Completion of mental care activities in the stricken areas of Chuetsu and the Chuetsu Offshore
Earthquake~ 10 Years of “Niigata Mental Health Welfare Association Mental Health Care Center” ~Niigata Mental Health Welfare Association
Chairman - Toshiyuki Someya

The Niigata Mental Health Welfare Association Mental Health Care Center is an area that was hit by two
short-term disastrous events: the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake on October 23, 2004, and the Niigata Chuetsu
Offshore Earthquake on July 16, 2007. It has been engaged in mental health care activities for about 10 years in thisarea. The activities of the center were completed in March 2015.
At the time of the opening, there was little knowledge about how mental health care should be conducted
after a disaster, and the center continued activities for the disaster-stricken areas and disaster victims through trialand-error. However, what has been learned from the victims through the health care activities was irreplaceable andwas a valuable resource for mental health care activities in the event of a possible natural disaster.
It is very important to understand the characteristics of the area and the people when supporting affectedareas. The area affected by the Chuetsu Earthquake was a depopulated and aging mountainous area with heavy
snowfall. It was an area with especially high suicide rates even within the Niigata Prefecture which has a highsuicide rate overall. Therefore, “protecting the irreplaceable lives of the victims who had been exposed to a great
deal of stress due to the earthquake” has been a set business guideline. Before the Chuetsu Earthquake and theChuetsu Offshore Earthquake, we continued to work on “Education for Depression and Suicide Prevention,” which
had been a taboo in disaster-affected areas. The importance is that it applies not only to the affected areas but also
to the general public. Besides, steady outreach activities such as on-site surveys conducted by the center in disasterstricken areas lead to the early detection and early consultations of persons in need of support and were also very
useful for understanding the needs of disaster victims.
The magnitude of the two earthquakes in Niigata and the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake
are incomparable. The magnitude of the disaster is irrelevant to mental care activities for victims who have suffereda great loss.
"The impact of the disaster is not the magnitude of the damage, and the loss and grief felt by the individual
victims are not the same."-128 -This is what we learned and realized from the victims through our 10 years of activities. For more informationon the activities of this center, please refer to “Mental Health Care Center 10 Years of Activities Report Recovering
the Heart of our Hometown ~A History of Ten Years in Proximity to Affected Persons~.”
Now, the Miyagi Prefecture is in the regeneration phase of the 10-year recovery plan, but is Miyagi Disaster
Mental Health Care Center shifting to mid to long-term support? Recovery efforts continued in the areas affectedby the Chuetsu Earthquake, with a focus on mental health measures for local government employees who had
peaked in fatigue and mental health training for firefighters. Supporting reconstruction will also result in disastervictims’ support. Just as we did in the past, the Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center has reached their fifthyear of activity and is most likely to feel lost sometimes. You are included in the support for supporters, so please
do not forget about self-care. We hope that activities such as listening to the silent voices of the victims and staying
close to their invisible mental wounds will continue.
Many people affected by the disaster must have completely changed their lives due to the Great East Japan
Earthquake. However, I think that being able to live a positive life once again with hope in life may help lead tomental recovery.
We hope everyone in the stricken areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake will be able to live peacefully.

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