Community Corner

Social Media Keeping Friends Connected to St. Louis Native Living in Tokyo

McCluer graduate Henry "Sentoryu" Miller reaches out to St. Louis family and friends using Facebook and Skype during crisis in Japan.

Shortly after news broke of the disaster in Japan, Henry Miller’s Facebook page was flooded with concerns and good wishes from his former McCluer High School classmates and other friends. 

Miller, who lives in the greater Tokyo area, soon afterward posted a two-word response: “I’m OK!” 

Much to the relief of his St. Louis friends, he is continuing to provide updates on his well being on Facebook as the crisis continues. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan’s east coast Friday is about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo. While earthquakes are common in Japan, Miller said it was one of the worst he’s ever experienced.

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“Everything started shaking really bad,” Miller said in an interview. “We all ran outside to the street and the ground started pushing up. It was hard to stand. You had to hold onto something.”

Miller moved to Japan a year after graduating in 1987 to become a professional sumo wrestler. He is now a mixed martial arts fighter well known in his country as Sentoryu, which means fighting war dragon.  Last spring, Miller returned to St. Louis for a month-long visit, which included several reunions with his classmates.

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MaryBeth Classen-Brillos, of O’Fallon, MO, visited her former classmate while she was in Tokyo on a business trip last month. She said she was mortified after hearing of the earthquake, especially after having just been there a little over two weeks ago.

“By the time I heard the news and checked Facebook, I saw that Henry said he was okay,” she said. “Facebook is the fastest way to check on friends, even more so than e-mailing someone.”

Joan Cather, another former classmate, said she was relieved to see on Facebook that Miller was safe. “It (Facebook) has been an amazing tool which has allowed friends to reunite and keep in touch,” said Cather, of St. Charles.

Another former classmate, Corey Smith, of Maryland Heights, agreed and said: "Facebook has allowed a lot of us to get some much needed infomation on our friend Henry in this time of crisis."

Miller’s parents, Toshiko and Jim who live in Ferguson, aren’t regular users of the social medium, but have been able to keep in touch with their son in recent days via Skype – an Internet-based phone and video-conferencing service. The free service proved invaluable the day of the earthquake since phone service in Tokyo was down.

“He was so scared the day it happened,” Toshiko Miller said. “This was the first time he thought he was going to die. He said it was shaking for a very long time.”

Luckily, the only damage Miller sustained from the earthquake was broken household items.  However, he said Tokyo residents are in a state of panic with the shortage of basic supplies since the highways have been shut down.

“The grocery and convenience store shelves are empty,” he said. “Bread, bottled water, canned goods and all other long-lasting food supplies are sold out, and gas is in limited supply.”

Miller said he lives about 125 miles away from where explosions have taken place at a nuclear power plant.  He said that while Tokyo authorities have advised residents that radiation levels are safe, he and others are taking extra precautions.

“We haven’t been told we have to wear masks in our area, but a lot of us are doing it for our own protection,” he said. “We’re also washing our hands and faces and changing clothes after we go out.”

With phone service sketchy at best and rolling blackouts, Miller said he is grateful to be able to access the Internet via his cell phone to keep in touch with family and friends.

“We’re having a hard time here in Japan, but just keep praying for us and for the people who are in the worst areas hit by the earthquake and tsunami,” Miller requested of his St. Louis friends.

Spoken in the words of a true fighter, Sentoryu added:  “I’m okay, and I will survive.”


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