Following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes , Johnson founded the Student Volunteer Army to assist residents with the clean up of liquefaction caused by the earthquakes . The Student Volunteer Army was managed by a core team of 15 people and a wider administration of 70 people who managed the three core operations which the SVA focused on ; battalions , squadrons and street teams . There were 13,000 students volunteering per week . In late April and early May 2011 , Johnson spent two weeks in Japan following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to set up a Student Volunteer Army at Waseda University
Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Sam Johnson (activist)