Stood in front of a cooking plate and wearing an apron, a make-up less Ueto Aya helps to make fried noodles for a growing queue. A shout of "Ayachan!" is heard, and a small girl holds her arms out; Aya picks the girl up and holds her.
The child is 3-year-old Shuri. Whilst Shuri's older sister was travelling home from kindergarten, the earthquake struck; her bus was knocked sideways, and in the fire that ensued, she sadly lost her life. After hearing their story, Ueto Aya embraced little Shuri tightly and said "Stay strong, okay?". Tears suddenly begin to roll down the actress' cheeks.
She is guided by actor Watari Tetsuya, who played her father in 2009 drama "Kekkon" ("Marriage"). He is the president of Ishihara Promotions, who are running the food project. Ueto Aya, who has experience of this sort of emergency help from the Osaka-Kobe Earthquake 16 years ago, appealed "Please, lend me a hand with giving out emergency food".
"I saw so many people smiling today. It's all thanks to Aya-chan", said Watari . It is clear to see that Ueto Aya has touched the hearts of many earthquake victims in Ishinomaki.