{
  "id": 1169196,
  "title": "How Japan changed a Malaysian photographer's view of the sea",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/how-japan-changed-a-malaysian-photographers-view-of-the-sea",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-16T01:30:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2026/08/1512018/how-japan-changed-malaysian-photographers-view-sea"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Japan's towering seawalls, initially appearing as fortresses against the ocean, reveal a more intricate reality upon closer inspection to photographer Chai Ming Yang. The first thing visitors encounter at Project Seaview: The Great Seawall of Japan is not an image of the sea, but a wall. The 25 photographs in the exhibition depict a landscape where protection comes at the expense of human connection with the natural world. Stretching across the entrance to The Godown Arts Centre in Kuala Lumpur, the structure blocks the view beyond it, only revealing glimpses of the sea after moving deeper into the gallery. The exhibition was inspired by Chai's two-week journey along Japan's rural Tohoku coastline, where he witnessed the massive seawalls constructed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. These walls, rising 10 to 15 meters high and stretching for nearly 400 kilometers, were built in response to Japan's devastating natural disaster. Chai's initial admiration for the Japanese people's resilience gradually turned to questions about the effectiveness and consequences of using walls to confront such immense natural forces. As he reflected on the power of the tsunami, Chai realized how small and fragile humans truly are. The contradiction between protection and loss of connection with the sea became the visual language of Project Seaview, with photographs capturing the double-edged sword of relying on seawalls for security while simultaneously severing human connection with the ocean.",
  "summary": "FROM a distance, Japan’s towering seawalls look like fortresses built to keep the ocean at bay. Up close, Malaysian photographer Chai Ming Yang found something more complicated: a landscape where protection comes at the cost of being able to see the sea.",
  "key_points": [
    "Chai Ming Yang's exhibit challenges perception of Japan's seawalls",
    "25 photos depict protection vs human connection with sea",
    "Tohoku coastline journey inspired by 2011 earthquake/tsunami"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The photographer's experience in Japan has led him to highlight the trade-off between coastal protection and human connection with the natural world, reframing his perspective on the sea and its relationship with human resilience.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}