Japan 2 years later: Your opinions, thoughts

[culturelover]

Hello everyone,

I want to know how you, people in general that were affected, are doing after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011? How is the recovery and healing process? Any concerns about future quakes/tsunamis? I personally know (from Katrina) it will be a long time to fully recover and rebuild. (In no way I am trying to compare the two, I'm mentioning that because I truly understand what people are going through.) So, how is the rebuilding process coming? Residential and Business. Any noticeable changes in people's behavior or thought process because of it?

 

[Mark of Zorro]

What do you mean by "those who were affected"? Those who actually lost family and friends, and/or homes, cars, etc? Or does this also include people who were a distance from the tsunami and nuclear disaster who may have experienced and still be experiencing anxiety over products and debris imported from areas affected by the release of nuclear particles into the atmosphere and ocean?

Although by no means common, I still sometimes see this sticker on people's cars here in chubu which is supposedly just out of the range of the fallout area :



I can tell you that I would never buy any produce from anywhere near Fukushima, and will probably never visit that area or anywhere northwest of the place, and absolutely won't take my family. I am also leery of going to Tokyo and Chiba because I know there are hot spots there that have not quite been properly accounted for and I know they burned Fukushima debris there and I think they still are.

But I think most people have pretty much forgotten about all this.

As for what people more directly affected in Fukushima itself are doing, I have no idea. For the rest of the country I think its been less of a healing process and more of a forgetting process, except for token moments of silence on 3/11 around the country.

 

[nahadef]

A very big difference between the tsunami and Katrina is that Katrina hit a major city, and the coastal area hit by the tsunami was rural in comparison. It makes it easier to ignore.

The biggest effect these days is that most people will not buy food from that region, not trusting the government claims that it's safe.

There were commemorative picture magazines on sale on the anniversary though. A kind of disaster-porn.

 

[culturelover]

Concerning those affected, I mean everyone. Directly and indirectly. Why would they burn debris from Fukushima in major areas? Regardless, of it being a major city or rural area I think that it should be given the same attention because of the level of damage (physical property and mental/emotional damage), in my opinion anyway. Are they re-building in Fukushima? What does the sticker say? I can't read Japanese.

 

[nahadef]

Concerning those affected, I mean everyone. Directly and indirectly. Why would they burn debris from Fukushima in major areas? Regardless, of it being a major city or rural area I think that it should be given the same attention because of the level of damage (physical property and mental/emotional damage), in my opinion anyway. Are they re-building in Fukushima? What does the sticker say? I can't read Japanese.

That sign said "goodbye nuclear energy."

As true as it is that everyone was affected by it. I was far away in Okinawa , and I was quite rattled and emotionally drained, in a similar way to how I felt on 9/11. But life goes on, and day to day life is relatively unchanged for the majority of the country. Anti-nuclear protest has increased, and seems pretty steady. I often see small protests in front of the prefectural buildings.

Also consider that Japan has a long history of similar disasters, with the last being the Kansai earthquake only 15 years before (Great Hanshin earthquake - Wikipedia). It might be similar to the way British people handle terrorism much more rationally than Americans do, since it has been part of life for so many generations.

If you come here, please don't make an issue of asking the locals about it (not to say you would, but just in case, or to anyone else who might). As a foreigner, one might be surprised how they deal with it, but it's no different than how many Japanese see American gun culture. One shooting would be scarring in Japan, but it's no big deal to Americans. If a Japanese were to make an issue of bringing up the topic, it might lead to uncomfortable conversation, no matter how curious they were.

 

[Mark of Zorro]

Why would they burn debris from Fukushima in major areas?

The real reason? To make money. It costs money to transport materials and incinerate them. People get paid.

The excuse? They want to speed up the process of disposing the waste, and therefore use incinerators around the country.

This country is 90 percent empty mountain, and Fukushima is no exception. There are plenty of places to store the debris.

Anyway, I thought the sign said "Goodbye nuclear power plants", "sayonara gempatsu".

I have said it before and I will say it again; I find it incredible that in this land of tsunami and earthquakes, that people would live on the east coast. It is nearly as incredible that they would build nuclear power plants there. I can but shake my head at this country sometimes.

 

[culturelover]

Thank you both for answering my questions. I wouldn't ask anyone about it if I ever got there. It is a bit baffling that Japan would have nuclear plant(s). Because you would think that it would be the one country that wouldn't even consider nuclear energy since earthquakes are frequent. But we all think, "Oh, that will never happen." But c'est la vie.