This summer, Don Productions shot and delivered a programme documenting the experience of just one family out of the thousands who had their world turned upside down by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Japan north-eastern province of Tohoku on 11th March this year.

The documentary, made for Al-Jazeera English’s “Witness” strand, poses the questions, should you sacrifice yourself to save your family? Or should saving yourself be the priority? When faced with a massive tsunami, The massive earthquake left a huge scar across the region, one school in the coastal town of Kamaishi saw their entire body of pupils survive.

Their survival has been attributed to the teaching there of a philosophy known as “Tendenko”. We have made a documentary about a Japanese family’s ordeal on how they survived a Tsunami. Should you sacrifice your self to save your family? Or save your self? When faced with a crucial decision before a massive Tsunami hits you, what decisions did they make? A massive earthquake which left a huge scar in the Tohoku (North east) region of Japan, While many died, one school in a town of Kamaishi, their entire pupil survived from the Tsunami. It is believed that the teaching of “Tendenko”, which has always been taught in schools and passed down to generations in Sanriku region, has saved those lives including the Yorozu family.

Aljazeera English official page

On 23rd of June, we assisted TBS crew reporting on Japan national football team playing against Kuwait national team. It took place at Kuwait city in the blasting heat of 45 degrees throughout the shoot. Unfortunately, Japan did not win, however, scores from the two matches were added up which meant that Japan was able to go through to the final qualifying stage. Japan will now face Bahrain, Syria and Malaysia. There will be a final battle to be the last 3 Asian qualifier for the London 2012.

Asian third qualifying games for the World cup in Brazil started this September. Japan will face Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and North Korea by February next year. As Japan became the best in Asia at AFC Asia cup in January this year, we are hoping that Japan can prove their skilfulness in the coming qualifying matches.

Over the last 6 years, Don Productions have made series of “Kodawari life” documentries, which sadly ended this April. However, we have been working on a brand new programme called “El Mundo”.

Less than 1 year till the London Olympics 2012. London is getting ready for the biggest sports event in the world. In East London at the Olympoic Park, all 6 arenas have been successfully completed this summer. Including the Olympic stadium and the Velodrome, an arena for track cycling. Most talked about arena is the swimming arena facility, designed by an Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. A fluid, curvy style is the main feature of this arena.

A tv series focusing on each attractions, and stories behind them at the Tokyo Disney Sea resort. They have been filming all over the world and this time, they focused on Jasmine’s magic carpet ride. They reported on Persian carpet, in UAE, as it is the most loved in the world and most traded within local villages in UAE.

In Abu Dhabi, we filmed the biggest carpet in the world. It is over 5.600 m2 large, placed in the main prayer hall. It has been hand-knotted by about 1.200 Iranian craftsmen, out of 35 tons of wool and 12 tons of cotton. With a total of 2,268,00 knots, the carpet is the largest in the world and no doubt a dazzling Islamic art.  Its price is estimated around 30 million Dirhams. We also visited one of the oldest carpet retailers in the UAE. In Dubai, travelled to safari desert in search of a home with a Persian carpet to demonstrate how it is used in the desert in the modern days.

Nippon TV Official Website

The Praemium Imperiale is a global arts prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association. The award ceremony for this year was held at the Claridges hotel in London. Honorary patron of the Japan Art Association Prince Hitachi and his wife Princess Hitachi attended the ceremony. Don Productions assisted and organised the event from setting up the venue to looking after the award winners, to filming and production side of the entire day. This year’s winners included actress Dame Judy Dench and former Turner prize winner Anish Kapoor.

To raise money for badly-hit areas, people in Britain showed great ingenuity in organising a wide range of charity events, such as concerts, friendly rugby matches, Japanese whisky tasting, and many more. We would like to introduce a few.

The Independent

Neil O’Maonaigh-Lennon ran the equivalent of 2 marathons in 24 hours to raise money for the Red Cross.  Starting at noon on Saturday 26^th March and running through the night, Neil ran lap after lap of Centenary Park in Stanmore, north-west London, eventually completing 56 miles (approx 90 km).  Formerly an English teacher in Saitama, Neil raised £1,000 (approx 130,000 yen).

Meanwhile in Dubai, there were emotional scenes surrounding Japan’s participation in the Dubai World Cup, a highlight of the horseracing calendar. Wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “HOPE JAPAN”, the Japanese press displayed a mood of solidarity. Japanese spectators waved placards showing messages of support, and jockeys, trainers and owners wore black armbands. Many shed tears of joy when heir hopes became reality and Japan took 1st and 2nd place in the thrilling final race.