1 March 2011

The Big Issue Japan: ‘We are not defeated'

The cover of The
Big Issue in Scotland
In Sendai, capital of Miyagi - one of north-east Japan's regions worst affected by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami - all Big Issue Japan vendors are alive and accounted for. Miku Sano, managing director of The Big Issue Japan's Tokyo office, said: "At first, many of us were surprised at how strong and unaffected most vendors seem. However, when you think about it, most of our vendors always sleep outside - which means, in many ways, the "emergency situation" that we are facing now is the kind of life they live on a daily basis. I hope this crisis will bring us together and that it will give us a chance to think more about the people who have to live in such harsh conditions not only after this earthquake, but every day". Read more.