Yul Kwon:
Last March, a terrible earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale hit Japan, triggering a massive tsunami and leading to a disaster at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant. More than 15,000 people died, and about 3,300 other people are still missing. As part of our series on the fallout from the Fukushima disaster, we bring you this story from an upcoming documentary called, "Stories From Tohoku: With Heart and Hope." It shows how donations from the US are helping survivors in Japan's Tohoku region. The film is co-produced and directed by Dianne Fukami, who's also been a consulting producer for LinkAsia. Here's an excerpt.

Yoshi Ishikawa, Research Division Manager, Entrepreneurial Training for Innovative Communities:
I visited so many places in Tohoku area and talked to the people who are living in there. People who lost their families are still trying to make some new value to their community. And that struck me and reminded me that I have to do something. Our mission is to cultivate entrepreneurship among Japanese young people. And we do coordinate those non-profits to the students, also non-profits to the entrepreneurs, that kind of thing. In Tohoku area, we send potential entrepreneurs to the leaders who are doing some creative new business or doing something good to the community.

Hideyuki Inoue, Assistant Professor, Keio University:
The earthquake was so big; it was huge. And so this became a chance for them to get much more resources and also public attention. And to make a difference, and to express their own will and to realize their own vision. This is just before the tipping point. So, many people started realizing that this is not just a small part of society, this is things that we need for the mainstream people. Not just asking the government, not just asking the corporation to take action, but you, I will take action. It's up to us what kind of perspective and outcome we can get.