On February 15, Mr. SATO Jin, Mayor of Minamisanriku, Miyagi visited the headquarters of Co-op Tohoku and presented a letter of appreciation and a commemorative plaque made of Minamisanriku cedar to Co-op Tohoku Sunnet Business Federation  (Co-op Tohoku)* and its member co-op, Miyagi Co-op for their supports after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Co-op Tohoku supported "the Zenyuseki Memorial Stone of the Tsunami Project." It is a project proposed by "Zenyuseki" a national association of stone dealers, to construct memorial stones of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Co-op Tohoku donated for the project. As a result, in December 2019, the 34th Memorial Stone of Tsunami (a stone monument erected to preserve the facts and lessons of the tsunami) was erected in the Minamisanriku Memorial Park of Earthquake Disaster.

Furthermore, Miyagi Co-op, the member co-op of Co-op Tohoku, has been involved in various support activities for disaster victims and reconstruction of disaster-stricken areas, including the provision of disaster relief supplies, shopping support, support for Megumino-Oyster producers, holding "Fureai Salon" (small gathering) and sales of products made by handmade groups of the Tohoku region.

Ten years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011, and the reconstruction project is expected to be almost complete. For this reason, Mayor SATO has been visiting various places to express his gratitude to organizations and local governments across Japan that have provided support for the restoration and recovery efforts.

Mayor SATO said, "I present a letter of appreciation on behalf of the citizens of the town and would like to thank the Co-op for their various forms of support." 

A facility designed by architect Mr. KUMA Kengo is currently under construction in the town to convey and show lessons from the disaster. It is expected to be completed around July. After this, the reconstruction project will be completed except for some seawalls.

*Co-op Tohoku Sunnet Business Federation (Co-op Tohoku) was established in 1995 with the aim of strengthening the business management capabilities of each co-op in the Tohoku region. Currently, it has 7 member co-ops in 6 prefectures.