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Subscribe to RSSToshihito Aisawa's father, mother and grandmother are all missing. For days the 9-year-old has been desperately searching for them at evacuation centers in the Japanese city of Ishinomaki, holding up hand written signs pleading for information. On one is written their names, on the other the simple message "I will come again tomorrow."
Kuniaki Nishio / Asahi Shimbun via EPA
Nine-year-old Toshihito Aisawa pictured at an evacuation centre in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan on March 15. He is holding two handwritten signs as he continues his search for his father, mother and grandmother lost in the quake and tsunami of March 11. On one is written their names, on the other "I will come again tomorrow".
Toshihito's father picked him up from school shortly after the earthquake struck last Friday, and the family were driving towards higher ground when the tsunami struck.
Toshihito and his teenage cousin Yuto managed to crawl out of the car's broken window, but they became separated and the younger boy then lost consciousness. When he came to, a man fished him out of the water.
Kuniaki Nishio, a journalist with Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, met Toshihito on Tuesday as he searched for his missing relatives. The boy remained determined that he would find his family. "When the roads clear up, I'm going to check our home," he said.
A family friend, 64-year-old barber Mitsunari Kitahara, who is looking after the boy, said Toshihito had not shown any emotion since losing his family. "I'm sure that it has been tough on him," Mr Kitahara said.
Asahi Shimbun reported that Kitahara repeatedly told the Toshihito to "stop worrying so much" and to "come back home as soon as you can."
"Yes, I'll do as you say. I won't worry about it," Toshihito replied, although the paper said "his face betrayed his show of bravery."
Kuniaki Nishio / Asahi Shimbun via EPA
Nine-year-old Toshihito Aisawa pictured at an evacuation centre in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan on March 15, searching for his missing father, mother and grandmother.
However, as flagged by Newsvine user acidrain, The Australian newspaper, citing Asahi Shimbun, reported some good news Friday: Toshihito has been reunited with his cousin. Another cousin, Yuna, who was also in the car, is still missing.
Read the original story, written before Toshihito found his cousin, at Asahi Shimbun.
Follow the latest developments in Japan and see more images in our slideshow.
Find out how you can help victims of the Japanese quake.
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It is probably Jap culture, n customs carried down, from generation to generation, from the history of sumurai to the times of world war 2. 9yr old Mr Toshihito Aisawa is perhaps with little emotion on his tired face, an absolutely resilient and without a doubt a very brave young boy. Only.., deep down beneath his skin perhaps the wrenching heart is crying out in desperation, tears fell n swallowed back into the stomach. Living each day w the fear of ever finding any family members, his voices n hopes seem so faint, the dearest n love ones so far away. As the darknest crawled in n night fell. Back in his little private corner he sits back w great fear n loneliness in his heart, n a doubt in his head. Pondering, questioning many times over n over again, but found no answers n b/4 he realized, it is morning again. I AM JUST A REGULAR 9 YR OLD BOY N "I WILL COME AGAIN TOMORROW" Everything happened w a reason n with its own time n season. Thus, everyone is very special and an individual. So is Mr Toshihito Aisawa..gambatte, plz be strong and brave, until someone somewhere can help you locate your family members. He deserved a life like any other regular 9yr old boy. It is very sad n heart wrenching, wishing somewhere, someone, somebody, would recognise n locate n reunite the boy w his family. God Bless. Namo Avakitesyhara Kuan Yin, The Hearing of the Sounds of the World.
September 11 (New York), January 11 (Haiti), March 11 (Japan) - Luke 21:10-11 Then Jesus said to his disciples: " Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes', famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven." Jesus also says "Behold for I come quickly." God can do anything, he is bigger than any of this. I pray you are ready when the time comes.
If a non believer does not know the answers, who are we as believers to call them names and put them down? Who should claim to know all the answers anyway? Is that what God would want from us, to judge? That isn't saying much as christians or helping non believers to believe, whether they choose to or not, our job is not to chastise them, our job is to glorify God. We all need to pray and hope that people can come together and still be decent human beings when disasters like this happen. No person on earth knows why these tragic things happen, but at least as christians we have a guide book in the bible to help us get through them. I pray that little boy finds his family and I pray that we all can have compassion and peace together as a human race, because of the things we do and don't do, may just be part of the reason these things happen. As for the people who think that is not true, I hope that someday you will change your mind, before you stand on judgement day. And let us not forget to not judge others, for we will all be judged one day. God Bless.
To Jinott
I am very happy n touched w your experience, u n u family r indeed very fortunate. Wished u n u family is well n healthy n always together.
He looks like the kid in UP....poor kid.....good luck to him.
hope he eventually finds closure and moves on in life like that up kid.
It isn't "God" as a thing or entity it is "GOD" as the meaning of love....understanding ...hope...goodwill towards all.. I pray because they are positive thoughts and thoughts are energy which travels through time and space until they reach a receptive vessel and give that vessel the positive reinforcement to go on...to feel or "know" there are others who really care.........I pray for all humanity that they find peace when they need it and comfort when they are weary and a friend to hold them in their heart. Japan I pray for you with all the compassion and ability I have inside........
lump in throat..... tears.
For those with or without Faith in God, I once heard a quote, "God picks the best flowers." This can be applied to anyone who has died at an early age or under some unforseen tragedy, like a "natural disaster," etc. I watched my young brother suffer with cancer for 2 1/2 years before passing at age 9...and throughout his suffering-- and seeing some of his fellow cancer-patient friends dying-- showed me about strength of character. Another child I knew, 5 yrs old, died after an asthma attack. It doesn't seem these scenarios would make sense, that God would let them suffer. However, I do believe that God knows what He is doing and I have to trust that it is His will. It is our own issues with control (or lack thereof) over a situation that lead to the anger & blame.
A friend of mine once said to me, "God has a great plan for your life, not a great life for your plan." That has always stuck with me when I wonder why I go through the experiences I have or when I feel that I don't "have control."
I am not a Bible-thumper by any means, but I have long been a spiritual person with a respect for many different religions. It seems that whenever you have a heart-strings article like this one, people always have to start pointing fingers about God and/or politics. Then the mudslinging retorts start...the name-calling, blame-placing, narrow-minded points of view. But we are ALLOWED to have those thoughts because God gave us free will, and Politics gave us freedom of speech. We are not held back from a religion or government that won't let us speak up.
That being said, I refer back to a comment above about proving that you're a fool: The original quote was I believe from Abraham Lincoln who said, "Better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."
And another quote (yes, I am full of them): "Tough times do not BUILD character, they REVEAL it." So, going back to the ORIGINAL POINT of this article, before the finger-pointing & mud-slinging, you have a young boy who's out there looking for his family. Tragedy, yes; strength of character, absolutely; God's will? I believe so. The boy is not "alone" per se, as the article DOES mention there is someone caring for him, but I do wish the best for him, whether that means finding his family or finding closure. I hope he makes the time to cry when he's ready. It isn't about weakness or "Honor", but release and relief.
Japan will rebuild; the Japanese are a steadfast society. Whether or not we can help financially or physically as individuals, we can, as a people, wish the best for them, as we did with our own Katrina tragedy several years ago. And, yes, prayers DO count.
God bless all of us! Period. Amen.
Well said Kaelyn
Finally, a post that is deep, empathizing, understanding, and spiritual. Well said, Kaelyn.
Heywords, Tina K., EXACTLY!!
What the boy is showing is call faith.....Faith- to believe when all hope seems lost.....I will pray for all of the people in Japan today, because I have FAITH in Myself, my Country and my God!
Dear Heywords
I absolutely agreed w u. It beigns w one mere positive thought, willed by good faith n righteous deeds channelled into positive energy travelling through the physics of times n space to deliver its well wishes n good will. We r the creations of energy particles, begining w a single particle atom, building gradually towards the world we now lived, n shared socially, due to causes n effects. Thus, I will joined u in u prayers for all humanity n all living beings n Japan n Toshihito Aiwara, may they find light n peace through love n compassion in their heart too.
This is to Ben. I am an athiest. That does not mean I don't value other people's lives. Quite the contrary. I place strong value on other people's well being. I see the value in sacrificing all that I have so it could help and save others. You don't need a belief in God to have compassion and empathy...and for that empathy to out way my own desire for self preservation.
Some of you may say that is God acting within me, but I have a much stronger argument backed by science. Its called social evolution. I am an individual, but I am fully aware that I am dependent and part of this society. I can disagree with many people's belief, but at the end of the day, I tell myself that all of us are just trying to figure out how to survive each day the best way we can. That one fact unites us more than anything in this world.
Thank you Kaelyn, I have read u kindness n compassion through u words. Very beautifully expounded. May light n peace n compasssion continue to be w u always
The pictures make you want to go and hug him and protect him from all the hurt within. I have a son now grown but I think back and you just want to hug them and protect them. Hope he gets a chance to cry when its all over and he is with love one again.
I see someone got corrected, typical msnbc speech. When I saw Japan boy instead of Japaneese boy, I decided I would wait and read the article elsewhere bc I figured this jounalist was a little slack on writng and verbal skills.
Dearest Pat,
Don't you just hate it when some "journalist" makes a grammatical or writing mistake? That mistake makes the whole story about the little guy most meaningless, doesn't it? By the way, check your first sentence for errors.
Your compassion for the kid and others suffering in Japan is overwhelming.
When India was in a lot of pain ... the Japanese had signs in their temples saying how the land of the Buddha needed aid. When New Zealand had its horrors recently ... the Japanese were there in saerch and rescue teams. Oh Japan -- you are one of the shining lights of Asia. May God keep you safe and heal your many wounds. Today, I for one am also just a child of Nippon!
His face reflects strength, hopeful and positive attitude despite the hardship and uncertainty he is facing. I truly hope that he will find his family back. His parents would be so proud on how he handle the situation.
I almost cried when I read this article...
I hope and pray that you find your parents little man, I really do.
I cried when I read this article. My heart is bleeding. I would take this boy in if I had an opportunity. I would adopt him in a minute. I pray for him.
Prayers of the righteous avails much and as we intercede for those during this time of recovery we will hear of many miracles. They are doing the best that they can and considering they are the best "prepared" country period let's turn to our gov't and inquire what level of (or any) preparation has this country prepared for. Manhattan NY is an island and per the experts slowly sinking. I was told that decades ago.
The point is doesn't matter how long ago - what matters is the degree of seriousness we address these issues. I hope this incident is a wake-up call to the entire world. What would be do? Where would be go when the airports are flooded and planes are flipped on top of roof tops by a wave! And what would you do when your town is turned Topsy Turvy and left with no room to groove; let alone an available shelter.
Please let's just stop the critical comments and reflect on the goodness still present. Let's hope the best for Nine-year-old Toshihito Aisawa and that he's reconciled with all (not part) of his family in Jesus' name. AMEN!
Wow, how sad. Poor kid. I really hope he finds his parents...
I am SO sorry this brave little boy is going through this. I've thought (and wept about him) of him all day, as I saw his photo last night. I wish I could help him, talk to him, know if he is alright. Thank goodness he found his cousin, but who will take care of him?
A day later, I cannot get this little boy out of my head. Having lost my family at 11 years old, my heart breaks for him! Please, please update us on this child.
What an absolutely incredible little guy. Thank God for that neighbor of his to watch over him. At that age, there is no way I would have ever been half as composed as he appears to be right now.
The Japanese people are seriously great people. I can't believe the way they seem to be handling this.
He's a boy, looking for his parents, his family. I cried. You can see a childish scrawl, even though it is inJapanese. He crossed out words, just like any child. But, he's not any child, he is looking is whole life...and he writes"I will be back tomorrow, so please wait", as if he took too long and he was left behind...
Only 9 years old, and going back everyday to look for the only thing he knows, his family. I saved his pictures to remind what is really important.
I cannot imagine being 9 years old and lost amongst of sea of rubble, with the memory that your family was swept to sea...In his childish Japanese scrawl, he crosses out words, like any 9 year old and his sign says "I will come back tomorrow, so please wait"...I cried, he is any 9 year old, anywhere, but he goes and looks every day to find everything he has lost, and he doesn't even realize it is all gone. He's only 9..