PNG can learn from Japan in disaster preparedness: Journalist

PNG can learn from Japan in its recovery efforts and disaster preparedness, says local journalist Quintina Naime.

Naime returned from Japan after over a week visiting and learning about how this developed nation deals with natural and manmade disasters in the country.

“I was first nominated to be part of the program and I had to apply for it and was selected, along with four other journalists from the Caribbean and Pacific Islands,” says Loop PNG’s senior journalist.

The Pacific-Caribbean Journalist Program was organised by the Association for Promotion of International Cooperation (APIC) and the Foreign Press Center of Japan (FPCJ).

“The program focused on disaster preparedness, in particular the lessons that Japan learned from the ‘3/11’ earthquake and tsunami that caused so much death and destruction in the Sendai/Fukushima region five years ago,” Naime said.

“Undergoing the APIC-FPCJ Program was an eye-opener as it helped me understand how PNG can learn from Japan in its recovery efforts and disaster preparedness. This is an area where PNG is lacking.

“As a journalist and working in the media industry, I was able to learn about disaster preparedness using Japan as an example, and this will guide me when reporting on how to address natural disasters in PNG.”

Naime said the program also helped her understand everything involved in disaster preparedness and recovery efforts, to report more effectively and help responsible authorities effectively do their job.

“For a developed country like Japan, I believe developing countries like PNG and other Pacific Island nations have a lot to learn and gain from its experiences in addressing natural disasters and environmental issues,” she stated.

The participants of the program came from Fiji, Tonga, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

It is an invitation-only initiative that hosts selected journalists from Oceania and the Caribbean for an intensive “workshop” in Japan, around themes that have pertinence to the region.

The 2016 APIC-FPCJ Pacific-Caribbean Journalists Program took place in Japan from October 18-26.

Photo by Floyd K. Takeuchi/Waka Photos

Author: 
Charles Yapumi