Japan Dispatch

Update: 6:57 AM, Tuesday, March 27th
Annoying concerns about water quality have taken the place of the initial (mostly media) panic about the reactor situation. Indications are the radioactivity level in the water is elevated but far from dangerous for adults but parents are urged not give their children tap water or baby formula made from tap water. The situation with the reactor remains very dire, but the government and others are providing constant radiation information showing that levels remain at healthy around Tokyo and elsewhere. The death toll in the north continues to climb with the mayor of Miyagi anticipating 15,000 deaths there alone.

Interested in helping or volunteering? Peace Boat Japan is, as far as I can tell, the best charitable organization with boots on the ground now in the affected area, distributing necessities. Here's a great blog.

Update: 11:44 AM Monday, Japan Time
From NHK: "Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says a hydrogen and oxygen explosion occurred Monday morning at the No.3 reactor at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture." Residents within a 20 KM radius are being urged to stay indoors.

Edano--"Low possibility of radiation leakage, container is still safe."

Update: 9:00 AM Monday, Japan Time
The death toll has climbed to 1500. It is assumed that many of the residents of Sendai, a town that apparently no-longer exists, are also gone. At this hour, there is growing concern about supplying those in remote areas in the north with food and water. Shelters are full.

If you're looking for a loved one, the Google person finder cited below has worked for many. The Miyagi prefecture governor has said tens of thousands are still missing. As hours advance, more and more of these residents are also presumed dead. But stories of small miracles abound. A 60 old man from Miyagi was found safe and sound... on the roof of house... about ten miles out to see. (Here's a link to Network for Good, which is raising money for survivors.

After much worry, the Fukushima No. 1 plant looks more stable, but still perched on a "knife's edge" in the words of physicist Michio Kaku. Problems have now been detected at other plants, including one about 70 miles from Tokyo. Looks like celebrations about the sturdiness and strength of various buildings were a bit premature. The Fukushima No. 1 plant went into failure when the generator that powers the pumps that send coolant into the reactor was shut down due to the earthquake, and the diesel back up generators were hurt by the unexpected tsunami. The government, through Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, continues to try to reassure the public. The Fukushima explosion released high levels of cesium-137 and iodine-121 into the air. Iodine caplets have been distributed to many of the evacuees from that area. Iodine, properly administered, can work as a cure for sickness from iodine exposure, I'm told, in somewhat the same way snake venom can help cure snake bite. But the key is to take the caplet before exposure.

The number of people evacuating the area around the unstable nuclear power plant is approaching 300,000, including a family of three we're hosting in our apartment. (Please don't tell my landlord.) They arrived late last night. The line for train tickets, they said, was out the door of the station. But it remained orderly and was mostly foreigners. My friends finally scored a "spot" in the train vestibule, next to the smoking car. They consider themselves very lucky. Certainly there are many who were not as lucky.

After the radiation leak was discovered, the government promptly dispatched emergency crews to the scene to try and begin the sea water pumping and assist in the evacuation. These men, clad only in has-mat suits, went dutifully. It may turn out in retrospect that they give their lives in doing so.

Though we in Kyoto are hundreds of miles away from the cloud of radioactive steam vented from the Fukushima plant, we remain worried. The weather has taken on an importance I never thought possible. “All the available information indicates weather conditions have taken the small releases from the Fukushima reactors out to sea away from the population,” according to the U.S.-based Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

We wait and see. At the same time, I continue to be inspired by examples of selflessness and heroism. Groups of young people in Kyoto are standing outside the department stores taking up contributions for the people in the north. Right now, I'm watching the scene in Tokyo on NHK. The subway service is spotty but hundreds are lined up--a line stretches around Shinjuku station. It seems it will take days to dissolve. I ask my friend "what are they doing?"

"Going to work," he says.

Update: 10:46 PM Sunday Japan time
hief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has said that the radiation leakage is contained and that the reactor was not damaged. They are pouring seawater into the Fukushimi power plant, a process that will take about five hours. They will then use boric acid to seal it. This process will take about five to ten days according to news reports.

Update: 9:30 PM Sunday Japan time
The Japanese government now believes deaths may rise to 1,000. At this hour, 1.1 million households are without running water. Tsunami continue to occur and may continue for the next several hours. Tomorrow we expect a few friends from the Fukushima evacuation zone.
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Posted 3.11.11, approximately 9 PM Japan time
Today, Japan suffered an 8.8 magnitude quake, the largest in the nation’s history. Some 48 are confirmed dead. (This number is climbing rapidly). Damage, particularly in the country’s north, is widespread. This is tragic but, without question, this disaster could have been far worse.

Sitting in my Kyoto apartment, watching the scene in Tokyo playout on NHK, I’m struck by what I see. People are gathered together in the streets as a safeguard against aftershocks. Many residents are wearing white safety helmets and facemasks as a precaution. But facemasks aren’t uncommon here even when there is no disaster. Trains are canceled across the country and this is a major inconvenience for many stranded tourists and Tokyo’s salarymen hoping to return to the suburbs. But, at least according to television reports, these displaced passengers are bearing this burden with typical Japanese equanimity. The government has worked to ensure public facilities are able to take people who can’t go home. There is no worry of food or water shortages, no threat of rampant crime or of cholera. This is not Haiti...or New Orleans.

It’s sometimes said that a nation’s most noble qualities are on display during a disaster. Japan’s strengths come out both during and before an event like this. Japanese building and construction standards are the best in the world. Part of this is cultural; engineering in this country isn’t considered a nerdy or boring profession but a great calling. Strict government regulation and building codes are a way of life here. The idea of laying off inspectors to close budget loopholes, rather than raise taxes, would strike most Japanese as dangerously unwise, particularly in a country prone to quakes. Today, those two aspects of Japan’s national character--engineering strength, faith in good government regulation--helped save the lives of thousands of Japanese people.

Then there are the police, medical professionals, construction workers and civic employees; the degree to which the average Japanese person takes pride in their work often leaves many visiting Westerns speechless. On a day like today, that high level of public-employee competence is awe inspiring.

Problems and challenges remain. There’s tremendous concern about the nuclear power plant near Fukushima and 2000 nearby residents have been told to evacuate, though no leakage has been reported at this time. Some people are still missing; but Google was able to set up a person-finder service within minutes. Many residents in the north of the country are without homes after the massive tsunami hit (see the video below). The coming weeks will not be easy. But infrastructure--well designed and dutifully maintained--remains intact. Public servants are well-prepared. The people of Japan are reaching out to their neighbors, to the elderly, and to one another. The outside world is offering their sympathy. Speaking as an outsider, the rest of us would do well to learn by the example Japan has set today.

Patrick Tucker is the senior editor of THE FUTURIST magazine and the director of communications for the World Future Society.