NoHo Restaurateur Who Lost Relatives in Japanese Disaster Hosts Relief Fundraiser With Councilman Alarcon

Shig Chiba said that the day after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, he was still full of confusion. The owner of Chiba Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar was born in Japan and has many relatives from the territory of Miyagi, which was the area most affected by the tsunami.

"Who is still here? Which family members are still alive?" Chiba recalled wondering over and over, with no answers, and no way to reach his loved ones in Japan. "After some progress, I was able to reach some cousins near the Tokyo area. I heard some bad news, I heard some good news."

The good news was that the relatives he spoke to near Tokyo had survived. The bad news was that many of his relatives in Miyagi, where his father was originally from, had not.

"I lost four relatives: one uncle, one aunt and two first cousins. It's just, the sadness hasn't set in," Chiba said. "All I can think of is, 'How can I help?' I feel so hopeless because there's nothing I can do. Going there, obviously, I would just be another mouth to feed."

The day after the earthquake, when he was still unsure of the fate of his relatives, he received a call from Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon, which led to finding a way to help. The two teamed up Sunday and hosted a "drive-through" charity event in which people could simply drive up to the front of the restaurant and donate money or goods to the J.E.T (Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami) Relief Fund.

Chiba said he moved to Los Angeles from Tokyo when he was 11, and his father opened the restaurant in 1973. Chiba took over operations in 1986. His father died five years ago.

Alarcon and Chiba have known each other for many years because Alarcon's brother and Chiba went to high school together at John Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley. Alarcon represents District 7, which covers Pacoima and Panorama City and other areas of the San Fernando Valley, but not the neighborhood where Chiba's restaurant is located, which is in District 6, represented by Tony Cardenas.

"[Chiba] was one of the first people I thought of after the earthquake. I knew that he was born in Japan, but his family is from the area most impacted. I didn't know that, and that's why I called," Alarcon said. "He said he would like to help his family, so I said if there was any way I could pitch in and do a little event, I would. And he came up with the idea."

Alarcon told North Hollywood-Toluca Lake Patch he is preparing a report for the City Council on the economic impact the disaster will have on Los Angeles.

"We have literally 305,000 visitors from Japan a year. That will probably shrink dramatically this year. They generate $270 million a year for the Los Angeles economy," said Alarcon.

"We have the largest Japanese community in the entire country," he noted. "About 30 percent of our foreign port activity is related to Japan, not to mention the exchange of trade and port activity with Japan out of Los Angeles represents $49 million in trade, two-way trade.

"So people should not say, 'Oh, that's their disaster.' It's our disaster. It's Shig's disaster. In Los Angeles I don't know how you could not know somebody who will be personally affected by this disaster."

Chiba said the event was well attended, and that certainly appeared to be true Sunday. It was very difficult to get a parking spot in the Chiba lot because of cars lined up to donate.

"It went quite well. A lot of people showed up, and a lot of people brought goods," Chiba said. "What I did was, I got some food ready that consists of two rice balls and one miso soup. It's because that's what survivors are living on for one day. And so I wanted to let people know that this is all they are having."

The earthquake and tsunami's full effects are still unknown, as the death toll continues to rise daily. Over 10,000 are now confirmed dead, according to the Associated Press. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and authorities continue to battle to prevent a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.