6 months have passed since the earthquake occurred. After the days of shock and grief, many musicians have been trying to take a step forward to restore their own musical activities.  A piano teacher from Fukushima, Mitsue SOEDA, moved in her hometown Tokyo this spring. She transferred the administration office of her STEP station which she had established in Fukushima 7 years ago ("Namie Station"), and renamed it into "Kyodo Melody Station". This renewed station will organize STEP in February 2012, accepting as many singers as possible. The arrangement fee for the professional accompanists will be granted by PTNA as a part of the charity programs.
SOEDA has rich experience in teaching and judging competitions, and she even received 24th teacher's award this summer despite the period of suspension.

Likewise, many teachers and students from Fukushima are evacuating to other prefectures. Kyoko YOSHIZU, whose three pianos including a Steinway bathed in water, found her students being dispersed since March 11th. It was July that she met her students again in Tokyo where they had a concert (To-on Hall).  At present, some of them are taking lessons by *a teacher in Tokyo.
*PTNA is now introducing volunteers who would give piano lessons to those evacuees for free of charge. 146 piano teachers across Japan are now on the volunteer list as of August 15th.

On the other hand, Yuko HOSOBUCHI, the representative of Iwaki Station, stays in Fukushima and seeks a way to recover the music life there. She invited pianists twice for the charity concerts at evacuation shelters, and had a tea party at her house to share the experiences with mothers and colleagues.

PTNA is introducing several charity programs for music and musicians ; One of them is "Kokoro no Fukkou Ongaku Kikin", the donation for dispatching professional musicians to the stricken areas. "Piano Donations for Japan Disaster Affected Public Schools" , addressed by a PTNA authorized member Michiko SHOJI, aims at offering pianos to public schools badly damaged by earthquake and tsunami.