#FlashbackFriday: How Japan Stores, Bakery ‘Got It Done’ After 2011 Earthquake

On March 11, 2011—12 years ago this month—an earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale struck Honshu, Japan’s largest island. The quake, with the epicenter about 80 miles east of Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture, generated a tsunami that devastated Honshu’s northeastern coast.

Three Exchange locations on Honshu were affected by power outages and closed roads and faced the challenges of resupplying facilities. Senior leaders, managers and associates quickly came up with plans to keep stores open—after making sure that everyone was safe.

“I’ve never seen people come together like this before,” said Jim De La Cruz, who managed the Exchange’s bakery at Yokota Air Base, about 230 miles from Sendai. “They saw the news on TV, many of them have relatives in some of the hardest-hit areas, and they didn’t panic. Everyone came to work and focused on their task. … They all said, ‘Let’s get it done’ and they did what they needed to do.”

Shortly after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan in 2011, the Exchange bakery at Yokota Air Base, facing the possibility of bread shortages throughout Japan, doubled production, cranking out 34,555 loaves and 21,238 buns. As a result, Misawa Air Base, Yokosuka Naval Base, Yokota AB, Camp Zama and other bases throughout mainland Japan didn’t go without freshly baked goods.

Facing the possibility of bread shortages throughout Japan, the bakery doubled production, cranking out 34,555 loaves and 21,238 buns while contending with power outages for a week after the earthquake. As a result, Misawa AB, Yokosuka Naval Base, Yokota AB, Camp Zama and bases throughout mainland Japan still received deliveries of freshly baked goods.

At Yokota AB, the Exchange operates an airline catering service, which fed passengers who were stranded at the base with deli sandwiches, pizza and other items from the food court.

At the Camp Zama Exchange, about 250 miles from Sendai, normal hours resumed within a day of the quake. One associate, Yoko Kawabe, walked four hours to her job at Camp Zama because buses and trains weren’t running. She had been working during the quake, which she felt while she was in the middle of a transaction. She kept calm, completed the sale, then secured her register and left the store.

Yoko Kawabe, who worked at the Camp Zama Exchange, walked four hours to her job after the 2011 earthquake because buses and trains weren’t running.

The main store at Misawa AB, about 200 miles from Sendai, lost power. Associates quickly closed the store and moved the majority of emergency goods to a nearby Express so customers could get needed supplies, which were available less than 24 hours after the quake.

Jerome Mello, Misawa’s food court manager, described feeling the quake: “It started slow and then progressed to a short but thundering roar, with the sound of souvenirs falling off the concessionaire tables.” Associates quickly cleared the customer-service areas of the building and ensured that all customers were safe.

By March 14, the Misawa main store reopened, using power from generators. Regular deliveries resumed from the Yokota Distribution Center, 400 miles away.

“We really came together as a team, ensuring first that our associates were safe and the Exchange’s mission was accomplished with very few issues,” said Shawn Dorcy, Japan area manager. “Any challenges were met with a proactive can-do spirit.”