Archive for April, 2011

Deadly Mistake: American Wanted to Take Pictures of Tsunami

Dustin Douglas Weber lost his life because he wanted to take photos of the tsunami generated by the March 11th earthquake. Although the surge that hit the west coast of the United States was much smaller than the tsunami that hit Japan, it was still deadly:

Family members told KOMO-TV Weber had thought the tsunami danger created by the 9-magnitude quake had passed and was standing on a sand bar near the mouth of California’s Klamath River taking pictures accompanied by two friends when he was swept away in a subsequent tsunami surge.

“He was not looking in the direction it was coming from, but they saw it coming,” Lori Davis said of her son.

“They tried to run down there and save him. One of the guys almost had him by the shirt. They couldn’t save him. They tried to yell for him, but the ocean was too loud.”

His friends, whose names were not released, were also swept away but made it back to shore.

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Japanese TV Reports on the Mass Exodus of Foreigners

Yesterday, Japan’s ATV aired a 15 minute special report about how how foreigners have been avoiding Japan because of fears about radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The report focuses on the economic impact that a drop in tourism and an exodus of foreign workers:

• The drop in tourism can be felt in Akihabara. Large groups of big-spending Chinese tourists, once a regular sight in the area, are nowhere to be seen. Maids say that less foreigners are visiting their cafe.
• The manager of the New Koyo Hotel says that there has been a huge drop in reservations by foreign tourists. His reservation record book is full of empty spaces, many of which used to have names of customers but were erased after they cancelled their trips to Tokyo. At the moment, about 80% of his rooms are empty. He says that most cancellations were made because of the Fukushima nuclear accident.

• The number of foreign students in Japan has dropped. At one international dormitory in Tokyo, about two-thirds of the residents have left the country. They have “temporarily” fled due to fears about radiation.
• A real estate agent who specializes in helping Chinese people buy apartments in Tokyo says his business is ruined for the time being. New customers have stopped coming to Japan. Chinese who recently purchased apartments through the agent are no afraid that radioactive contamination will make their investments worthless, so they are putting the apartments up for sale.
• They visit a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo. It was popular up until the earthquake, but it is now closed. Fear and panic about radiation caused all of the restaurant’s owners and employees to flee the country in terror. It is not clear when, if ever, they plan to reopen the restaurant.
• Many foreign “trainees” who perform manual labor at factories have fled Japan. At a clothing factory in Tokyo, they find that only one of its five Chinese workers has left the country. They interview her by phone, and she says that she returned to China because her family was worried about radiation from Fukushima. Some of the other workers at the factory had considered leaving Japan after the announcement that Tokyo’s water supply had been contaminated, but after radiation levels dropped, they decided to stay. They are concerned about food and water safety, but do not feel like abandoning their employer.
• Farms are struggling after losing some of their “trainee” laborers. At once farm in Ibaraki, work has become very difficult after 3 of its 4 Chinese laborers left Japan.
• However, not all hope is lost for Japan’s farmers. The previously-mentioned farmer was able to hire 2 new employees: a Japanese couple who from Minamisoma city. They’d been living in an evacuation shelter since the nuclear accident and needed new jobs. Although they have no experience with farming, they seem happy to be working.

The drop in tourism and exodus of foreigners could have a huge impact on the Japanese economy. One economist estimates that the damage to the Japanese economy could reach 1.5 trillion yen.

Related video: A few days earlier, a shorter report about the radiation fears of foreigners also aired on Asahi.

A few points covered in the second video:

• An exhibition of paintings by French artist Maurice Denis has been cancelled in Yamanashi. The owners of many of the paintings are afraid to loan them to a Japanese museum. Denis’ granddaughter, who had been working to organize the loan, says that sensational French media coverage has convinced some people that all of Japan is now a flooded wasteland filled with burning buildings. Yamanashi, which is about 300 kilometers away from the disaster area, has suffered no damage and is not in danger of radioactive contamination.
• At sushi restaurant in Thailand, customers have dropped off by 70%. The restaurant’s use of fish imported from Japan had once been a major attraction for customers, but now it is a source of fear. Despite radiation checks that show absolutely no contamination, some people are still afraid to eat there.
• Chinese and Korean travel companies are no longer sending large tour groups to Japan. Few people are interested in traveling to Japan because they are afraid of radiation. There is also a feeling that it would be disrespectful to happily enjoy tourism in a country that is in a state of post-disaster mourning.
• The report closes with a sound bite from Yukio Edano asking the media to accurately report the situation. We are also shown a map of the various countries that have placed bans or new checks on Japanese food imports.

Note: Mulboyne has pointed to a few factors that are not mentioned in the story about the art exhibition: curators won’t come, insurance premiums have skyrocketed, and power cuts could threaten galleries.

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Miracle Tree Gives Hope to Tsunami Survivors

A single pine tree stands among the wreckage of Rikuzentakata city. Its survival is being hailed a miracle, and people want to preserve it as a symbol of hope:

About 70,000 pine trees once stood along the beach in that area. The tsunami knocked them all down, except for that one tree:

“Pine is the symbol of Rikuzentakata. We are glad at least one tree survived,” said an official at the Iwate Tourism Association. “We hope it will become a symbol of (the city’s) recovery.”

Takata Matsubara, a 2-kilometer sandy beach dotted with tens of thousands of pine trees, was one of the most popular scenic spots in Rikuzentakata, with 1.04 million tourists visiting last year, according to the association.

The pine trees were planted about 350 years ago as a shield against the sea air to protect agricultural produce.

Although the tree was not knocked down by the tsunami, there is a danger that inundation by salt water could kill the tree. Measures are being taken to prevent this from happening.

A couple more videos of the tree:

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Japanese Military Deploys Washing Machines

The Japanese Self-Defense Forces have set up washing machines and dryers at an evacuation shelter in the tsunami-wrecked city of Rikuzentakata:

It may not seem like much, but it is a big thing for survivors. For weeks, they’ve had to wash their clothes using buckets of cold water. Now they can finally rely on modern technology.

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• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Indian Scientist Refuses to Flee: “I feel it is highly unethical to leave Japan”

Dr. Sakthi Kumar, professor of inter-disciplinary science at Toyo University, explains why he stayed in Tokyo when so many Indian professionals have fled the country due to concerns about earthquakes and radiation:

There has been a mass exodus of Indian professionals from Japan since the quake; reportedly, more than 90 per cent of Indians who were living and working in Japan have fled the nation. But for Dr Kumar that was an unthinkable option.

With deep intensity, he said, “I am as passionately a Japanese citizen today as Ikuo [a colleague] is. I feel it is highly unethical to leave Japan, when she is going through the roughest patch after World War II. Japan has given me so much in my life as a scientist. This is the time to stay back and endure, and we will do it.”

Ikuo Fukui, head of Japan Society for Promotion of Science expressed his concern at the exodus. “People in India need not worry about their citizens here. Everyone is safe, healthy and stronger at heart than ever before,” he smiled.

While Dr. Kumar said, “The Indian embassy did heroic work in the Sendai area in rescue services,” another Indian professional, on condition of anonymity, lashed out at the media sensationalism and the poor token response by the Indian government.

But he is all praise for Japan, saying that “The Japanese government has been most conscientious in everything. Within the very hour that the disaster struck, the authorities issued perfect notices.”

Dr. Kumar echoed, “The fire and rescue department came at lightning speed and offered their best evacuation and medical services. Some Japanese people who know good English, comforted us, translating important instructions.”

Neither is too concerned about fears of radiation-related sickness. “A stretch of just a few kilometres around the damaged nuclear plant has been susceptible to poisoning,” says the unnamed Indian. “The radiation level in Tokyo is within safe limits. We walk on the streets with neither masks nor fear. I appeal to the Indians to come back to Japan and continue to do what they set out for initially.”

Hopefully, some Indians who left after the quake will read Dr. Kumar’s message and decide to return to Japan.

The article’s claim about “more than 90 per cent” of Indians fleeing Japan sounds absurdly high. Anyone know if it’s even remotely true?

Update: As of March 19th, “more than 6,000″ of the 25,000 Indian residents of Japan had left. Not 90%, but still a large number of people…

[Hat tip to Eido]

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• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Edano Eats Fukushima Strawberry: “Only safe produce is being distributed.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano backs up his statements about the safety of food from Fukushima by attending a farmers market in Tokyo and eating a strawberry grown in Iwaki, about 50 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant:

‘This is food that people who are going through great pain devoted all of their energy to produce,’ Mr Edano said. ‘Only safe produce is being distributed. Please eat it,’ he added, saying the government planned to organise other events to promote produce from the disaster zone

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• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)