Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Crisis
There is far much more alarm felt overseas, I believe, than within Japan itself. This is understandable - in a way, the international media has exacerbated the panic felt outside of Japan, especially as far as Fukushima is concerned. Some headlines from this week that talk of the situation in and around Fukushima read as though they also apply to Tokyo, and in some cases, the whole of Japan as well. It's very true, for example, that quite a few emergency workers at the plant are risking their lives by exposure to high levels of radiation - but in Tokyo, where the readings are still too small to pose any long-term risks, the current level of panic is not justified. It's triggered by ignorance that in a way cannot be helped - it's very difficult to explain technical details objectively, given that we're talking about nuclear power plants. If one has an objective look at the numbers, the panic seems both exaggerated and in a way, disrespectful to the people who are actually risking their lives at the location of the reactors. As of Sunday, the situation at the reactors is looking up, if anything.
MEXT (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) publishes readings by area:
According to this, taking a chest X-ray is far more dangerous than being in Tokyo even at the time of the radiation spike (approximately 9:00 AM last Tuesday).
Sweden, apparently, has regions where there are higher levels of natural radiation.
NHK World and Kyodo News provide faster and more accurate updates (in English):
- NHK World
- Kyodo News
- TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co.), the operator of the troubled plants in Fukushima, provides regular and detailed updates in English.
Meanwhile, here in Sapporo I have access to television, which I did not have in Tokyo, having only just moved to a new apartment. Things are not great, but they are not as bad as the international media makes them appear. And, at the present moment, they are getting better. Will things get worse? If so, what exactly is the worst case? I found this summary of background information very useful (Thanks, Curt). Read from the section titled, What in the hell is going on here? It's recommended if you started on Wikipedia with Chernobyl and found it too technical to read through. I only wish I found it before having spent a few hours on Wikipedia myself.
To sum it all, I'm not planning on leaving Japan. And that is not just about solidarity, it's more about common sense and practicality, at this point. I do have a holiday planned, towards the end of April / beginning of May, and I'm hoping to stick to that, though. In any case, I am sufficiently far from both Fukushima and Tokyo (Sapporo is about 500km North of the reactors). People are upbeat, cheerful, and there is news of reconstruction everywhere. Sapporo City has already begun issuing temporary housing to evacuees from Fukushima (as of the day before yesterday).