Iwaki Keitaro started the online project on February 23. He is inviting people to post on his Facebook page pictures of the Noto region, which was hit by the quake. Anyone can see or upload images.
Iwaki is the president of a company that makes and sells medicine.
"The scariest thing for the residents of Noto is that people may forget about them. So, I hope this will be an opportunity for people outside to learn about Noto."
Over 2,800 pictures have been posted to his Facebook page as of Friday morning. Most were shot before the disaster. Some capture well-known scenic spots in the region, and others portray the everyday life of the inhabitants.
Pictures taken at Asaichi street in Wajima City show crowds of tourists before a massive fire sparked by the temblor destroyed more than 200 buildings in the area.
"Life is beautiful in Noto"
Iwaki used to live in Tokyo. When he visited Noto on a short trip, he found that the way of life there was different from anything he had experienced before. He says the lifestyle fascinated him.
"People's way of life was just beautiful. When preparing dinner, they go to their fields to pick vegetables, to the sea to pick seaweed, and go into the mountains to pick wild plants. They cook rice they have harvested. In big cities, we can go to convenience stores for meals. I was fed up with such a convenient way of life. Life is more fun when it takes time and effort. I found life in Noto to be beautiful as people manage their clothing, food and housing all by themselves."
Iwaki relocated to Suzu City in Noto with four of his employees in 2021. Parts of his company's headquarters were also transferred there.
He was in Tokyo when the quake hit on New Year's Day, and all of his employees were safe. He quickly began efforts to help the survivors. His activities include gathering information on communities that were isolated, and providing the data to local municipalities. He also secured accommodation facilities as secondary shelters for evacuees.
People who like to give
Iwaki remembers a symbolic conversation he had with an elderly woman in Suzu.
One day, she gave him some vegetables. So in return he offered her some sweets. But her reaction was unexpected.
"She scolded me. She was serious. She said she didn't give the vegetables in order to get something in return. 'Don't misunderstand me. I gave them because I wanted to give them to you,' she said. I experienced such exchanges several times and found the people here just like to give to others. I think that's really wonderful."
And Iwaki himself became such a person. He says the support he is providing to survivors is nothing more than the vegetables the woman gave him.
Most of the posted pictures were shot before the disaster. He believes that shows people in Noto want to cherish the daily lives and memories they have lost. "I hope this project will be an opportunity for people in Noto to make a determination to recover their hometown and also provide an opportunity for them to come to terms with the damage."
Iwaki aims to collect 10,000 photos for now, and hold a photo exhibition in Ishikawa Prefecture.
"Even after January 1, there are stellar scenes and seasonal landscapes. I hope such photos will become a symbol of the recovery from the disaster. So, I'm going to keep collecting photos."