JET alums Wesley Julian (Miyagi, 08-10), Dan Martin (Shiga, ’07-’09) and Elizabeth Gordon (Iwate, 03-05) are excited to announce the creation of The 113 Project, which aims to support local economic development in Tohoku through the promotion of tourism and volunteerism.

---

     The 113 Project was born out of the desire to help the Tohoku region of Japan with the long term recovery following the disaster of March 11, 2011 (3.11).  Our goal is to reclaim Tohoku from the stigma of the disaster and bring increased tourism and volunteerism to the region.  We believe that this combination leads to a 1+1=3 scenario, where the outcome is greater than the sum of its parts.

The team was in Japan gathering footage for a series of short webisodes.  We interviewed members of local communities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, and we cannot wait to share these stories with the JET community.

     We are halfway to our goal in our kickstarter campaign, but we need your help to bring these stories to life.  Please consider supporting this project, so the JET community can show the Tohoku communities that they have our support, and are in our hearts.