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Silent Service's Kaiji Kawaguchi Draws Earthquake Manga
posted on by Eric Stimson
With the devastation caused by the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake a distant memory and renewed concern stimulated by the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami, Tokyo is preparing for a major earthquake in the near future. To guide its citizens through a severe catastrophe, the Tokyo Metropolitan government is distributing a disaster preparedness kit.
The kit includes a short manga, Tokyo "X" Day, to give Tokyo residents an idea of what to expect if a magnitude 7 earthquake hits. A salaryman is interrupted while texting his girlfriend by serious tremors. His phone alerts him to an impending earthquake, and he watches in horror as shelves topple, skyscrapers teeter ominously, and roads and railways break, sending a truck and train to their dooms. A warped door prevents the office from opening it, but everyone manages to escape the building using emergency stairways. The employees emerge to a scene of shocking destruction.
"This is not a what-if story," the manga concludes, "it's the near future. It is a story that will surely become reality." The final panel shows a clock.
The manga was drawn by Kaiji Kawaguchi, known for politically themed stories like Eagle and The Silent Service. The disaster preparedness kit also includes a manual for how to survive an earthquake or other disasters (including floods, volcanic eruptions and terrorist attacks), how to prepare for them, how to improvise essential items out of commonly available materials, contact information, and other useful instructions. The manual has a vinyl cover to protect it from water or dirt.
Attack on Titan has also promoted greater awareness of natural disasters.
