Mountaineering expert delivers light, warmth to quake

Experience enduring the harsh conditions of the Himalayas drove a Japanese mountaineering expert to provide support to areas hit by the recent deadly Turkey-Syria earthquake.

Three days after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck, Ken Noguchi said on Feb. 9 at a news conference in Soja, Okayama Prefecture, that he would send sleeping bags that could withstand the extreme cold in the affected areas. 

“When I lost my route on the Himalayas and bivouacked in a crevasse, one hour felt like five hours,” said Noguchi, 49. “If people continue to endure such conditions, they could have mental breakdowns.”

He heads a nonprofit organization called Peak-aid. The NPO, based in Fuji-Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, launched support for the earthquake survivors in collaboration with the Soja city government and the international medical nongovernmental organization AMDA in Okayama.

Around 2,000 sleeping bags were donated from across Japan.

Noguchi, himself, loaded them onto trucks at the Peak-aid office. Shipping procedures were completed by early March.

Noguchi has extensive experience climbing, including the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. He recalled extreme situations, saying, “It’s tough not being able to sleep because of the cold.”

Noguchi also delivered sleeping bags to devastated areas in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

He is currently preparing to send solar lanterns in a second batch of support to Turkey.

He cited his experience of supporting disaster-hit areas, such as the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes: “People were glad to receive (solar lanterns) in evacuation centers, where there is no power and where it is difficult to secure batteries.

“Having access to light is essential for both convenience and security in daily life,” he said.

In late February, Noguchi visited the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo and met with Ambassador Korkut Gungen and other staff. He talked about his plan to send solar lanterns.

The embassy later requested that he send them, Noguchi said.

The Japanese singer Masashi Sada also joined the lantern project.

Noguchi announced in early March that he would send 7,000 solar lanterns to the earthquake-hit areas. Though he already shipped 5,000 of them, he intends to continue providing support.

“Needs in the affected areas change daily,” he said. “I want to send what is needed there in cooperation with the embassy.”

Noguchi also hopes to raise awareness in Japan, where natural disasters could occur at any time.

“I’d like people to help us with the thought of ‘it could be me tomorrow’ and to think realistically about what to do if a disaster does occur,” he said.

Lantern support is offered through the website of Tokyo-based sales company Landport Co., which is collaborating with Noguchi: https://carrythesun.jp/pages/product