Lake Forest Parents Gain Close-up View of Japan's Devastation Through Their Son's Eyes

When the devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami struck Japan on March 11, the tragedy hit too close to home for a Lake Forest couple.

Ryan Williams, son of Jack and Katie Williams of Lake Forest, has lived in Tokyo, Japan for six years. Ryan, a Japanese major in college, studied in Japan for a year and after graduation decided to return to the country and live there. He works as a recruiter in the insurance industry.

“He said you get used to earthquakes there, but this one was different,” said Jack.

Ryan was at work on the seventh floor when the earthquake struck.
“They all ran out of the building,” said Jack.

At the apartment Ryan shares with his Japanese wife, Sana, damage was minimal. Jack said a few things fell off of the walls and some dishes broke. He added that Sana’s family, who lives on the other side of the country, are fine.

“My son is safe there. He says he’s never even heard of anybody getting robbed,” said Jack, who has been keeping in touch with his son largely through e-mail. “Now I kind of don’t know what to think.”

While Ryan is back at work in Tokyo, where people are dealing with rolling blackouts, Jack said people are most nervous about the damage to the country‘s nuclear plants. The greatest fears surround the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where fires and exposed spent fuel rods are being battled, according to CNN broadcasts.

“They’re most worried now about the nuclear situation,” said Jack.

He worries about how the country and its aging society will tackle the clean-up and rebuilding process in the northern part of Japan.

“It’s going to take a long time to rebuild,” he said. “But the Japanese, maybe because of what they went through in World War II, they’re very stoic people. They’ve learned to take things in stride.”

Jack and Katie, the principal at , have visited Japan a few times, including last summer for Ryan and Sana’s wedding. They visited Hiroshima, which Jack called a beautiful city, and said the “people in Japan are amazingly friendly.”

If a tourist is stopped and looks confused, the Japanese people stop to help and will even walk several blocks out of their way to make sure the tourist gets to where he or she needs to go, Jack said.

“They have just such an internal sense of control and discipline,” said Jack.

Jack said he is concerned, however, “about what this is going to do financially to the country. It’s a hard economy anyway.”

At the same time, Jack acknowledged that the Japanese “are really amazingly industrious people” who have already battled challenges like pollution head-on.
“They’ve really cleaned a lot of that up,” he said of the pollution that plagued the country in the 1960s and 70s. “They drive a lot of hybrid cars.”

With the continued aftershocks and nuclear crisis looming in Japan, Jack said he tries not to worry too much about his son.

“It makes me a little nervous, but I try not to let it affect me,” said Jack. “As hard as it is to have (Ryan) there, that’s where he wants to be. He really has thrived over there. He’s a very resilient young man.”