In 2011, the Tohoku region of Japan was hit by a magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that killed nearly 16,000 people (over 2,500 remain missing). The quake, the strongest ever recorded in Japan, also triggered a meltdown of nearby nuclear reactors. Since then, residents near and far have experienced strange sightings, including ghosts who do not know they are dead and survivors wandering undiscovered, searching for their homes and families. Yasuo Kanada, a Buddhist minister and monk, runs the Mobile Counseling Café (open in new tab) for survivors of this tragedy. He is interviewed in episode 4 of Netflix's "Unsolved Mysteries," Volume 2.

Caneta began working with tsunami victims in 2011, shortly after the tragedy. In that episode, Kaneta admits that his practice may be a bit heretical from typical Buddhist teachings, but that he cares deeply about the victims and that the regular liturgy (opens in new tab) did not help break through the grief and suffering of the community.

As a temple priest, when people who felt "possessed" by the spirits of the tsunami visited Kaneta Temple, he prayed with them, burned incense, and helped them release the spirits from their person. He now hosts Café de Monk with his wife. There, they gather tsunami survivors so they can talk about their pain and sort through their feelings with others. Apparently (opens in new tab), "the name is a play on words, as the English word monk can be pronounced "monk," which means "to complain" in Japanese." He also plays Thelonious Monk (opens in new tab) in the background.

Mr. Caneta also appeared in the 2012 documentary Souls of Zen. He is also featured in Richard Lloyd Parry's book Ghosts of the Tsunami (opens in new tab), particularly for his work at the cafe; a 2015 article in The World (opens in new tab) notes that the cafe is not about religion or preaching, but about people grieving He explains that the café is not about religion or preaching, but about listening to people as they spend time grieving. People come to the café to eat cake and drink coffee. There's art therapy, there's massage. That's the point. This sense of normalcy is missing in their lives."