While the rhetoric in this post 3.11 era is "mae muki" (looking ahead), there are still hundreds of thousands of displaced people displaced by the Tohoku disasters, many of whom are living in “temporary housing” units. This is not a self-sufficient way of life, and volunteers are still needed in many different ways, from playing with school kids and having tea parties with the elderly, to recovery activities, such as helping build a shotengai (shopping arcade) or fixing fisherman's nets. There is still rubble to be cleared, and beaches and parks to be cleaned. Of course, the more interaction with locals, the more Japanese language ability is useful.