Field record
- Where
- The Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa (Suzu and other areas)
- When
- Two years after the Noto Peninsula earthquake (films released January 2026)
- People I met
- A man who keeps rescuing cats affected by the disaster / A person creating a place for children in Suzu
- What I made
- Two documentary films (filming and production)
Key points
- Two years after the Noto Peninsula earthquake of New Year's Day 2024 (maximum seismic intensity 7), I filmed and produced two documentary films in Noto, Ishikawa.
- The first is about a man who, for two years since the day of the disaster, has rescued nearly 1,000 cats.
- The second is about a person who moved to Suzu and is creating a place for children and the community at “Suzukko Hiroba.”
First published 2026.01.20 (Instagram) / Updated
The Noto Peninsula juts far out from Ishikawa into the Sea of Japan. It is a place of traditions such as Wajima lacquerware, and of fishing villages with aging populations. On New Year's Day 2024, an earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity of 7 struck. Two years have passed since then.
I used to avoid news from disaster zones
In Japan, known as an earthquake-prone country, many major earthquakes have struck since shortly after I was born. As a child, every time I saw the footage on TV, my heart ached. When I was working after high school, the western Japan floods happened. I once pleaded directly with my boss to let me go and volunteer. (Laughs)
Once I came to understand myself, there was a time I avoided news from disaster zones. “I felt that if I went, I would never be able to come back.” Even so, I sometimes found myself heading there anyway.
Most people, surely, think “it has nothing to do with me.” I do not want to deny that. Honestly, there are days I think how much easier life would be if I could think that way too. Sometimes, gazing out of a window, I wonder whether I have become able to do anything since those days. But film, which I have kept doing since I was young, is one thing I did get better at. The many “cool grown-ups” I have met since I started reporting were certainly in Noto too.
A man who keeps rescuing nearly 1,000 cats
One man, for two years since the day of the earthquake, had rescued nearly 1,000 cats, the animals that had helped him in his own life. Because cats saved his life, he wants to repay them. As the deadline for publicly funded demolition approaches, he runs around day and night looking for cats left behind. He is living with everything he has, trying to help someone.
A record of one man who keeps running to save catsWatch on YouTube →
A person creating a place for children
Another person, who surely had their own future to think about, kept up emergency relief work all along. Through Suzu's festivals, they decided to work for this place, and moved to Suzu. The uplifted and cracked ground took away the freedom to run from under the children's feet. Now, through “Suzukko Hiroba,” they are creating a place for children and the community.
The smiles of Noto's children, and the story of a place that nurtures their futureWatch on YouTube →
I was so, so glad to be able to make films carrying the hearts of people like these. Just between us, I spent the new year editing in tears, for all kinds of reasons.
Hope does not end in disappointment
Hope does not end in disappointment,
and I want to keep doing my best.
Japan and the world may be full of gloom. Even so, I would be glad if you could come to know, through these films, the “cool grown-ups” who moved my heart.
Narita Jun
Filmmaker and video journalist, born in Nagoya in 1993. As staff of an international NGO, he works in disaster response and humanitarian aid while making documentaries about people, wildlife and the earth. Green Film Festival 2024 Grand Prize.
This article is a rewritten version of the January 20, 2026 Instagram post.