Commentary

Typhoon Hagibis: Stoic Japanese pick up the pieces after yet another disaster

Walter Sim In Koriyama (Fukushima)
A man cleaning up debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis in Yanagawamachi district, Date City, Fukushima prefecture,on Oct 16, 2019.PHOTO: REUTERS
  • Published
    Oct 20, 2019, 5:00 am SGT
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On the same day that vast areas of his home town were submerged in muddy flood waters due to Typhoon Hagibis, Mr Masatoshi Matsumoto drove 3½ hours to Yokohama and watched Japan defeat Scotland 28-21 at the Rugby World Cup.

That resounding victory not only brought Japan to the quarter-finals of the tournament - they play South Africa tonight - but also evidently helped to uplift a nation battered overnight by one of its worst storms in history.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on October 20, 2019, with the headline 'Stoic Japanese pick up the pieces after yet another disaster'. Subscribe
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