I'd like to express my deepest appreciation to all who are concerned about the catastrophe in Japan on March 11.
The Japanese archipelagos look very small on the globe but there are four principal cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido and 43 prefectures. Three prefectures in the northern part of Japan became the devastated area.
[An earthquake]
The destruction was brought by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami that followed. The tsunami leveled a 20m high bank and swept whole towns away. Therefore, Japanese vital industries of the automobile, the electronics and fishery were demolished by the earthquake and the tsunami. More than 23,000 people were died and/or are missing from the disaster. I saw a 10-year-old girl on TV who lost her family who was crying and crying, while looking for her loved ones in the devastated area. I was moved to tears. About 198 children lost their parents. Some people were rescued from demolished houses by local firemen. Over 23,000 may be just a number, but each one of them in those towns represents a human life, each with their own families and dreams. Everything was ripped away by the tsunami at PM2:46 on March 11,2011. To make matters worse, the Fukushima nuclear power plant was hit by the earthquake following the tsunami. So, it is another crisis that radioactivity is leaking at the plant. At the present, the government is working hard to prevent radioactive contamination. I am living in Kawasaki city, 300km away from Fukushima nuclear power plant, so that I am free from radioactive pollution. But the people who live within 30km in the radius have been evacuated.
Thankfully, 112 countries and international organizations offered help to us by sending personnel and supplies. The devastated areas were too terrible to step in so that the government required two conditions.
1, The team will not need help of food and the movement etc. from Japan.
2, Send sniffer dogs to be used to extract survivors from the debris and rubbles.
Actually, the rescue teams and medical teams from 19 countries worked at the devastated areas until the end of March.
"If it was only an earthquake, many surviving person could have been found. However,the tsunami swept everything away in 3 degrees below zero, there were no hope of survivals. There is no country that has prepared for the event of a natural damage than Japan. Still the extensive damage occurred." said many rescue members.
Now, people all over the world are sympathetic to us and support us. A lot of donations are arriving in Japan. Japanese people are very impressed with your warm-heart and appreciate your concern. Again, I'd like to express my deepest gratitude to all of you.
More than two months have passed since the earthquake and the tsunami struck. While the search for the missing and recovery of bodies continuous, the focus of relief activities has shifted to rebuilding the livelihoods of the survivors. In total, about 387,000 evacuees from the disaster were staying at 2,200 shelters. We are delivering relief materials of food, medicine, heating oil and clothes that came from many countries to each shelter. Builders started erecting temporary housing for those displaced by the tsunami. Especially, a matter of great urgency is to back up help to elderly people and children.
The Japanese have a custom where if our neighbors have it really bad, we try to be quiet,so that kind of mindset makes a lot of people really not want to travel. The Japanese commonly leave big cities to visit our home towns, take hot spring vacations or travel abroad from the end of April to early May so-called Golden Week holiday. But after last month's earthquake and tsunami decimated the northeastern coastal towns and left about 23,000 Japanese either dead or missing, these are not normal times.
Some travel agencies organized volunteerism on four-day tour. They're paying $232(￥19,000)for bus fare, accommodations and the opportunity to remove rubbles from homes in the cities. Dozens of volunteers donned white disposable jumpsuits, rubber boots and hard hats, sacrificing holiday time to help shovel away tsunami mud and debris.
The government said the cost of the earthquake and the tsunami that devastated north-east Japan could be the world's most expensive natural disaster on record. It is said that the restoration of Japan will cost about 10 trillion yen ($122 billion). Japanese people must face up to the rehabilitation of Japan. Japanese behaved calmly and respected the feelings of others at the devastated area. I am proud of their behaviors. I believe that Japan will get back its vitality in near future, and could contribute to the world again. We learned the importance of union by this catastrophe, and seek to get a bond of affection. I hope that people all over the world maintain a supportive relationship with Japan.
[Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant]
The March 11 earthquake and following tsunami knocked out power at the plant. It caused cooling system failures at the No. 1,2 and 3 reactors, resulting in their apparent partial core meltdown. The government announced a declaration of nuclear emergency situation officially based on Special Law on Nuclear Disaster Countermeasures. This is the first time since Japan prescribed the Special Law. It is important for a nuclear reactor to "Stop" "Cool" "Shutdown" for a measure of safety. There was delay in implementing emergency steps by the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. to deal with the unprecedented nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Firefighters sprayed a massive amount of water onto the spent nuclear fuel pool. While hydrogen explosions have blown off the roofs and upper walls of the buildings housing No. 1,3 and 4 units. If the reactors were not kept cool and the pools full, an even worse disaster could have occurred at the stricken nuclear facility. The earthquake disaster damaged some reactor's pressure and containment vessels, causing leaks of radioactive water that were detected in turbine building basements and maintenance tunnels outside the area restricted due to radiation.
From the government on the afternoon of the 11th "The residents from Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant within 3km in the radius must take shelter. The residents within 3~10km must take shelter indoors." Next day, the government announced "The residents from the plant within 20km in the radius must take shelter and within 30km must take shelter indoors." Radiation is colorless and odorless. We have no idea what to do without instruction. American authorities announced "The Americans who live in within 80km in the radius must evacuate at once." And following England, Korea and Mexico announced the same. French authorities announced "Air France will pick up all French in Japan free of charges." Chinese authorities announced "Japan is dangerous now. Chinese must return home at once." The staff of Chinese embassy telephoned to Chinese residents. Not only overseas students but married women returned to China in a bind. Immigration offices and Narita International Airport saw in pour by foreigners wanting to leave Japan. Matters took a turn for the worse. Japanese people were disturbed to hear the news whose information we could trust. A flurry of rumors was sweeping over the world about possible dangers. Especially Asia Mass media overreacted to the radioactivity. The wrong information (*) and the truth (Ans.) are as follows;
* Tokyo citizens started to put on masks because anxious of radioactive fallout. Ans.) In this season, we used to wear our masks because of pollen allergy. Half of them are having pollinosis and others are by way of prevention. Some of them might think about radioactivity.
* A lot of Tokyo citizen started to move to the south Osaka. Ans.) Many foreigners moved to the south. Some Japanese who have small children and have parent's house in the south also moved. I didn't think about movement.
* There was a shortage of gasoline to escape by car. Foreigners have no idea how 10 million people get on the train to evacuate to the south. Ans.) Yes, there was a shortage of gasoline because of the tsunami. About 387,000 evacuees from the disaster were staying at shelters near their land.
According to poor announcement by Japanese government and TEPCO, foreign media were nourished their unbelief.
The ordinary people including me didn't know how many nuclear power plants are there in Japan and haven't taken a great interest in it. We left it to experts which way we should take. No less than 54 units exist at the coastline throughout Japan. Unbelievable! We heard a lot of nuclear related words on TV and News paper on this occasion. The words were new to us and it was hard to understand. We are no more unconcerned with this problem.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano declined to speculate what the government could have done differently in the wake of the disaster on March 11. He reiterated that the tsunami was beyond anyone's imagination. The nuclear energy critics have said that government regulators (1, The nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 2, The cabinet office's Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan) and Tokyo Electric power company which operate the Fukushima Nuclear power plant, ignored warnings that the reactors were vulnerable. The excuses made by the organizations involved to show that so-called nuclear power experts have no intention to self reflect or admit their shortcomings. They have been persuading us of the safety of nuclear energy and concealed the industry's suppression of unfavorable warnings and criticisms, as well as in their imposition of the claim over the years. Video footage of these press conferences, accessible via TV broadcasts and the Internet, combined with disappointment with the government for its mishandling of the disaster, had fed the public's skepticism about the reliability and honesty of industry and political leaders.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on April 12, "Japanese government and coordination didn't want to change the evaluation that they had the seriousness of the accident. They have been downplaying the disaster." The government acknowledged the level of the devastating nuclear accident from level 5 to 7, the same as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima plant is the second worst in history. The new category does not signal a worsening of the plant's status is recent days or any new health dangers.
According to experts, radioactive substances detected in the school yards of 19 primary schools in Fukushima have not reached a level to affect people's health. However, the central government's failure to provide any guidelines on student's outdoor activities has left schools wondering what to do. During soil inspection in school yards, inspectors took five centimeter deep samples to check the levels of radioactive iodine and cesium. Schools in other areas are also holding physical education classes indoors. The total amount of radioactive iodine and cesium was detected in the school yard. A radiation treatment section chief of Osaka hospital said that it's all right to touch school yard soil even if a low level of radioactive materials is present. There is no reason why children should not stay outside as they did before. Japanese government insisted on safety that they are exposed to radiation, which measured as high as 20 millisieverts in a year on the daily life. But this figure is as same as an adult. There is a strong possibility that children may get caner in the future. Protecting the health of children is of paramount importance. Parents claimed to the government that children exposed radiation at school, should be 1 millisievert in a year. The nuclear power crisis was not Japan's problem alone. I want your efforts in the world to concentrate on wisdom and to solve any future disasters early.
A flurry of rumors was rampant in China. Worried Chinese shoppers stripped stores of iodized salt. And Chinese government declined all Japanese imported goods. Taiwan also had a test for radioactivity for Japanese imported goods. The financial damage caused by harmful rumors or misinformation is spreading in the country too. Some Japanese tend to avoid buying vegetable from Fukushima and the surrounding region. They become sensitive and for fear of radioactivity. When some items in a shipment stop, consumers worry about the pollution of different items of the same area. The maximum anxiety at present is water poured to cool nuclear reactor leaking and for radioactive substance to diffuse to surrounding land and sea.
Tokyo and Kawasaki are 300km away from Fukushima, and we are not anxious about radioactivity. Local government observes radioactive level and it is placed in the news paper every day. We are exposed to 0.07 micro sievert an hour everyday except March 11 and 12. Please don't be afraid of Japan. We are all right. Please associate with Japan and Japanese same as before.
** Should Japan abolish or increase nuclear power plants? It will be discussed among the people in the future.
Etsuko Yonezawa
海外に住んでいるコアラの卒業生から東日本大震災のお見舞いメールや電話をいただきました。 みんな日本を心配しています。 これは彼女達に向けたメッセージです。 日本語の訳文が欲しい方は添付ファイルで送ります。
