“Hug Earth” Journey

Gratitude Toward the Sea

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English 日本語

Aired: July 8, 2022 (UTC)


Information

The seas cover nearly 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, and play an important role for all living creatures that reside on the Earth.
For Japan, an island nation that is surrounded by the sea on all four sides, the sea is present in our daily lives.
We will here be presenting three seas, each displaying a different countenance.
The Okinawa sea, boasting a beauty and diversity renowned throughout the world.
The Kumano sea, featuring a confluence of sea and mountain juxtaposed.
And, finally, the Rikuzentakata sea, now in the process of recovery from the immense tsunami damage incurred in the East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

Hakuho, a retired yokozuna sumo wrestler who may well have been the strongest wrestler ever in Japanese sumo history, joins us in visiting with the persons most intimately connected with each of these seas.

We touch on the richness of these seas, look toward environmental issues, and take a “Hug Earth” (hugging the Earth so as to encourage hugs for ourselves) journey that can help us take stock of the current state of the seas both in Japan and abroad, and of the Earth itself.

Gallery


CAST

Hakuho

The 69th Yokozuna

Born: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Sumo Debut in March 2001/ Retired in September 2021
Recognized for five Guinness World Records in December 2021: 45 grand sumo tournament titles, longest reign as a Yokozuna (84 tournaments), most wins in the top division (1093), most wins in total (1187) and perfect championships (16)

 

Osada Isamu

Underwater Cameraman

Migrated from Tokyo to Okinawa in 1991, fascinated by the diverse coral leaves and creatures living in the seas around Okinawa.
As an underwater cameraman he shoots TV, commercials, movies, etc. in the seas around the world, including Okinawa.
Spends about 500 dives 220 days a year, filming and photographing coral predation and spawning as his lifework.

 

Saraya Yusuke

President, Saraya Co., Ltd.
Chairman, ZERI Japan/Blue Ocean Foundation

The second president of Saraya, a manufacturer that produces dishwashing detergents, disinfectants, and food products with a focus on hygiene, the environment, and health.
In addition to contributing to the world through business, he is also actively involved in NPO activities, improving sanitation in Uganda, and with a strong interest in environmental issues, elephant protection in Borneo, and disposal through recycling and reuse of resources and energy, working on environmental education for the realization of the zero-object concept.

 

Ohwada Nobuyuki

Oyster Farmer

A third-generation owner of a family-owned oyster farm in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, in the Tohoku region.
A year after returning to his hometown from Tokyo and starting to help his father with oyster farming, he lost his oyster farming equipment, boat, and father in the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Together with his friends, he has started to recover, and now has returned to the level before the earthquake, actively working on the development of new aquaculture methods.

 

Minami Sasuga

Choreographer/Dancer
JAGATARA's member

One of Japan’s leading choreographers. Worked as a chorus dancer in the band “JAGATARA”, working with many singers and choreographers for commercials.
In 2010, she created an exercise program for the elderly, “Dance from the Heart.”
Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, she entered the disaster area, visited evacuation centers and temporary housing, and moved her body together with “Dance from the Heart.” Pursuing the meaning of dance, she announced “0100 DANCE” in 2021.

 

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