Japan Files: Miki Endo

what fitting tribute can you think of to honor a 24-year-old woman whose unflagging efforts to urge her town-mates to run for safety literally saved thousands of lives -- a heroic action that eventually cost her own?



Miki Endo, a recently married public employee who worked for Minamisanriku's (a town that was hit hard in the recent quake/tsunami disaster) Crisis Management Department, was manning the public address system -- exhorting the residents to run for higher ground -- as the tsunamis were about to roll in. According to various accounts, Miki Endo stayed at her post and continued her urgent broadcast even as the waves finally hit the coastal town.

it was later learned that Miki Endo did not survive this tragic disaster (a co-employee last saw her being carried away by a huge wave), much to the dismay and grief of her parents and the very people whose lives she had helped save.