Japan

I remember this quote: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Thank you Texan uncle for encouraging us


From tomorrow morning, Rolling blackouts begin.
 
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    • As one of those who are in a "safer place," the following article by a Japanese professor strikes me as very relevant to this topic. I found the translated material somewhere on the 'Net. The translation is wooden here and there but I think the overall message is unambiguously communicated. It's a copyleft work.

    2011.03.13
    At the time of unprecedented catastrophe
    by Tatsuru Uchida -- Professor at Kobe College
    http://blog.tatsuru.com/

    Today, the thirteenth of March, is the third day of the East Japan Mega-Quake.
    Newspaper headlines speak about "possible meltdowns at Fukushima reactors" and "ten thousand unaccounted in Minami-Sanriku-Cho Township."
    It has turned out that we are experiencing a national disaster even greater than the quake [in Kobe] 16 years ago. What are we going to do? I should like everyone, including myself, be aware what the basic behaviours of "those in a safer place" should be.


    (1) Tolerance
    Like Ken'ichiro Mogi wrote on his Twitter blog this morning, I believe in refraining from making "negative comments" on this occasion. We should now be engaging in All-Japan rescue relief and reconstruction of disaster areas, not in making reproachful comments to the Government or the authorities, blaming their inabilities. These very people are the ones who are leading, and will be leading, efforts at rescue and reconstruction. They need material and spiritual support to continue their tireless hard work. We should not be lacking in moral support for them.

    For some, telling apart "those in a safer place" and "those in suffering" provides a good occasion, as if, to speak up for the latter and criticize the former. This is a rhetoric to vent out their personal frustration and aggression. They are merely taking advantage of the suffering of the victims to advance their own interests.
    Pull yourselves together.


    (2) Versatility
    Rules for a time of crisis are obviously different from those for a safer time.
    Immediately after the quake, many individuals from different regions used their own judgment to offer their facilities and services to the victims free of charge. Offers are keep flowing.
    This is the time when we could use resilience in administering rules.
    After the quake sixteen years ago, I went to a grocery to buy some fuel for my gasoline stove. While waiting at the cashier, I met a woman who came there to buy tarp sheets to cover the top of the house. Her house lost the roof and she needed something to take shelter from rain. The clerk at the store charged me the full price for the fuel but gave her the sheets for free, saying, "We should help each other in distress [Komatta tokiwa otagai sama]."
    His behaviour is a good example of versatility.


    (3) Entrustment to Experts
    An All-Japan support means the support should not be affected by any "political ideologies" or "market principles."
    In this blog I have written many times about "social common capitals," or fundamental resources necessary for the existence of our community, or the nation state. They include natural resources such as forests, lakes, oceans and soil, social infrastructures such as water supply and sewerage systems, telecommunications, roads and railways, institutional capitals such as judicial, medical and educational systems. I have argued that we should "entrust" these resources to experts capable of managing them according to their expertise. We should not use them as a means for realising a political ideal or gaining benefit in the market.
    Disaster response above all other things is a domain to be entrusted to the experts; it should have nothing to do with any "political correctness" or trade benefits.
    We should listen to the experts we have entrusted and behave in an orderly manner.

    Tolerance, versatility, entrustment are the three things I train myself for, even at a great distance from the disaster areas.
    I believe they are useful as well as necessary for delivering sure and immediate relief to the victims.
    This is what I felt when I was once a victim of a disaster.
    This has been a record of my thoughts back then.
     
    Thank you for that post, Flaminius.

    Do you know of any international relief agencies that have a good track record in Japan of providing effective assistance during such disasters? I'd like to donate but I want to give it to someone who will use it well.
     
    Lloro por Japón, mi segundo hogar, el amor de mi joventud. Pero sé que el pueblo japonés sobrevivirá.

    Esperemos que no haya un tercer catástrofe (después del terramoto y el tsunami) con los reactores nucleares.

    Dado que este es un foro lingüistico, quisiera añadir que aunque los locutores estadounidenses siguen diciendo "tsunami waves," eso es redundante, ya que tsu (津) significa puerto (del mar) y nami (波) significa ola.
     
    Have just heard on the news that there are still 50 people working at the Fukushima nuclear plant in the hope of preventing the escalation of this nightmare. I would spare a special thought for them.
    I hope we hear soon from our friends in Japan with their latest news.
     
    JamesM said:
    Thank you for that post, Flaminius.

    Do you know of any international relief agencies that have a good track record in Japan of providing effective assistance during such disasters? I'd like to donate but I want to give it to someone who will use it well.
    Click to expand...
    Obviously I do not have to mention reputed organisations such as Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières. It's a good idea to enquire their branch offices in your country and check what, if any, they (or the Japanese branch, or the their international headquarters) have presence on this occasion.

    I'd like to mention a few international aide organisations headquartered in Japan. They have English web pages and accept donations by credit cards and PayPal. You may, however, need to check if your contribution is going to support relief efforts for Tōhoku 2011, or their overall activities worldwide.

    Peace Winds Japan
    http://www.peace-winds.org/en/
    Reputed for rapid-response aids.

    AMDA International
    http://www.amdainternational.com/english/index.php
    Their motto is "to go wherever there is a life to be saved." Deals in emergency medial and hygienic aids for disaster and conflict areas.

    NGO JEN
    http://www.jen-npo.org/en/
    Specialise in emergency aids and long-term self-reliance supports. A lot of credits for their activities for Niigata Quake in 2006.

    ADRA
    http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer
    Emergency relief both inside and outside Japan.
     
    Flaminius said:
    Obviously I do not have to mention reputed organisations such as Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières. It's a good idea to enquire their branch offices in your country and check what, if any, they (or the Japanese branch, or the their international headquarters) have presence on this occasion.

    I'd like to mention a few international aide organisations headquartered in Japan. They have English web pages and accept donations by credit cards and PayPal. You may, however, need to check if your contribution is going to support relief efforts for Tōhoku 2011, or their overall activities worldwide.

    Peace Winds Japan
    http://www.peace-winds.org/en/
    Reputed for rapid-response aids.

    AMDA International
    http://www.amdainternational.com/english/index.php
    Their motto is "to go wherever there is a life to be saved." Deals in emergency medial and hygienic aids for disaster and conflict areas.

    NGO JEN

    http://www.jen-npo.org/en/
    Specialise in emergency aids and long-term self-reliance supports. A lot of credits for their activities for Niigata Quake in 2006.

    ADRA
    http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer
    Emergency relief both inside and outside Japan.
    Click to expand...

    Thank you for that info. Flaminius.
    I'm a member of Médicins sans Frontières, so I'll do my bit with them, but very interesting for others to hear of alternatives.

    Sincerely hope all well with you and yours.
     
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    Recent news about two explosions and a fire today at the Fukushima nuclear plant are very disturbing. Those 50 workers who stay in the plant trying to control the excessive heating of the affected reactors, knowing that it is very likely that they will be exposed to high levels of radiation, deserve our full admiration. I wouldn't doubt in calling them heroes, and pray for their safety and their success.
     
    JamesM said:
    Tōhoku is the northeast region of Honshū?
    Click to expand...

    Yes. 東北(tôhoku) means east-north.

    Coastal towns in Miyagi prefecture and Iwate prefecture, which are located in north-east, are the devastatingly damaged area.

    Just one hour ago, pretty big earthquake again, scary.

    Cindy Loaper arrived in Japan the day the 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit. She decided not to cancel her concert, it's going to be a charity concert.
     
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    Oldy Nuts said:
    Recent news about two explosions and a fire today at the Fukushima nuclear plant are very disturbing. Those 50 workers who stay in the plant trying to control the excessive heating of the affected reactors, knowing that it is very likely that they will be exposed to high levels of radiation, deserve our full admiration. I wouldn't doubt in calling them heroes, and pray for their safety and their success.
    Click to expand...
    So am I.
    A hug.
    _
     
    Oldy Nuts said:
    Recent news about two explosions and a fire today at the Fukushima nuclear plant are very disturbing. Those 50 workers who stay in the plant trying to control the excessive heating of the affected reactors, knowing that it is very likely that they will be exposed to high levels of radiation, deserve our full admiration. I wouldn't doubt in calling them heroes, and pray for their safety and their success.
    Click to expand...

    Vampiro said:
    So am I.
    A hug.
    _
    Click to expand...

    Count on my crossed fingers and knotted handkerchiefs. I am reminded of the "mineros chilenos" thread. Let's hope for such a positive outcome today.
    Saludos, amigos
     
    The Japanese are a fantastic people, I really hope the plant issue is resolved without too much human and environmental damage resulting, though of course at this point all we can do is hope.
     
    Pedro y La Torre said:
    The Japanese are a fantastic people, I really hope the plant issue is resolved without too much human and environmental damage resulting, though of course at this point all we can do is hope.
    Click to expand...

    No, we can also pray for them if we are believers, or cross our fingers and tie knots in all of our handkerchieves if we are not. And above all, we can remind them as frequently as possible that we are backing them, that the eyes of the world are centered in them and in their country, that we all care.

    The experiences of our earthquake of last year, and of the 33 miners that were finally rescued safe and sound after almost 70 days and despite all the initial predictions, have shown me that knowing that so many people cares does indeed help. A lot.
     
    Oldy Nuts said:
    No, we can also pray for them if we are believers, or cross our fingers and tie knots in all of our handkerchieves if we are not. And above all, we can remind them as frequently as possible that we are backing them, that the eyes of the world are centered in them and in their country, that we all care.

    The experiences of our earthquake of last year, and of the 33 miners that were finally rescued safe and sound after almost 70 days and despite all the initial predictions, have shown me that knowing that so many people cares does indeed help. A lot.
    Click to expand...

    Yes.
    Muchas gracias, Oldy, por tu post.
     
    Flaminius said:
    Obviously I do not have to mention reputed organisations such as Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières. It's a good idea to enquire their branch offices in your country and check what, if any, they (or the Japanese branch, or the their international headquarters) have presence on this occasion.

    I'd like to mention a few international aide organisations headquartered in Japan. They have English web pages and accept donations by credit cards and PayPal. You may, however, need to check if your contribution is going to support relief efforts for Tōhoku 2011, or their overall activities worldwide.

    Peace Winds Japan
    http://www.peace-winds.org/en/
    Reputed for rapid-response aids.

    AMDA International
    http://www.amdainternational.com/english/index.php
    Their motto is "to go wherever there is a life to be saved." Deals in emergency medial and hygienic aids for disaster and conflict areas.

    NGO JEN
    http://www.jen-npo.org/en/
    Specialise in emergency aids and long-term self-reliance supports. A lot of credits for their activities for Niigata Quake in 2006.

    ADRA
    http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer
    Emergency relief both inside and outside Japan.
    Click to expand...

    Thanks for this information, Flaminius. It´s very much appreciated over here.
    Though I´m not a religious person, I hope with all my might that the nuclear problem gets solved soon.
    Loads of hugs and kisses to all Japanese children.
     
    No sé qué estará en mis manos hacer, a corto o a largo plazo, para mostrar mi solidaridad con el pueblo japonés, tan sólo quisiera estar a la altura de las circunstancias como ellos han demostrado estar.

    Un abrazo...
     
    romarsan said:
    No sé qué estará en mis manos hacer, a corto o a largo plazo, para mostrar mi solidaridad con el pueblo japonés, tan sólo quisiera estar a la altura de las circunstancias como ellos han demostrado estar.

    Un abrazo...
    Click to expand...

    Esto va a sonar a chorrada, pero bueno. Lo digo.
    Si la teoría del caos dice que el aleteo de una mariposa en Nueva Zelanda puede producir un vendaval en España, por la misma regla de tres un pensamiento de cariño desde Valencia, que probablemente despliegue más energía que el aleteo de una mariposa, puede producir maravillas en Japón.

    No estoy intentando ser graciosa, que conste. Creo mucho en el poder del pensamiento positivo, a pesar de no ser capaz de tenerlo siempre, por desgracia.
     
    romarsan said:
    No sé qué estará en mis manos hacer, a corto o a largo plazo, para mostrar mi solidaridad con el pueblo japonés, tan sólo quisiera estar a la altura de las circunstancias como ellos han demostrado estar.

    Un abrazo...
    Click to expand...

    It may seem almost nothing to you, but just posting your support here is a valuable help. As I mentioned before, it helps directly participants from a country that is suffering a mayor emergency. These may be very few but, through them, that sense of being supported by people all over the world spreads to their friends and relatives, who in turn make this known to others. From previous and recent experiences, I can assure you that this does help.
     
    kidika said:
    Esto va a sonar a chorrada, pero bueno. Lo digo.
    Si la teoría del caos dice que el aleteo de una mariposa en Nueva Zelanda puede producir un vendaval en España, por la misma regla de tres un pensamiento de cariño desde Valencia, que probablemente despliegue más energía que el aleteo de una mariposa, puede producir maravillas en Japón.

    No estoy intentando ser graciosa, que conste. Creo mucho en el poder del pensamiento positivo, a pesar de no ser capaz de tenerlo siempre, por desgracia.
    Click to expand...

    Fortunately most people in Japan remain unperturbed or trying to stay calm in spite of rolling blackouts right now.
    Of course there's a kind of people who gets hysterical and go panic buying, that's a nuisance.
    The funny thing is that there seems even people outside of Japan gets hysterical about nuclear thing right now.
     
    "Panic-mongering" is a good general definition of almost all news in the U.S. for the past decade, at least. Don't take it personally. They panic over everything. :)

    Just hang in there, and let us know if there's anything we can do to help.
     
    Let me quote this passage written by Ryū Murakami:

    But for all we’ve lost, hope is in fact one thing we Japanese have regained. The great earthquake and tsunami have robbed us of many lives and resources. But we who were so intoxicated with our own prosperity have once again planted the seed of hope. So I choose to believe.

    quoted from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/opinion/17Murakami.html?ref=opinion


    Now Metro Police is about to begin shooting water into Fukushima reactor cooling pool with water cannon.
     
    almostfreebird said:
    But for all we’ve lost, hope is in fact one thing we Japanese have regained. The great earthquake and tsunami have robbed us of many lives and resources. But we who were so intoxicated with our own prosperity have once again planted the seed of hope. So I choose to believe.
    Click to expand...
    This is beautiful, almostfreebird.
    Our hope, our compassion, our solidarity, our love is with you.
     
    The news about the situation in the plant seem to me to be getting more and more disturbing. I join our Japanese brothers and sisters in hoping for the best. We are with you.
     
    Oldy Nuts said:
    The news about the situation in the plant seem to me to be getting more and more disturbing. I join our Japanese brothers and sisters in hoping for the best. We are with you.
    Click to expand...

    It's six in the morning here, those courageous were setting things up during the night, they're ready for the next step now.
     
    So it is getting better? That's great news, Almostfreebird. I have always admired the way your people react to tragedies and learn from them, and though what you've lost will never be replaced the way you're dealing with this only makes me admire you more.
     
    I just hope it gets better as soon as possible.

    When I see Japanese Twitters, I can say they really are happy to get encouragement from all over the world, just like I'm happy to receive your words of encouragement.
    Well I think I'm going to get some sleep. I sat up all night reading Culture Café and Twitters.
     
    I read that Japan has increased the nuclear risk alarm level from 4 to 5. Let us hope that this doesn't mean that the heroic efforts of those trying to throw as much water as possible on the reactors are not been successful
     
    Japan is continuing its attempts to cool damaged reactors and exposed fuel rods at the crippled coastal nuclear power plant hit by the tsunami following the magnitude nine earthquake a week ago.

    "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."~ Aldous Huxley
    Click to expand...

    I think of the courage, the love and solidarity of the Japanese people and I praise them for it, my prayers and hopes are with them.
     
    Oldy Nuts said:
    I read that Japan has increased the nuclear risk alarm level from 4 to 5. Let us hope that this doesn't mean that the heroic efforts of those trying to throw as much water as possible on the reactors are not been successful
    Click to expand...

    The news I´ve heard today were really encouraging. Apparently the efforts of cooling the reactor are paying off and things seem not to go worse, which in this case is an important step ahead. I´ve also heard that they are much closer to being able to bring electricity to the plant, that would mean that the cooling system would be even more effective.

    So kudos to all the workmen in Fukushima!
     
    Yes, it does seem that for two days now things have not got worse, which in this case means progress. And I have just read that the rise from level 4 to 5 is due to better assesments of previous damages, not to new ones, so it has not been necessary to expand the 20 km evacuation area.

    Here goes my humble homage to all those anonymous heroes who are exposing their lives to tame the disaster.
     
    Oldy Nuts said:
    Here goes my humble homage to all those anonymous heroes who are exposing their lives to tame the disaster.
    Click to expand...

    Me da la sensación de que no van a conservar el anonimato por mucho más tiempo si tienen éxito en bajar la temperatura de los reactores. Van a convertirse en estrellas mundiales. Pero lo triste es que es posible que también vayan a morir más temprano a causa de su exposición a la radiación.
     
    I am glad that the small words of "fellow-feeling" we can offer on this thread brings some comfort. When a natural disaster strikes, people not directly affected may seem very slow to comprehend it. You can be sure that we are thinking of you, and that if we can find concrete ways to help, a great many of us will step up to do so.
     
    What's happening at the Fukushima I is alternation between pumping water into the Units 1 - 4 and rewiring and replacement so that they can run emergency cooling systems there. Workers do their work while nuclear fuels are cold enough but have to leave the units when something explodes, smoulders or the fuels get dangerously hot. The first estimate was that they could fix measurements indicators in control rooms in one day but they are not there yet. Obviously the conditions and the environments for the workers are very tough.

    While reports about "contaminated" water and vegetables are scary, those "contaminations" do not really pose health hazards for the time being. There are indications that leak of radioactive particles has drastically decreased (N.B., not that the leaks were very very dangerous in their height).

    I'd have a few acrimonious words for the Government and the power company about how they are handling the situation and how they have led the energy policy up to this disaster but I am one of the perpetrators. For 40 years the Fukushima I reactors were in operation and I have been a beneficiary for my entire life. I didn't ask them to build reactors but I willy-nilly used, enjoyed and wasted electricity from Fukushima I. Incidentally, locals in Fukushima do not use power from there. So, I won't express them. (Anyway, it's not a suitable theme in this thread. :))
     
    Hello Flaminius, and thank you very much for your most needed update from the inside. Unfortunately, the effects of the earthquake seem not to be news any longer, and we get at most a couple of lines informing on the revised number of official deaths.

    I have been very worried because even the situation at Fukushima has gone almost cmpletely from the news here. And, frankly, I don't know whether to take this silence as good or as bad news. I have taken a look at what the scientists are saying about this, and it is very little indeed, except for speculations. Lack of information seems to be a generalised complain among them.

    I have known from the beginning that the working conditions of those trying to cool the reactors are very dangerous, to put it mildly, and have therefore expressed my admiration for them more than once in this thread. I think that the whole world has an enormous debt of gratitude with these anonymous heroes.

    It is most comforting to know that the radiation found in water and vegetables has decreased and that, as far as I know, consisted mostly of isotopes with very short mean lives.

    We are all with you.
     
    I hope that the lack of further messages is due to today being a Sunday, because I heartly want to believe that we still are all with the Japanese people. If it's any comfort to Japanese participants, at least all my relatives, friends, and even simple acquaintances are with you.
     
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