How One Japanese Mayor Defied Naysayers and Built a Floodgate That Then Saved His Village From a Tsunami
Fudai is a 2,600-person village in northeastern Japan. Like many similar towns, it relies on fishing and agriculture. But despite its unassuming appearance, Fudai made international headlines following the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. The town was pretty much left unscathed, and it was all thanks to one man—Kotoku Wamura, who died several years before the tragedy. Wamura was the mayor of Fudai from 1945 to 1987.