ADBI Dean expresses sympathy to the people and government of Japan

TOKYO (14 March 2011) - ADBI opened on Monday morning, 14 March 2011, as usual. Although on Friday our staff experienced very frightening and uncomfortable swaying in the Kasumigaseki building where ADBI is located, no significant damage has been reported. Engineers of the building have confirmed the safety of the building which continues to have a structure that is resilient to earthquakes.

No ADBI staff or their immediate families have had serious problems or been injured. The same applies to staff of the ADB Japanese Representative Office (JRO), which is on the same floor as ADBI.

Tokyo in general is not badly damaged, although the entire public transport system stopped operation immediately after the earthquake as transport firms had to check the damage to their systems. Some subway lines resumed operations late on Friday night and most of Tokyo's public transportation system restarted limited operations on Saturday. From today, we will likely experience temporary power cuts in several parts of Tokyo, as the demand for power exceeds its supply which is currently limited due to the closure of nuclear power plants affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

On Friday night, the lack of a public transport system and the non-availability of taxis forced many people in Tokyo either to go home on foot or to stay at their workplace. Some firms and government agencies advised their employees to stay at the workplace because of the concerns about their safety due to possible damage to other buildings and highways and post-earthquake concerns, such as fire, on the street.

We at ADBI decided to let our staff go home, as it appeared safe outside. Most of them remained in the office until late in the evening and some stayed overnight. Most staff, myself included, walked home. One member of staff had an 11-hour walk home. In my case, it took me 3 hours and 30 minutes. On the way, I saw no damaged buildings or highways and no fires. A large crowd of people was walking back home and everyone was very calm. Several offices along the major streets offered their toilet facilities for people walking home. Public offices offered some free food and hot soup.

What we see on the TV, in Japan and internationally, is not the impact of the earthquake, but the effects of the tsunami. The tsunami had devastating impacts on human lives and properties in the northeastern part of Honshu (Japan's main island). I would like to extend sympathy and support to those people who have been severely affected or have lost family members and friends in this disaster. We will work with the government of Japan and the international community to contribute to the recovery. We are also monitoring the situation at the Fukushima plants very carefully.

Many of ADBI's friends and associates have written to me and other staff expressing concern about our safety. On behalf of all the staff at ADBI, I would like to thank every one of them for thinking of us at this difficult time. For the time being, our office is functioning as normal; however, the safety of our staff remains our main concern and we will take whatever action is necessary if changing circumstances require.