

Apple's Role in Japan during the Tohoku Earthquake - sahillavingia
http://kevinrose.com/blogg/2011/3/14/apples-role-in-japan-during-the-tohoku-earthquake.html

======
jaysonelliot
My father-in-law works in Tokyo, but lives in Kamakura. He wrote us a long
email about his journey home. Because trains were not running, the only option
was to walk the 60+ kilometers home. All along the way, he saw people finding
places to sleep in bars, stores, even 7-11s. All of them were full, so he
could only keep on walking. Eventually, he found a bar that had room for him
to come and sleep on the floor, so that he could continue his journey home in
the morning. There was no food on the shelves of any store, so people had to
share what they had with each other.

Allowing people to sleep in the Apple stores must have been incredibly
important to the staff. God knows how they might have fared otherwise.

~~~
nandemo
I live in Tokyo. Many, many people slept at their offices on Friday night.
That wasn't uncommon at all. Indeed, I'm at a loss to understand why would
anyone think that was an exceptional decision by Apple (not saying you're one
of them, but OP seems to be).

Maybe your father-in-law was one of the millions who got stranded halfway
home, or maybe he really wanted to be with his family. But he too could have
probably slept at his office instead.

Edit: for example, " _many of [BofA Merrill Lynch's] bankers even remained in
the office overnight because they couldn't get home. The same thing happened
to Goldman workers. Because of transport disruptions, bankers returned to
their desks at 5.30 pm and then slept in the office._

[http://www.businessinsider.com/what-did-the-banks-do-when-
th...](http://www.businessinsider.com/what-did-the-banks-do-when-the-
earthquake-hit-japan-on-friday-2011-3#ixzz1Gdqu3lGs)

~~~
patio11
Speaking from personal experience, other major events which can result in a
Japanese salaryman sleeping at their office include "the day is Monday", etc.
Apparently moving one's toothbrush is a sign of commitment in romantic
comedies? I had a toothbrush and shaving kit in my desk for three years. My
boss had three changes of clothes.

~~~
aristus
This is very off-topic, but I am curious about this cultural habit of Japan.
Does spending 2X more hours at the office actually get 2X more work done? I
tend to lose focus rapidly after 9 or 10 hours.

~~~
patio11
searchyc.com + [patio11 salaryman] for anecdotes, but the short answer is "No,
it is absolutely not the case that the hours make Japan more productive."

------
redcap
Author mentions nuclear/acid rain, there are no reports of this. I'm following
NHK as well as more lucid western stories and all of them have the Fukushima
reactors as worst case not as bad as Three Mile Island, let alone Chernobyl.

For English information about what's going on, there's:

[http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/feature/2530/japan-
earthquake...](http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/feature/2530/japan-earthquake-
live-report)

<http://gakuranman.com/great-tohoku-earthquake/#live>

<http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/japan_quake/>

<http://twitter.com/_niten/tokyo-disaster-info/members> (list I made)

~~~
trotsky
Check out this little nugget at the bottom of Timeout Tokyo:

 _Suntory vending machines have emergency levers beneath a sticker on the
upper-right corners. Pull the sticker off, pull the lever firmly and you'll
get free drinks._

They built a backdoor into their own vending machines for emergencies and have
followed up and gotten the information out there. Free juice for the weary! It
was sleeping there the whole time, very japanese.

<http://www.flickr.com/photos/12163087@N04/4202645718/>

Suntory Holdings Limited サントリーホールディングス株式会社, Established in 1899

That's the definition of cool.

~~~
patio11
There exists a particular Japanese megacorp in Nagoya. Like many megacorps, it
has a long list of acceptance tests for any systems it ships internally or
externally. Two tests on that list:

1) If it would normally exchange money-for-X, we have to be able to tell it to
disburse X-for-nothing.

2) If it would normally exchange money-for-X, failure modes of our ability to
tell it to disburse X-for-nothing must cause the system to _fail into_ X-for-
nothing.

e.g. If it were hypothetically a vending machine, a network connection that
let you send it a message to turn off needing money would meet #1, and a
heartbeat hourly where failure to receive the heartbeat would turn off needing
money would meet #2.

Anyhow, those two rules are in the strictest category in the SOP: if you fudge
one in an acceptance test, the system does not ship. If a system which has
somehow made it into production is discovered to not be in compliance, several
somebodies will not be going home until it is either in compliance or removed
for service.

I agree, Suntory's machines are an excellently engineered. I want to emphasize
that this level of commitment to engineering excellence is not anomalous here.

Japanese megacorps: woe unto thee who has to use our web applications, but for
this sort of consideration, we _seriously_ know our stuff.

------
ihodes
It's a little bizarre how people are either 1) upset at Apple for not doing
more 2) expecting all companies to do something like this, thus this isn't
exceptional.

Addressing point 1 first; there's still time for them to do more. Not only
that, but why should private companies be obligated to fund a nation in times
of crisis? Sure, it's great when they do, but they already DO pay for this in
the form of taxes. Apple is a company; their primary obligation is to their
shareholders: their business is business.

Now for point 2: see point one. This is exceptional, and this is really neat.
This isn't just some donation of funds to another fund; this was a mandated
relief effort in the face of an actual crisis. And it showed (whether or not
you think it sincere) that Apple cares. I can't be anything but happy that I
support such a company.

~~~
greendestiny
See jaysonelliot's comment here: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2325377>

This is hard to say without attacking something that is clearly great and
helpful to a lot of people, but I think its fair to say that businesses and
people all over Japan are currently putting in unbelievable efforts and
singling out Apple here just seems to be putting the most bizarre western tech
community lens over the thing.

------
pat2man
The real story here is how valuable and important free internet access points
are. We should all support companies and individuals that provide free network
access.

~~~
orblivion
As long as they're going out of their way, they would certainly waive the
connection fee for internet access if there was one, of all things.

------
dholowiski
This is of course what Apple (and any other company) _should_ have done in
such a situation, but they sure deserve some recognition for actually doing
it.

~~~
Splendorist
What surprises me most is the immediate reactions of the senior managers.

I wonder if that's brilliant sense or even better, part of an 'Apple culture'
I'm not familiar with.

~~~
statictype
I'm sure this has nothing to do with Apple's culture and everything to do with
people acting like normal people and helping others in times of need.

~~~
Stormbringer
How strange then that we don't hear similar stories about other companies in
Japan...

~~~
statictype
Are you serious?

We don't hear stories about other companies because humans going out of their
way to help others in the wake of a natural disaster isn't something
singularly unique that it requires a post to social news sites whenever it's
done. The only reason we're hearing this story is because someone in love with
Apple received an email about employees in an Apple store doing their civic
duty and decided that this was "Apple's role" in the disaster.

Honestly, I bet people at Apple who see this are slightly embarrassed that
their huge company's role in this disaster is letting people charge their iOS
devices in their shop and watch tv.

(Not meant as a slight against Apple.)

Imagine if someone wrote a blog post about how he saw an American guy bringing
a bottle of water to a kid who lost her way during the earthquake and decided
to title it "America's role in Japan"

~~~
Stormbringer
Nobody is denying that humans should help each other in times of crisis. But
hey, enjoy your strawman karma.

However, from the descriptions of not just this source but others, stories of
walking 60km home, sleeping on the floor of a crowded bar, not having anything
to eat etc, it should be clear that Apple _is_ in fact going the extra
distance.

If this was any other company, you would be singing their praises from the
highest rooftop. But because it is Apple, you and others for no good reason
apparently see the need to try to bring them down, cast doubt on their good
works etc.

Are _you_ serious? If so, for God's sake, _what is wrong with you_?

~~~
statictype
You don't have to be actively campaigning against Apple and praying fervently
for their downfall to make the point that what their store employees in Japan
are doing now is no different from what many other store employees in Japan
are also probably doing.

------
maxxxxx
This is just basic human decency and I am sure Apple is not the only company
doing this. I don't think it's a good time for some guy from Silicon Valley to
praise some entity from Silicon Valley for doing great things. Reminds me of
Twitter getting all the praise for revolutions while people were dying. Let's
praise them when they spend some of their billions on earthquake relief.

------
jarek
Is this materially different from how any other company in Japan reacted?

~~~
patio11
Many, many companies have performed admirably: offering shelter, giving away
their products/services for the duration, trying to help affected
customers/employees, etc.

I'm quite a ways away from the earthquake, and have used a regional bank for
the last seven years. The branch manager called me to say that he noticed my
account was nearly empty and, if I or my business was affected by the
earthquake, the bank had my back and we could sort out the numbers later.
(Situation nominal, by the way -- I just happened to have paid taxes on
Friday, which appears to be quite a hit if you only know about savings in
yen.)

~~~
patio11
Another anecdote: I just got off the phone with the apartment service which
ran my old apartment. I moved out on 2/10 and was told to expect my deposit to
be refunded via wire transfer on 3/10. It hasn't arrived yet, so I called
today to ask about it. So far, fairly routine adult-dealing-with-money stuff.

"We're very sorry -- that estimate was incorrect and, since Friday, we've been
overwhelmed. The computer shows this going out tomorrow. Do you need it
immediately? Come to the office or tell me your new address and _our manager
will drive it to you_."

This is, ahem, not the level of enthusiasm with respect to return of deposits
that I would have expected. My bank has treated me with unfailing honesty the
last seven years and never once tried to take advantage of me. The apartment
management company... my, I seem to be having a bout of peculiarly specific
amnesia. Oh yeah, they were really nice today.

------
me_again
Meanwhile, Microsoft donates $2million
([http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2011/03/14...](http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2011/03/14/microsoft-
supports-relief-efforts-in-japan.aspx)), and nobody notices. I don't mean "oh,
poor Microsoft" - it's just interesting that certain kinds of generosity are
appreciated more than others.

------
austintaylor
The part about camping out in the Apple Store reminded me of "When Sysadmins
Ruled the Earth" by Cory Doctorow.

[http://baens-
universe.com/articles/when_sysadmins_ruled_the_...](http://baens-
universe.com/articles/when_sysadmins_ruled_the_earth)

~~~
calloc
Awesome comic! I absolutely loved reading it and suggest it to anyone else!

------
saint-loup
I find this bit really interesting:

"You know how in disaster movies, people on the street gather around
electronic shops that have TVs in the display windows so they can stay
informed with what is going on? In this digital age, that's what the Tokyo
Apple stores became."

------
anigbrowl
While doubtless unintentional, this sounds so much like PR as to seem
tasteless.

------
Natsu
It's good to see people helping each other. This sort of thing is happening
all over Japan, though, not just at any one company. I hope that people
encourage each other to do more of this sort of thing.

That said, I was impressed by Google's approach, even though they're not a
Japanese company. They set up a page to give people the latest news on the
disaster, made a widget to help people donate to the Japanese Red Cross,
powered a person finder to help people locate their loved ones and linked
people to all kinds of other official resources so that they know when they're
expected to ration power, etc.

It's linked from their home page. Honestly, I didn't notice it for a long
time, because I always search straight from my browser.

------
dctoedt
Sure, it's just a story of basic human decency, the kind we see in all sorts
of crises.

But stories are a big way that cultural values are transmitted _and
reinforced._ The latter is important.

------
dr_
Well, this is good, but Apple's bigger contribution is allowing donations via
iTunes. They have over 200 million credit card numbers on file - that's
powerful.

------
PostOnce
I know little of Apple or of Japanese business morals/etc.

I wonder, is this an Apple thing, or a Japanese thing, or an Apple Japan
thing? Does it lean any particular way? Not that it matters. Good people doing
good things. I would be interested in commentary, though.

~~~
asknemo
Japanese thing. It's actually happening to every corporate and stores in
Japan, from our more extensive coverage here in Asia. It's just that they are
too busy continuing to combat the aftermath to think about writing things down
and tell the public in the middle of the disaster.

------
jazzyd
For anyone interested we formed a global group on Facebook called iHope for
Japan
[http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_201249473238509...](http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_201249473238509&notif_t=group_activity)

The idea is to persuade Steve Jobs donate to the relief effort in Japan. The
release of the iPad2 just about coincided with the earthquake/tsunami. What a
great opportunity to donate a portion of each iPad2 to sale to Japan. Very
positive publicity and who knows they may sell more because of it.

------
radicaldreamer
Tokyo's gripped with panic and the markets are essentially experiencing a
flash crash (<http://e.nikkei.com/e/app/fr/market/nikkeiindex.aspx>) and the
French Embassy is warning that radioactivity could reach Tokyo in 10 hours
(<https://twitter.com/#!/reuters/status/47485505813757952>)

------
earino
This story made me feel good.

------
argarg
Funny how every comments from the link are "Wow awesome APPLE is amazing",
talking about the company as a whole when it's only a single store story. Yes,
what this they made is great, even though it's what every other store should
have made in their situation. Just felt like pointing that fun fact out.

~~~
zaidr
If you are stranded, and someone gives you a place to sleep, I think I will
scream in thanking them. So yes, Apple did an amazing job.

------
rb2k_
> with the phone [...] lines down

and

> hundreds of people were swarming into Apple stores to watch the news on
> USTREAM and contact their families via Twitter, Facebook, and email.

Why is the internet at the apple store up when apparently the phonelines are
down?

------
tylerhowarth
Honestly everyone needs to get over themselves and their opinions on "roles"
in this terrible time.

This was an inspiring story coming from a truly frightening and terrible
situation.

------
dami
Pretty awesome stuff!

------
l0nwlf
Apple did far better then Microsoft atleast.

[http://www.geekwire.com/2011/bings-japan-tweet-tasteless-
mar...](http://www.geekwire.com/2011/bings-japan-tweet-tasteless-marketing-
ploy-helping-good)

------
retrogradeorbit
Ycombinator is such a massive Apple fanboy hangout these days.

------
gobongo
I hate being "that guy" but I find it very sad that we've reached a point
where we're expected to praise companies just for being staffed by humans
capable of basic empathy in an unimaginably horrific crisis.

It is nice that they did this and all but is it really especially noteworthy?

Give me an update when Steve Jobs donates a little bit of his money to the
relief effort, (or, really, ANYTHING...) until then I don't really see what
this has to do with Apple as a whole.

~~~
radicaldreamer
A lot of wealthy people donate anonymously so that they aren't harassed or
labeled for whom they donate money to and some just don't like drawing
attention to their personal lives.

~~~
SwellJoe
And a lot more people do not donate at all (the percentage of anonymous
donations to most charities is miniscule). In the absence of evidence that he
has donated, the reasonable assumption is that he has not.

That's not to say I believe he is obligated to do so. But, I seriously doubt
Jobs generosity...he's always been kind of a jerk, especially in matters of
money. I don't understand why anyone would bring up "some people donate
anonymously!" as some sort of evidence that Jobs is a giving human being, when
most evidence points to the contrary.

~~~
radicaldreamer
Okay, let's look at the donations that he has to disclose by law: "while Jobs
gave $254,000. (His wife Laurene Powell Jobs, however, donated more than
$502,915 federally" (Source:
[http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/01/bill_gate...](http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/01/bill_gates_tops_steve_jobs_in.php)).

What's more likely, that this person who intensely guards his personal life
contributes only to politicians and supports no causes on his own or that he
doesn't publicize anything about his personal life other than what he has to?

Everything I've read about Jobs points to him being very uncomfortable with
having his life laid open for everyone to peer at and critique.

~~~
SwellJoe
"Okay, let's look at the donations that he has to disclose by law: "while Jobs
gave $254,000. (His wife Laurene Powell Jobs, however, donated more than
$502,915 federally" (Source:
<http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/01/bill_gate...>)."

 _That_ is useful information, if one wanted to determine whether Jobs donates
to anything. Again, I'm not suggesting he is obligated to do so. If he wants
to be the one who dies with the most toys, and it appears that he does based
on the amount of his charitable contributions compared to some of his peers,
that's absolutely fine with me. (I think he's a dick based on the way he
behaved toward Woz and early Apple employees with regard to money, and not so
much based on lack of charitable giving.)

I was just pointing out that saying, "Some people donate anonymously" is not a
meaningful contribution to the discussion. Which people? Is Jobs among them?
How do we know that? It's a no-op statement in the context in which it was
used, and I find that annoying.

------
bluedanieru
He mentions that his free wifi was the only way to get access to the outside
world. I don't know about Softbank (the only provider with iPhones in Japan),
but my 3G with Docomo was not disrupted at any point during the crisis. Making
calls was difficult or (usually) impossible, but network access was always
there. This is in Tokyo.

~~~
nandemo
I had no problems with Softbank's 3G either.

------
edunne
Thats it? really? No pledge of money to help repair?

If thats all Apple does in response its extremely weak.

