For five days from Tuesday, October 21st to (Sat) 25th, Urawa Reds Heart-full Club visited Otsuchi Town, Kamihei District, and Yamada Town, Shimohei District, Iwate Prefecture, as well as J-Village in Naraha Town, Fukushima Prefecture. A total of 14 programs were carried out, including support for elementary school classes by captain Hiroshi Ochiai and other coaches, Reds Kids Soccer for nursery and kindergarten children, soccer classes with youth teams and town hall staff, and courtesy visits to each local mayor and board of education.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of "Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku," which began after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. This visit was positioned as a milestone for the project, which has been ongoing since the disaster, and was an opportunity to once again express gratitude for the past 15 years.



Heart-full Club is an activity that aims to foster greater communication through the sport of soccer, with the theme of cultivating the "heart."More than soccer skills, the club aims to teach the "three hearts" of "compassion," "fun," and "hard work" through experience.

"Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku" began its activities in July 2011, immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The activities began in the disaster-stricken areas of Iwate Prefecture, where support was difficult to reach at the time, due to the team's connection to Yamada Town in Iwate Prefecture, where the grandparents of then-Junior Academy Coach Uchidate Hideki (now Academy Director) used to live and where Uchidate often visited as a child.
Since then, as part of the "Red Bridge to the Future Project (formerly the Great East Japan Earthquake Support Project)," the team has been providing "mental care" through soccer every year to children in the disaster-stricken areas.



To date, he has visited Iwate and Fukushima prefectures 30 times, working hard with nurseries, elementary schools, junior high schools, youth groups, as well as town hall staff and local adults, and has had the opportunity to interact with many people. By returning every year, he has had the opportunity to "reunite" with children across grade levels, and has also built face-to-face relationships with teachers, parents, and local residents.

Over the 15 years of these activities, the landscape has changed dramatically. Temporary housing, kindergartens, and schools have been reborn, unpaved vacant lots have been turned into plazas equipped with disaster prevention features, dirt fields have been replaced with artificial turf, and huge seawalls have been built in coastal areas.
As time has passed, the purpose of the activities has changed little by little, from the initial "support for mental care" to more recently "interaction as friends." In the aftermath of the disaster, the children were not seen speaking out loud or moving around energetically, but now they are full of smiles.

In this context, we have decided to mark the end of this year's visit to Tohoku as part of our "Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku" earthquake recovery support project.


Otsuchi Town in 2016 (left) and 2025 (right)


Yamada Town in 2015 (left) and in 2016 (right) as earthworks are being built


Yamada Town has completely regained its former appearance.


Sanriku Railway reopened after reconstruction

The trip took place from October 21st to 25th, and included visits to Otsuchi Gakuen, Otsuchi Kindergarten, Toyomane Elementary School, Kirikiri Elementary School, Yamada Elementary and Junior High School in Iwate Prefecture, local youth groups, and the town halls of both towns, before visiting J-Village in Fukushima Prefecture on the final day.

As with previous activities and those in Saitama, the focus of the activities was not just on practical skills, but also on valuing the "heart." Prior to the practical training, captain Ochiai Hiroshi gave a lecture. In his lecture, he shared the learnings he had through various experiences, including stories of the hardships he faced as a child, what he learned from Mr. Kramer, the founder of Japanese soccer, Heart-full Soccer activities in Bhutan, and shared the values of "working hard," "caring," and "having fun." All the children listened intently to the 45-minute lecture.


Afterwards, Heart-full Club coaches and participating Shinzo Koroki practiced soccer based on the contents of the lecture. Scenes like this unfolded in each location, with children and adults shouting with enthusiasm, making eye contact, and even exchanging words after the game.







As the program finished and we left the grounds, the participating children, teachers, and parents offered warm words of appreciation for the interactions they had had. Looking back, Otsuchi Kindergarten principal Yagisawa Yumiko said, "In 2011, our kindergarten building was completely destroyed, and we couldn't imagine what the future held. It was at that time that we met Urawa Reds Heart-full Club. The interactions that began that day have taken root in the hearts of the children, and the three words "hard work," "consideration," and "fun" have become the strongest and best guideposts for us as childcare workers."





Mayor Hirano of Otsuchi Town gave us some positive words: "You have been supporting us since the years after the earthquake, and although I am a little sad to hear that this year marks the end of your support, I would like to thank you very much. We are grateful that you have supported the children in their healthy development through soccer, and that you have supported them throughout this process. I would be delighted if this visit had even the slightest positive impact on the children's lives, and served as an opportunity for them to remember something for the future. We would also like to spread the word about your activities so that the townspeople are aware of them."



Shinzo Koroki who accompanied the team as a staff member, reflected on the activities this time, saying, "I came here once as a player in 2013, and compared to then, it felt like the town, which was devastated, is gradually returning to its former self. Interacting with the children, we were supposed to be the ones cheering them up, but the children's smiles somehow made us feel better. It was a very fulfilling time, and I really enjoyed interacting with the children."

Koroki (left) during a visit to Urawa in 2013, the year he joined the club.

Heartful Coach Shinro Kamino, who has been visiting since immediately after the earthquake, said, "I've been coming here every year since the earthquake, so I do feel a bit lonely. However, I've met so many people over the past 15 years, and I've met so many children, and I think I've been able to build really good relationships and connections with them.

When I came here in the summer right after the earthquake, I wondered what message I should convey, but I ultimately decided that I wanted the children to forget even a little about their anxieties, and see cheerful smiles on their faces, for the time they were participating in these Heartful activities.

"If we continue with these kinds of efforts, I think the parents and other people watching will feel a little more at ease, and I hope that through our activities the children will smile, and the adults around them will smile as well - that's the kind of scene I'd like to see, so I'm happy that we've been able to continue this for so long," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.


During the 30 visits, we met with over 6,400 children and local residents.
Although the "Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku" activities have reached a milestone, the Urawa Reds Cup Yamada Town Heartful Youth Soccer Tournament, which is held mainly by youth teams in coastal areas, will continue to be held as part of "exchange and growth," with Urawa Reds Junior Team taking the lead. With Heart-full Club still involved, the tournament will continue with the aim of providing a place for exchange between children who will lead the next generation, improving their soccer skills, and revitalizing the region.

Urawa Reds Heart-full Club will continue to apply what they have learned in Tohoku to their daily lives in Saitama and future exchanges, and will continue their activities to "nurture the heart" through soccer.











[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]

Reference Links
July 2011 Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku Special (Urachan August broadcast)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmTBSIlBcVI

About Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku
https://www.urawa-reds.co.jp/heartfull/#heartfull_soccer_in_tohoku

[Video] 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake... Shinzo Koroki others take part in "Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku" to mark a turning point
https://news.line.me/detail/oa-urawaredsnews/1waea3x91zli

Heart-full Club 's 20-year history -Heart-full Soccer in Tohoku
https://youtu.be/hlJ6L0PnfyQ