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The TV set in the North Potomac home of Eiichiro Okuyama and his parents often is tuned to a Japanese newscast. For the Wootton High School senior, it is mostly just background noise, a way for his family to stay in touch with their homeland.

The TV certainly had his attention Friday, as Okuyama watched images of the devastation wrought on Japan's Northeast coast by a tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake.

Okuyama is a star player on Wootton's tennis team, which is set to begin its season Monday. But he recently decided to quit playing national tournaments, focus on his studies and apply to universities in Japan.

Rather than deter his plans for college, the camaraderie among victims and countrymen in the wake of last week's disaster made him even more eager.

"I still want to go," he said. "To hear on the news about all these Japanese people coming together and not panicking; it's comforting to know that my people are regarded that highly and are treating the incident so well. Knowing all these countries are trying to come out and help us is an honor. It gives me even more pride."

Born in Fukuoka, on the southern island of Kyushu, Okuyama moved with his mother and father to the U.S. before his second birthday.

Most of his extended family still lives in Japan, but in areas relatively unaffected by Friday's earthquake. It was a full day before the Okuyamas could reach any of them because of downed phone lines in Tokyo, but the family reports they all are safe.

But some friends with relatives in Japan still are waiting for news. And the earthquake might not have finished exacting its toll: Tuesday brought news of a third explosion in four days at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.

Okuyama has made it his mission to help spread the word, encourage people to donate or do whatever they can to help. And his peers are responding.

"The main thing is to get people to start knowing about it," Okuyama said. "As teenagers, that's the best we can do. My friends have been posting videos and links to the Japanese Red Cross, so people know."

Wootton boys' tennis coach Nia Cresham and the National Honor Society are spearheading a school-wide fundraising project, which it will launch March 25.

"People have been talking to Eiichiro about it, me for one, and I've seen others," Cresham said. "I will be getting help from him and his parents for the fundraiser. Awareness is spreading. The kids are talking about it."

Added Okuyama: "My friends are definitely trying to understand more about where I come from. ... It's not necessarily the way I want people to have to find out about my background and country, but their interest is definitely something I take pride in."

His decision to attend a Japanese university at the expense of his tennis career came as a surprise to his parents. He reached the semifinals of the Maryland state singles tournament last spring, and is poised to match up against other teams' best players as Wootton's No. 1 player for much of this year.

"He said it all by himself; we knew nothing about it," Okuyama's father, Eiji, said. "We had just purchased a ticket for him to play at a tournament in California and he said, ‘I want to go to school in Japan, so I'm going to stop playing tennis and study more instead.' ... He can get to know the Japanese culture, our heritage; be ‘real' Japanese. It makes us really proud."

Okuyama quit the U.S. Tennis Association junior circuit soon after last year's state tournament, and has not picked up a racket in almost a year. He has applied to two of Japan's most prestigious schools, both in Tokyo: Waseda University, where his father went, and Keio University. Okuyama said he wants to study medicine. The Japanese school year begins in April.

"I always felt like if I went to school in the United States, I would lose my Japanese connection," Okuyama said.

jbeekman@gazette.net