubota has the longest history in the country,
dating all the way back to 1978. The company
has since expanded its scope of business andin 2010 made a renewed start by consolidating
its subsidiaries in that country with the aimof further accelerating its Asian business. We
drove to the heavily damaged Nava Nakorn
Industrial Estate to see just what had happened

to SKC, Kubota’s largest production center inSoutheast Asia.
Once on the premises, the first thing thatcaught our attention was the desolation of thearea. It seemed that the buildings remained
intact, but various objects were scatteredabout and heaps of rubble could be seen
here and there. Several days before our visit,a “Big Cleaning Day” had been announced,
and employees at each plant were kept
busy with fixing up and cleaning muddied
equipment and fixtures. In addition to SKC,
the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate is home
to Japanese companies producing plastics,
aluminum casting, electronic components,
semiconductors, communications equipment,
electronic clocks/watches, metal processing,and the like, but most such companies had shut
down. The floodwaters reached Nava Nakorn

in mid-October. Levees had been built aroundthe estate to defend against the floods, but thedeluge overflowed the levees, breaking some ofthem in the process, and poured into the estate.
Despite strenuous efforts by each company toreinforce and sandbag the banks in order tostem the flood, the waters continued to pour in
until they reached a depth of 2 m, forcing thecompanies to shut down their operations.
Thanks to efforts by the JICA-led Japan
Disaster Relief team of experts, however,draining work had been almost completed
by early December, and rehabilitation efforts
had been initiated. Although some plants haveresumed operations, they are nowhere near“full-scale production.”*11 Source: Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO)“Connect the Line!”
Supply Chain Reconnected by the Thai
People’s Remarkable Resilience
After being damaged in the floods, SKC wascompelled to realign its production arrangements.
Production of horizontal diesel engines was
temporarily transferred to an Indonesian plant
and that of rotary tillers*12 was shifted to a plant at
the Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate in Chonburi
Province that had escaped disaster. Having
served at SKC for 30 years, Manufacturing Head
Quarter Deputy General Manager Charnnarong
Wongvitavas spoke with us, saying, “When thewaters reached this place, I urged the employees
to evacuate, but many of them remained behind
to prevent the waters from coming in. While I felt
disheartened to see the plant being inundated, I
was delighted to see that everyone tried to protect
the plant. Together with the employees, we are33

working hard to restore the plant for the scheduled
resumption of normal operations from April 2012.”
The extent of flood damage did not end onlywith the shutdown of production. In Thailand
alone, as many as 1.4 million farming houses
were affected. While it is indeed problematic thatthey have been forced to temporarily suspend
work while their farms are underwater, it is
all the more troublesome that many of theiragricultural machines have become unusable.
Fully committed to user support, SKC is visiting
each customer for inspection and offering some
replacement parts for free. Manager Somsak
Mauthorn of SKC’s Customer Service Division
is taking the lead in this initiative. “We have manycustomers who claim that ‘Kubota is family,’” says
Mauthorn. “For us, the customers are our family,
and so we wish to do everything that we can forthem. We offer 50% discounts on service parts, aswell as labor and transportation for repair work
free of charge. We are also distributing engine oiland gaskets for horizontal engines free of charge.”
Some dealers in the country were also affected by
the floods, and the sales team is expected to support
dealers and boost sales through promotions andthe like. Manager Somboon Chintanaphol claims
that this disaster reminded him of the strong ties
with dealers, saying that, “Knowing the floodwaters
were approaching, our employees rushed to thedealers to offer their support. One employee ran
to the dealers despite being personally affected by
the disaster. We also received many encouraging
messages and relief goods from dealers, which wasvery heartwarming indeed.”
These floods had an impact not only on theJapanese economy, but on the global economy aswell, as supply chains*13 were shattered into pieces.

SKC Nava Nakorn Plant

From a global perspective, Thailand is a hub for
manufacturers, with many supporting industries
in operation, such as suppliers of materials andparts. Once a downstream assembling plant ceases
operations due to a disaster, materials and parts
manufacturers are forced to reduce or suspend theirproduction, and the reverse holds true as well. This
negative spiral has lasted for an extended periodin Thailand amid the flood damage. We asked
Manager Takeshi Isonaga of SKC’s Purchasing
Division about how they broke this impasse.
“Before suffering damage from the floods, oursuppliers requested that we take whatever they hadfinished as soon as possible. So, we sent 10 trucks
to receive 1,000 tires from a tire manufacturer. Afterour place was inundated, some suppliers werekind enough to hire licensed divers to collect 1,400
molds from the water so that we could resume
production as soon as possible. For procurementof parts, we received emergency supplies from the
Machinery Procurement Headquarters in Japanand temporarily switched orders to a non-affected
tire supplier, thus resuming the production of
tractors and combine harvesters in a short amountof time. Our mantra was “Connect the line!” I was
made to realize the Thai suppliers’ indomitablespirit at the time of the great floods.”
Through concerted efforts, SKC employees
struggled to protect the company from the floods,
and they are still doing whatever they can tosupport the rehabilitation of users, dealers, andevery other member of their supply chains. The
driving force behind all of this is the Thai staff.
In other words, the local culture of “devotion tofamily and business partners” is empowering therehabilitation efforts. Taking the lead in combating
the emerging floods as Managing Director at
SKC, Masatoshi Kimata (now Senior Managing

SKC Amata Nakorn Plant

Executive Officer of Kubota Corporation) took thetime to speak with us.
“When the industrial estate was flooded, theemployees really worked hard to protect thecompany, piling up sandbags all throughout thenight. We also received generous support from
Kubota Japan, which set up a Countermeasures
Headquarters and lost no time sending pumps,
a purification system using ceramic membranefilters, and other equipment, in addition toengineers. Also, Kubota Indonesia helped us withengine production. I was really made aware of
the underlying strength of the Kubota Group. It
seems that the entire Thai community is concernedthat foreign manufacturers might relocate theirplants to other countries, but for the sake of further
developing farming in Thailand and our proud
employees, I can assure you that SKC will remain atNava Nakorn, and we will continue to do our best.”
Going forward, the supply chain will need to bereconfigured in a way that disperses its inherent
risks by allowing procurement of parts fromneighboring countries when necessary. Director
Panuwat Triyangkulsri of the Ministry of Industry
says, “We expect that Japan will reinforce its
supply chain, which covers the whole of Southeast
Asia, including Thailand. As the economy goesincreasingly global, a critical situation causedby disasters or other events in one country canspread throughout the world. We will continue tosupport the development of more stable production
arrangements by dispersing risks.”

Water purification unit with power generator (FILCERA)

Revival ofIndustry
SKC and Industrial
Estates—On thePath to Recovery
A sign indicates a “Big Cleaning Day.”

Water purified by FILCERA (left).
The water can be further purified todrinking quality if the system is enhanced.

Vice President Prajak Visuttakul of the Nava Nakorn Industrial Water
System Department indicates the level reached by the floodwaters.

*12 Tractor attachments that till land using tines*13 A network of suppliersWith the transfer of production from the Nava
Nakorn Plant, the Amata Nakorn Plant now
produces rotary tillers.

Charnnarong
Wongvitavas

Somboon
Chintanaphol

Chamornwut
Tamnarnchit

Manufacturing Headquarter
Deputy General Manager,
SKC

Sales Division Manager,
SKC

Marketing Division
Manager, SKC

Somsak Mauthorn

Takeshi Isonaga

Masatoshi Kimata

Customer Service Division
Manager, SKC

Purchasing Division
Manager, SKC

Senior Managing Executive
Officer, Kubota Corporation
Managing Director, SKC (attime of interview)

34

Draining water at the Nava Nakorn Plant

SKC and Kubota Join Hands in Support ofRehabilitation
Donating Pumps with Engines and Water
Purification Systems
SKC and Kubota worked proactively tosupport efforts for rehabilitation from flood
damage. One such program involved the
donation of 100 sets of pumps with diesel
engines and 150 sets of pumps with gasoline
engines to the Thai Government for use indraining work. This was the brainchild ofManager Chamornwut Tamnarnchit of SKC’s
Marketing Division: “In addition to marketingin the field, I am also in charge of CSR*14.
I asked myself what a business could do tofulfill its social responsibility in this time ofdisastrous flooding, and I hit upon the idea ofdonating the sets of pumps. At the presentation
ceremony, we were honored by the presenceof Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whooffered us words of gratitude. In the flooded
areas to the north of Bangkok, we transported
residents on our tractors, and we also offered
our tractors for removing rubble on thepremises of plants.”
Another donation from Kubota to the Thai
Government was a set of water purification

units with power generators (brand name:
FILCERA), which supply industrial water for
use in cleaning plants. Having been damagedby the floods, the water purification plantfeeding industrial water to companies in theNava Nakorn Industrial Estate had become
nonoperational. Informed of the situation,
Japanese employee Gen Takahashi, Senior
Manager of Kubota Corporation’s Strategy
Planning Office, happened upon the idea,
saying, “Industrial water is essential for any
industrial estate. Also, after the floodwaters
have receded, water will be needed for cleaning
the premises and machinery. I realized that the
purification plant was affected and thus unable
to supply industrial water. I thought seriously
about how we could provide support with ourtechnology, and I came up with the idea ofdonating FILCERA water purification units.”
However, time was a pressing issue. Because
FILCERA units are usually customized tocustomers’ individual specifications, it takes
up to two months to assemble a unit; this time,they needed to do so in approximately three
weeks. For flexible operation at the affectedareas, the units also had to be compact andmobile. As soon as they had been completed
in late November, ten FILCERA units wereshipped from Toyama Port, Japan and arrived
in Thailand in early December. They werethen installed at the water purification plantin the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate to begin
supply of industrial water—free of charge, ofcourse. Prajak Visuttakul, Vice President of theestate’s Industrial Water System Department,
told us about the state of things when the plant
became flooded. “The peak of the inundation
was October 19, when the waters were about
180 cm deep. Now, we are busy cleaning andrepairing the equipment to start feeding water
again. I am sure that the industrial water madeavailable by Kubota’s FILCERA units will
accelerate the reconstruction of this industrial
estate, and I cannot thank you enough for yourassistance. Going forward, we will bring to theattention of our government the things that weshould do to control floods at industrial estates
like ours, such as enclosure by high levees.”
Kubota hopes to meet water purificationneeds at industrial estates by spreading theword about FILCERA’s high mobility andcapacity, as well as the importance of disaster
preparedness.

*14 Corporate Social Responsibility
35

The vast expanse of the Chao Phraya River.
It often overflows to cause floods, but provides superior resources when successfully controlled.

Revival ofIndustry
SKC and Industrial Estates—
On the Path to Recovery

Top: The pride of Japan—Drain pump vehicles on
display at a ceremony to celebrate the completionof JICA’s activities, sponsored by the Thai Ministryof Industry
Bottom: A firm handshake between Japanese
Ambassador Kojima and Thai Minister of Industry
Dr. Wannarat Channukul

36

Shifting to an Industrial Model That Achieves
Harmony between Manufacturing and Farming
Prospects for Bilateral Relationships between
Japan and Thailand
According to the World Bank Office in Bangkok,
flood damage is estimated at 1.4 trillion baht
(approximately 3.5 trillion yen), which is morethan 10% of Thailand’s GDP. Amid concerns
over the slowdown of the Thai economy, theNational Economic and Social Development
Board (NESDB) of Thailand forecasts that their
GDP growth may be limited to 1.5% in 2011
due to the severe floods, but that the economy
would return to a recovery trajectory in 2012
to grow at a rate of 4.5% to 5.5%. In order tosustain this brisk economic growth, the task of“making the country flood-resistant” will be
crucial, because the current nightmare haunting
the country is a reduction in direct investmentsfrom abroad as the flood’s impact still lingers.
Meanwhile, there is something else that must be
considered. Conventional belief would assert thatindustrializing (in other words, modernizing)a country based on the model of developed
countries would lead emerging countries toaffluence. However, Thailand offers the potential
for development through a symbiosis between
manufacturing and farming, rather than arelationship of opposition. In recent years, thefarming industry in Thailand has been seeking
further intensification for the sake of higher land
productivity and environmental conservation.
What propels this initiative is the greater use of
agricultural machinery as a result of industrial
development. Furthermore, farmlands are notsimply food-producing areas, but also serve associal infrastructure for flood control as theyretain water. If waters are controlled and put
to efficient use, industrial promotion will also
benefit. It is true that the country needs toaddress the issue of infrastructure improvement,
but if Thailand begins to seek a brand newindustrial model that “achieves harmony between
manufacturing and farming” in addition toits current role as a “food station in Asia,” it
may be able to show us the way toward setting
up “Asia as a food station of the world,” andthen toward “solutions to the world’s foodproblems.” When this becomes a reality, Kubota’s
business of building a bridge between farming
and manufacturing should offer a fascinating
perspective on the “solution to food problems.”
Coincidently, Japan and Thailand were both hit
by natural disasters in the same year, taking theforms of an earthquake and flooding. Having
collided with these harsh realities, the twocountries were given the opportunity to reconfirm
bonds of mutual assistance. At the ceremonycelebrating the completion of JICA’s activities thatwas organized by the Thai Ministry of Industry,high government officials from the two partnercountries showed appreciation for the mutual
support activities. On that occasion, Thai Ministerof Industry Dr. Wannarat Channukul said to themembers of the emergency team, “You are ourtrue friends. Please visit us here in Thailand again
as if it were your second home.” Looking beyond
the relationships between the two countries, as
people and technology come and go freely, it isexpected that Japanese companies will advance
to become “glocal” (“global + local”) entities andnew industrial models will be created in Thailand
for the whole world to share.

OPINION— From a Nature Technology Perspective —Hideki Ishida, Ph.D.
Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University

37

“To Live with theBlessings of Nature,
Let Nature Live,and Sidestep Nature.”

From a Nature Technology Perspective

Hideki Ishida, Ph.D.
Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University

PROFILEA doctor of engineering, Dr. Ishida was born in 1953 in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. In 1978,
he joined INAX Corporation (now LIXIL Corporation), where he worked as an engineer at its
Fundamental Research Laboratories and Space Design Laboratories before assuming concurrent
chairmanship of the company’s Environmental Strategy Committee and Engineering Strategy
Committee and later the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Member of the Board.
He has held his current position at Tohoku University since 2004. In an effort to bring about aparadigm shift in monozukuri (“manufacturing”), he frequently communicates his messages bothat home and abroad. In 2004, he put forth the concept of “Nature Technology,” a new approach
to monozukuri that attempts to make wise use of nature’s brilliance. Also a dedicated educator, Dr.
Ishida is actively involved in the development of working adults who are capable of implementing
environmental strategies and policies from a cross-sectional perspective, as well as children’s
environmental education. Outside of the university, he holds such titles as Representative of
the Earth Village Research Laboratory, Representative of the Nature Technology ResearchConsortium, President of Sustainable Solutions, Director of Monozukuri Living Civilization
Organization, and Director of Earthwatch Japan.
Selected recent works:
Mysterious Tape from a Gecko’s Toes, Alice-kan, 2011
Let’s Design Future Work Styles! The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd., 2011
Learn from Nature! – Nature Technology, Gakken Mook, 2011
By the Time That You Are an Adult, The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd., 2010
Miraculous Technologies Taught by the Earth, Shodensha Inc., 2010
Learning Smart Technology from Nature, Dojin Sensho, Kagaku-Dojin Publishing Co., Inc., 200938

Learn from Nature and “Redesign” asTechnology
I formerly worked at a private enterprise for 25
years, and was in charge of supervising boththeir environmental and engineering strategies.
While fulfilling my duties at the time, however,I always felt self-contradictory as I conducted
R&D for the sake of profit at a company thatwas reputed to be “eco-friendly.” I then began
to question myself about what manufacturing
really means. What needs to be done for a
resource-poor country like Japan to base its
economy on industry? As I searched for ananswer to these questions, I finally arrived at
the conclusion that we need to acknowledge
both a recycling society and the existence ofhuman desire in order to create a sustainable
society, and that the answer can be found innature.
In the natural world, a completely sustainable
society is maintained with only the smallest
amount of energy. Humans need to learn
about nature’s mechanisms, systems, andsocialization so that, with nature serving as abase, we can start thinking about how humans
should exist, and how we can discover new

forms of monozukuri and ways of living. The
key phrase here is “to live with the blessingsof nature, let nature live, and sidestep nature.”
If you put this into practice, you will begin torealize new technologies and lifestyles.
Let me provide an example. “In the savanna,
where temperatures can rise as high as 50
degrees centigrade in the daytime but also fall
below zero in the nighttime, how is it possiblethat the interior of a nest of white ants is
kept at a constant temperature of 30 degrees
centigrade?” From this line of questioning, we
discovered clay tiles that can adjust humidity
and temperature. Stain-resistant kitchen sinks
and exterior tiles for buildings were born fromthe question of why a snail’s shell does not
get dirty. As in these examples, the “Nature
Technology” concept attempts to learn fromnature and “redesign” what is necessary forhumans as technology.
The Need for a “Backcasting” Mindset
Aiming at “Affluence with Quality ‘Hoops’”
The British Industrial Revolution was
successful because the country broke awayfrom nature. A confrontational stance wastaken against nature under the assumption thateverything could be expressed in numericalformulae and that nature could be completely
controlled. The results of this assumption
have taken form in the technology that wehave today, and until now everything has been
conceived by “forecasting.” That is to say,people began by analyzing the present state
and then forecast what the future would be.
However, everything done according to thisway of thinking tends to be negative. A good
example of this is the kind of efforts to force
people to be “patient” by conserving energy,
power, and water, which is never enjoyable.
Rather, what we need now is to switch over toa “backcasting” approach, in which we imagine
how the future should be and then start
thinking backward to discover what we needto do now to realize an ideal future. Designinga lifestyle based on the backcasting approachand attempting to create the technologythat is necessary for it—this is what “Nature
Technology” aims to achieve.
There exists a phenomenon that I like tocall the “eco dilemma.” Japan’s energy
conservation technology is at the cutting edge
39

From a Nature Technology Perspective

globally, and it is truly wonderful. Over the
past 15 years, the energy consumption of air
conditioners has been successfully reduced by
40%, and that of refrigerators has been cut by
as much as 80%. On the other hand, household
power consumption has grown by 30% overthat same period. This is because people thinkthat “it is okay to buy appliances because
they are eco-friendly,” and it is this mindset
that has stimulated the rise in consumption.
To put the matter simply, the idea of “being
eco-friendly” serves as a kind of vindication for
consumption. It is true that developing energyconserving appliances is important; however,if this continues, the companies’ brand value
will eventually be lowered, because the moreadvanced such initiatives become, the moresimilar technologies from other manufacturers
will grow (unification of technology), inevitably
leading to cost competition.
If things go on like this, Japanese companies
will only grow exhausted from the harsh costcompetition against their cost-efficient Asiancompetitors. If they are to avoid this, Japanesemanufacturers need to present a vision for
a new lifestyle to consumers. What theyshould be doing now is taking a “backcasting”
40

approach to envision a lifestyle without
refrigerators rather than making eco-friendly
refrigerators, or to imagine how one can enjoy
living in an urban district without using a car.
Because of the March 11 earthquake, I
personally feel that the year 2030 has arrived
20 years too soon, as it is a year for which
many have warned of serious environmental
changes occurring on this planet and among
human society. As such, we are being pressedfor quick answers to such questions as, “Whatis an affluent life?” and “How do we go about
realizing a recycling society?” In other words,
we need to accelerate the process of creatinga new lifestyle by applying the “backcasting”
mindset.
Gone are the days when manufacturers had
only to stir up people’s desire for material
gain. Now, we need to change the very natureof “desire” along with our yardstick for
affluence—namely, from material affluence
to spiritual affluence. This is “affluence withrestraints,” or “affluence with quality hoops,”
and this is something that cannot be attained
from the “forecasting” mindset. All the morebecause of these restrains, wisdom arises,

technology is developed, and affluence isachieved.
A New Lifestyle after the Quake
Using a Network as a Defense
Since about one year prior to the Tohoku
earthquake, I have been conducting“interviews with 90-year olds” with mygraduate students. People at that age havememories of the way of life in the prewar days
when people lived in harmony with nature,and have spent the prime of their working
lives during Japan’s period of rapid economic
growth. And what they all have to say is thatthey felt greater enjoyment then than they
do now. As we conducted more interviewsin pursuit of the nature of this “enjoyment,”
we discovered several key phrases that arecommon to their concept of “enjoyment.”
They include “feeling the rhythm of nature,”“making wise use of nature,” “roles foreveryone,” “living in a happy family circle,” andthe like. Upon visiting evacuation sites in theaffected areas after the quake with my students,
I was surprised to find that, in what mustsurely be some of the most difficult situations
imaginable, the people at some of thosesites were full of vigor and those key phrases
applied beautifully to them. By making themost of these research findings, we have begun
working on the revitalization of communities in
the Tohoku region.
As the recent great earthquake has forcefully
reminded us, nature in Japan is harshand, historically speaking, the country has
constantly been at the mercy of nature’s fury.
Living as we are in such a nation, the peopleof Japan should expect and be prepared tosuffer from various sorts of natural disasters
down the road. As a long-term precaution, it isnecessary to incorporate into various systems
the wisdom with which to “sidestep” nature,
which is something that the Japanese people
have accumulated over a great many years.
In the short run, we need to form a “mutual
support network” that connects people
together. The last earthquake made me keenly
aware of how important it is to have a networkthat allows people to help and depend onothers. For such a network to be created, weneed to have some “hoops,” or “restraints,”
that bind it together.

A quality “hoop” will inevitably bring about
relationships and lifestyles that permit only an
altruistic way of living. And I am sure that the
network thus developed will be instrumental to
the revitalization of communities, and will help
us to prepare for natural disasters.
Expectations for Kubota in the Post-quake Days
New Ideas with “Food” as a Starting Point
The last earthquake has inflicted a serious
blow on the “food” of not only the Tohoku
region, but the entire country as well; however,the fact is that its impact has so far attracted
little attention. This can only be due to thefact that Japan’s primary industry accounts fora meager 1.4% of its GDP, and people view
“food” only in terms of monetary value.
If Kubota claims that it is conscious of being
deeply involved in the nation’s “food,” it isexpected to clarify the yardstick by which
the company measures “food” as well as theroles it is prepared to assume and under whatcircumstances it will assume them. What I
would like to hear from the company is theassertion that it is not merely manufacturing
and selling tools—in Kubota’s case, farming

machinery—but that it is providing or
shouldering part of the “template for lifestylesof the Japanese people in which food plays a
key role.”
Kubota is involved in the primary throughtertiary industries. As such, is it not possible
for the company to design new “community
creation” from the perspective of “food”
by providing links between secondary andtertiary industries with the primary industry
as a base? This is a “dream for the future” that
I would love to hear Kubota talk about. As a
researcher, I use “lifestyle” as the minimum
unit in conceiving “Nature Technology,” but solong as Kubota takes “food” as a starting point,
the company can expand the framework of its
conception to the “community” level.
Exploring a new template for a community,
figuring out how it should exist, anddeveloping the technology needed by such a
community—If Kubota lets the people in Asiaand the rest of the world know about this kindof approach, I have no doubt whatsoever thatthe value of the company’s corporate brandwill only be enhanced.

41

Conditions for Survival on the Planet Earth— Be Humble and Respectful toward Nature —We humans have no choice but to be constantly faced with natural disasters.
There is nothing that we can do to prevent the occurrence of earthquakes and tsunamis, but we should spare noeffort to minimize the damage that may be incurred by them.
We cannot hold back the floodwaters, but we should not let them wash away our livelihood and hopes.
The question that rises before us is: How can we confront and prepare ourselves in the face of frequent natural
disasters?
What we need to do now is to itemize disaster risks and develop infrastructure that can mitigate the magnitudeof damage to the utmost extent possible, by way of increasing disaster forecasting and prediction accuracy anddesigning and building disaster management and safety systems. At the same time, we need to enhance people’s
awareness of the importance of disaster management, and create disaster-proof communities.
It is important to note here that, in our present times, natural disasters are often caused by human activities,
which often add to the severity of such disasters.
It is of great concern to be aware that human intervention in the natural world occurring on an unprecedented
scale has inflicted serious damage to the global environment.
It can be said that natural disasters brought about by abnormal weather allegedly attributable to global
warming epitomize this.
Human beings must be reminded of the humility and reverence that we once had when faced with nature.
That is the condition for humankind to survive on this planet both now and in the future.
The editorial team wishes to thank the people living in the areas affected in the Great East Japan Earthquake
and Thailand Floods for their cooperation in compiling this booklet, and offer the most sincere wishes for the
rehabilitation and reconstruction of such areas at the earliest possible date.

Published

March 2012

Planning and Publishing Corporate Communication Department, Kubota Corporation
2-47, Shikitsuhigashi 1-chome, Naniwa-ku, Osaka 556-8601
Japan

Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate water purification plant, the Kingdom of Thailand

42

Editing & Production

Works Japan Inc., Universal Combo Inc.

Photographs

Sincom Photo

DesignDice Design

Printing

Cie Bie Kansai Inc.

Inquiries

Corporate Communication Department, Kubota Corporation43

www.kubota.co.jp

This booklet is printed on FSC-certiﬁed paper that contains materials sourced from responsibly managed forests.
Low-environmental-stress vegetable oil ink was used to print this booklet.

2012.3