The worst-case scenario for the Fukushima plant--Part 2

I'll continue to talk about what the worst-case scenario for the Fukushima plant. Could you please read the previous post first (Click here) ?

According to the scenario that emerged a few months ago, if the worst had happened, about 30 million people, including those living in the Tokyo area, would have been forced to evacuate their homes. I'm living in the Tokyo area, so when I first learnt about that, I looked back to what I had done for a month after the 3/11 earthquake. I wanted to see if had done the right thing at the time. What I recalled is below.

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When I learnt about the first reactor explosion in the Fukushima plant that happened one day after the devastating earthquake hit Japan on the 11th of March last year, I didn't understand what was going on there. I wondered what to do. However, since I was forced to struggle against very frequent aftershocks, I couldn't afford to think about it. When I saw another reactor exploding on TV on the 14th of March, I instinctively felt that I should run away from my area, the Tokyo area, which is about 250 km away from that plant. A few hours later, some of my friends living in Osaka emailed me and urged me to go to my parents' house in Osaka, which is about 600 km away from that plant (When the 3/11 earthquake happened, some high-rise buildings in Osaka swung from side to side due to unexpected sympathetic vibration, but the quake in Osaka was small). My friends insisted that anything could happen at that plant, so in the worst case, the Tokyo area wouldn't be safe. Since they have more knowledge about radiation and nuclear power plants than me, their words carried weight. If I had a child or if I were young, I would have decided without hesitation to go to my parents' house in Osaka at the time.

Those terrible explosions caused consternation among the public. Various information, opinions and rumors swirled around. Each foreign country suggested a wider nuclear evacuation zone than Japan did. Some people insisted that a part of the vital highway access to the tsunami-stricken areas from Tokyo was inside the evacuation zones set by the foreign countries, but the Japanese government wouldn't include the highway in the evacuation zone until the very last moment because there were a huge number of people waiting for rescue (This highway was damaged by that earthquake, but emergency cares were allowed to drive there even right after that earthquake). This opinion made sense to me. I did understand that going to my parents' house in Osaka was the best even if I had own situation to deal with. All in all, I decided to remain in the Tokyo area, in hopes that the situation wouldn't get worse. At the same time, I thought I had a chance of being seriously harmed by radiation. 

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It's been said that the worst has been fortunately avoided so far. Because of this, I don't regret having remained in the Tokyo area. However, when I first heard of the worst-case scenario, I wondered if I had made the right decisions. I wondered if I had prepared myself for the worst. I wondered why I hadn't run away from my area when I had instinctively felt that I should do that. I supposed that I had decided to remain in the Tokyo area just because I had wanted to believe that the situation wouldn't get worse. I think that I should follow my instincts in an emergency.

The worst-case scenario for the Fukushima plant--Part 1

It's been almost one year since that nightmare. Responding to this, recently, there have been more reports on tsunami-stricken areas and the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. There are so many things which set me thinking that I don't know where to start. However, I'll first talk about the worst-case scenario on this plant which has been notable but controversial since it first emerged a few months ago.

Since the then Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, stepped down last August, some key people, including him, have talked about what they did to regain the control of that plant and what they saw and thought about while they were struggling to do that. By their interviews, the worst-case scenario created by our government has been revealed. If the worst had happened, about 30 million people, including those living in the Tokyo area, would have been forced to evacuate their homes. It meant that Japan would most likely crumble.

I wrote about this worst-case scenario in the past tense, but I don't know if it's right. It's been said that thanks to many workers striving in that plant, the chance of the worst case happening is much lower than last year, but we have to remember the fact that there is still this chance. In the wake of the 3/11 earthquake, Japan is more subject to earthquakes than before. As a matter of fact, I still often feel quakes in the Tokyo area. Because of this, if another massive earthquake or aftershock hits the Fukushima plant, what we don't want to imagine will probably happen.

I've often felt that people, including politicians, put the blame on the then Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, saying that his inability caused the current terrible situation. I don't think he did perfectly, but I don't understand why they always blame him that way. Some experts have insisted: "Japanese people have been looking for a political leader who can improve their situation without doing anything by themselves. If the situation doesn't improve, they'll put the main blame on political leaders. We have to think about what Japan will be like, decide on what to do, and take responsibility for it. We aren't fully aware of it."

I think that the experts are right. I've realized for some years that we have to improve our ability to make decisions by ourselves and take responsibility for the decisions. However, it's easier said than done. I'll talk more in the next post.

New major issues related to radioactive contamination have emerged in the Tokyo area.

A few days ago, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan declared an end to the most critical phase of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. However, many members of the public, including myself, think that the situation is far from being stable. I think that anything could happen. If another strong aftershock hits the plant, it will surely bring us to an unimaginable situation. I'm wondering what ulterior motives the government have. Anyway, whether or not the landmark accomplishment rings true, I appreciate that a lot of workers at the crippled plant have been striving to regain control.

In this declaration, the term "state of cold shutdown" was used. However, since the term was defined in July as a milestone in the process of regaining control, what the term "state of cold shutdown" indicates is different from what the general term "cold shutdown" indicates. Because of this, it has been pointed out that the term "state of cold shutdown" may give an exaggerated impression of stability. As it's pointed out in a NY times article in the link below, it seems that the government is expected to use vague terminology in order to give itself some wiggle room.

Anyway, in the Tokyo area, new issues have emerged. Due to the hydrogen explosions at the Fukushima plant, bewildering quantities of radioactive substances were released from the crippled plant in March. Specifically, radioactive cesium 137 (30-year half life. In other words, it takes 30 years for cesium 137 to decay by half) and cesium 134 (2-year half life) are always on the table to discuss. These two kinds of cesium have been widely spread out. The cesium is washed away by rain, but won't disappear. It means that the cesium just travels from place to place.

In the Tokyo area, there are some areas where soil contamination levels of the cesium are relatively high. The contaminated areas have a large population. Almost all the roads are asphalted there. In the newly developed areas, urban drain systems are well designed. Unfortunately, these factors have created highly contaminated spots. Specifically, the cesium on asphalted roads is easily washed away by rain and the well designed drain systems effectively transfer the cesium to one specific spot, and as a result, the cesium ends up being concentrated there. Another major issue that has emerged is highly contaminated incinerator ash. In the Tokyo area, many incinerators are well designed to reduce the amount of incinerator ash. The high-tech incinerators have produced highly contaminated ash because they end up concentrating the cesium in the process. The ash is temporary stored in the incineration plants so far. However, it's predicted that the plants will be over capacity soon for the ash. The issue of how to deal with the ash remains unsolved.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/world/asia/japan-set-to-declare-control-over-damaged-nuclear-reactors.html?_r=2

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/en/1270/2011/10/1270_1012.pdf

http://cgi4.nhk.or.jp/gendai/kiroku/detail.cgi?content_id=3133

It's been nine months since that day. Are people becoming desensitized to the serious situation?

I'm determined to remember what I thought about in March on the eleventh of every month, although I know that human beings have an ability to forget in order to overcome difficulties. I feel that I should remember how I felt on the 11th of March since the word "death" first went through my mind and I realized something I hardly realize under ordinary circumstances (At the time, I was in Chiba far from the epicenter. Still, I felt several massive earthquakes). Immediately after the earthquakes, I very much thanked the shop staff at a super market near my house who worked as usual. Their anxiety and fear were written on their faces. They seemed to ease their fear by focusing on their jobs. All in all, I found happiness in small things which I generally don't care about.

Anyway, it's been nine months since the disaster happened. It's been reported that progress is slower than expected at tsunami-stricken areas in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures where many towns were completely washed away. Although there are many reasons pointed out, the main one is clear. The Fukushima disaster has complicated matters further.

I often hear people say that they are not surprised by whatever reports come out on the crippled power plant and radioactive contamination. I've also realized that I'm becoming desensitized to our serious situation, although I've been paying great attention to the plant and radioactive contamination. I often feel that people are getting used to the serious situation like this way. Needless to say, there are many reports on new findings showing that the crippled plant is likely to be more critical than expected or that radioactive contamination is more serious than expected.

Only after the Fukushima accident, I realized that many nuclear-related TV programs had been already aired especially on NHK, the public broadcasting network in Japan. Recently, I saw some of them when they were rerun. These programs show how a lot of people worldwide have been struggling against diseases which were most likely caused by radiation exposure (For example: The victims of the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The victims of the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine and Belarus. The victims of nuclear testing in Marshall Islands. Some residents near the plutonium production reactor in Hanford site in the US).

Recently, there have been many reports on decontamination plans. It seems that our central government gives priority to decontamination work. On the other hand, some specialists have been skeptical about how well decontamination work will go. They have insisted that the government and some people expect too much of decontamination work. They have pointed out that since there are many mountains near contaminated areas, unless the mountains are decontaminated, decontamination work won't go well. Like the outlook proves right, it has turned out that rice crops in fields near the contaminated mountains tend to be more highly contaminated than ones in other fields, even though both fields have the same level of soil contamination. It's been said that water coming from the contaminated mountains likely causes it. I've heard America, Ukraine and Belarus have been having great difficulties decontaminating soil. I think that both the government and Japanese people need to change the way of thinking.

Decontamination work
http://www.jiji.com/jc/d4?d=d4_quake&p=jyo114-jlp11852850
http://www.jiji.com/jc/movie?p=top404-movie02&s=424&rel=y

Contamination map

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/en/1270/2011/10/1270_1012.pdf
http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/1910/2011/11/1910_1125_2.pdf

The top 10 words describing the Japan of 2011--Part 2: We cannot describe the Japan of 2011 without that event.

A few days ago, the top 10 winners of the buzzwords and new words of the 2011 contest was announced. In the last post, I talked about なでしこジャパン/Nadeshiko-Japan, the word which won first prize. Today, I'll talk about some of the rest.


★3.11/san ten ichi ichi

In Japan, the September 11 attacks are referred to as 9.11 ( kyu ten ichi ichi). Everybody knows what 9.11 indicates. Coincidentally, just nine and half years after the September 11 attacks, terrible events happened in Japan and had a great impact on our nation. Because of this, the 3/11 earthquake, tsunami and the subsequent nuclear disaster are referred to as 3.11. Although I don't remember who first used the word, according to the announcement, the then chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano first used it in his official statement.


★帰宅難民/Kitaku-nanmin

帰宅/Kitaku means to go home. 難民/nanmin means refugees. On the 11th of March, even in the Tokyo area, we felt the massive earthquake too, despite the area being far from the epicenter. I thought that I was going to die in Chiba next to Tokyo. All the train services were suspended immediately after the massive earthquake happened at about quarter to three in the afternoon. Some services were resumed about six hours later, but many of them remained suspended until the next morning.

In the Tokyo area, there are many train and subway services (even Tokyo people often carry a train map with them). People generally commute by train. Over an hour's journey to work by train is very common. The daytime population of the downtown Tokyo is huge. Because of this, a large number of people wandered around the streets due to this long suspension. We refer to these people as 帰宅難民/Kitaku-nanmin. Before the earthquake, it was predicted that Kitaku-nanmin could be a big problem if a massive earthquake hit the Tokyo area. On top of that, the issue of how to deal with Kitaku-nanmin was often discussed and some measures were already taken. However, it was the first time to see how Kitaku nanamin were doing and created problems. We've learned a lot.

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0311/TKY201103110519.html
http://www.asahi.com/special/10005/kitakunanmin.pdf


★絆/Kizuna

The disaster which happened on the 11th of March has made us realize how many people have supported us and we cannot live without others. We have been very much encouraged by huge support from people worldwide since then. We appreciate for the support very much.

Before the earthquake, there was a tendency that people had been becoming indifferent to others especially in large cities. However, the disaster changed the situation. It's been reported that the 3/11 earthquake made many couples decide to get married. As a matter of fact, wedding businesses have been recently enjoying good sales.

All in all, people have realized how important ties to others are. 絆/Kizuna means ties among human beings.


★風評被害/Huhyo-higai

風評/huhyo means rumors. 被害/Higai means damages. Huhyo higai means damages which rumors without reasonable grounds caused.

Partly because a lot of people didn't know about radiation, partly because the issue of how much radiation exposure will be harmful in the future is always controversial, and partly because the lack of clear information about radioactive contamination, there have been a lot of rumors and information spread since the Fukushima accident. I've found it very difficult that you distinguish reliable information from rumors without reasonable grounds.

Under these circumstances, some people from Fukushima prefecture were or have been mistreated based on the wrong information or just because of the great fear of radiation. Crops from some areas tend to linger on the market. Some insist that this is 風評被害/huhyo-higai because people believe rumors and the wrong information. On the other hand, some insist that this is not 風評被害/huhyo-higai because some specialists question provisional radioactive safety limits on food set by the government, so they want to protect themselves based on their own standards. Some insist that the government and the mass media use the word " 風評被害/huhyo-higai" to blame people who try to buy crops free from as much radioactive substances as possible in order to protect their children. Anyway, the word has become very popular since the Fukushima accident.

I hope that a lot of people worldwide can keep paying attention to what is going on in Belarus and Japan and learn a lot from it.

After the Fukushima accident, Akira Sugenoya, the mayor of Matsumoto city (a major city in Nagano prefecture, Japan) has been asked frequently to give lectures, because in addition to being mayor, he is also a well-known leading surgeon who has performed many operations on children in Belarus who were suffering from thyroid cancer caused by the Chernobyl accident in 1986. In 1996, ten years after the terrible accident, he resigned from the hospital he was working for and went to Belarus in order to treat the children because his specialty was thyroid cancer. He stayed there for about five years.

When he recently gave a lecture for the residents of Fukushima City (the capital of Fukushima prefecture, which has been considerably contaminated even though the city is about 60Km from the crippled plant), he said, "When I came back to Japan from Belarus in 2001, I insisted that such terrible accident could also happen in Japan. I implored the Japanese people to take the accident very seriously and think about it hard. However, at the time, nobody saw the accident as a wake-up call. Everybody seemed to believe that such accidents could never happen in Japan. In this sense, everybody bears some responsibility. Considering the current situation in the contaminated areas in Belarus, I think that the Japanese central government should evacuate all the children in Fukushima city to safe places. Many parents will have to live apart from their children. They will have to accept the situation to protect their children from radiation".

Since the Fukushima accident, some facts have been emerged. Some scientists pointed out the disaster risk and vulnerability of old reactors in the Fukushima plant some years ago. However, nobody took their opinions seriously. I think that nobody wanted to accept the scientists' opinions. On top of that, their warnings weren't widely announced or reported because it's been said that the government wanted to promote nuclear power plant projects. As you can see, general indifference towards nuclear power plants, ignoring warnings and covering up inconvenient information on the part of the government and people involved were indirect factors responsible for the Fukushima accident.

I really hope that a lot of people worldwide can learn from our terrible accident and think about nuclear power plants seriously. Actually, the more I know about energy problems and nuclear power plant projects in the world, the more I find them complicated. I don't intend to elaborate though. All that I want to say here is that I want all the people worldwide to see exactly what is going on in Belarus and Japan, and then think about whether or not to build nuclear plants in their own country.

I recently found the link below on Twitter. This is a blog written by a young Japanese man. He took a bus tour to areas very close to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in September. In the blog, he writes about how he felt there as an ordinarily Japanese man. According to the blog, when he visited a museum commemorating the accident, he saw a lot of Japanese writing. First, he thought that this was because of the Fukushima accident. After a while, he realized that it was because of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the terrible accident happened 25 years ago, the victims of the atomic bombs sent messages and tried to help them. On top of that, doctors who had experience in treating the victims of the atomic bombs went to Ukraine and Belarus to help other victims there. When I read the blog, although I know that atomic bombs and nuclear power plants are different, I still had mixed feelings.


The blog is written in Japanese, but there are many pictures.
http://bit.ly/tNlSXR

Pictures of the Fukushima plant
http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2011/03/fukushima_dai-ichi_aerials.html

This is a part of reality in Fukushima

Although I always try to pay attention to the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima, I sometimes realize that I forget that the plant still remains in a dangerous situation and something serious could happen there. On top of that, there are a large number of people who are striving to get the plant back under control. All the workers are still required to wear radiation protection suits because radiation levels are still considerably high in the site. 

On the 12th of November, eight months after the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami, the press was finally allowed to take a bus tour of the crippled plant and film it. It was the first time that the press were allowed into the site since the horrible accident. All the journalists were required to wear radiation protection suits and shoot the site through the bus windows for safety reasons. After the bus tour, a reporter from NHK, the Japanese public broadcasting service, said, "Even though I saw videos of the crippled plant so many times after the accident, when I saw it for myself, I was so shocked that I was at a loss for words. The plant was more devastated than I had expected. I've visited nuclear power plants many times for coverage. I can't believe that such substantial buildings have been devastated." His words convinced me that there is a tremendous situation in the crippled plant.

In the link below, there are a lot of pictures of beautiful scenery posted by the Japanese journalist Hiro Ugaya. In late October, he visited Iidate village and took them. The village is contaminated by radiation. The residents were required to evacuate their homes. Because of this, the village is becoming a ghost town, although the residents often come back their village in turns to see if there is anything wrong with any of the homes. The scenery is so beautiful, but nobody is able to enjoy it.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112808523819835759271/LostAutumnInContaminatedVillage?authuser

Unexpected things are likely to be detected in the Tokyo area as a result of many citizens trying to detect radiation.

It has been almost eight months since the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Although many of the victims are still struggling to find a way to stand on their own feet and there hasn't been much progress in many of the tsunami-stricken areas, it seems that public concern about these harsh circumstances is fading over time. This might be largely because successive events which have had a great impact on many people (such as the fragile situation in Europe, the criminally expensive Yen and the Thailand's devastating floods) have been inevitably drawing considerable attention, and then these topics tend to get more press than the continuing aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. Anyway, we shouldn't forget that there is nothing more cruel than indifference as Mother Teresa insisted that the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. It's important for us to show the victims how much we care about them.

Having said that, however, there is one thing from which no event can distract the public. On the contrary, the concern about it is growing. It is the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima and the issue of radioactive contamination. Since the issue of whether or not low levels of radiation are harmful is controversial among specialists, the general public, especially mothers, have been skeptical about health and food safety guidelines established by the government after the accident. They have been wondering whether or not announcements on radiation levels made by both the local and central governments are accurate. They have been criticizing the government's inability to act quickly. Mothers insist that the governments should give first priority to protecting children, although they understand that there are a lot of issues to be dealt with. Many mothers have prepared themselves to do whatever they can do to protect their children according to their own standards, not government standards.

In many areas, including the Tokyo area (it's been reported that the radiation levels of the Tokyo area are normal), some citizens and citizens' groups have already purchased very expensive radiation detection devices. I've heard that a reliable one costs at least 100,000 Yen. They have been trying to detect radiation in their local areas to find where radiation levels are abnormally high (we call these places hot spots). It turns out that ditches and places where rain water or dead leaves gather are likely to become hot spots. Some specialists warned about this possibility immediately after the Fukushima accident. Thanks to groups and individuals who are trying to detect radiation with their own Geiger counters, hot spots have been detected. However, there are two hot spots where the high radiation levels cannot be attributed to the Fukushima accident. In one hot spot, radiation levels were caused by bottles of radium-226 found under the floor of a home. The other spot is still under investigation, but a bottle of radium- 226 was found yesterday, which proves there is no relation to the Fukushima plant. 

It's still not clear why bottles of a dangerous chemical were found in residential areas. However, it's been pointed out that radium-226 was used as a luminous paint when Japan was a developing country, and bottles of radium-226 may have been left due to insufficient regulations and inspection systems at the time. I'm wondering if more unexpected things will be detected in the Tokyo area.

437,500USD for a man. 18,750USD for a woman.

Can you guess what that title indicates? This is an incentive bonus for the Soccer World Cup Victory which is stipulated by the Japan Football Association (The JFA). If the men's national team wins the World Cup, each member can receive 35 millions JPY (437,500USD. 1USD=80JPY). On the other hand, for the women's national team, each member can receive only 1.5 millions JPY (18,750USD). When this fact was widely reported, immediately after Nadeshiko Japan won the victory at the Women's Soccer World Cup in Germany, a lot of people questioned the huge difference between men and women, insisting that 1.5 millions JPY was too low whatever reason. In response to this, it's reported that the JFA is considering increasing the incentive bonus to 5 millions JPY (62,500USD).

Other than that, it's been widely reported how difficult it is for women to make a living as soccer players in Japan. In the national team which accomplished a great achievement at the right time and lifted a nation rocked by the disaster, there are only five "professional" players among 16 members who belong to club teams in Japan (Some belong to club teams in other countries). Others are amateur players. Although some of them are allowed to devote themselves to play soccer with a salary, many of them work during the daytime and practice playing soccer in the evening after work.

Speaking of women's club teams in Japan, some reports on the team "TEPCO Mareeze" are still fresh in my mind. The team was forced to break up by the nuclear disaster because it was run by TEPCO, which has been struggling to get the crippled nuclear power plant back under control. I've heard that the team was based in an area where the crippled plant is located, and many of the term members worked for the plant during the daytime (All the members were employees of TEPCO). As I wrote in the last post, the victory at the Women's Soccer World Cup inspires women to be persistent in what they want to do and live up to their dreams even if their goals aren't traditionally associated with women. Then, it will widely open the door for women in many fields. To support both women's soccer players and women who are struggling in other fields, I want to go to watch a regular women's soccer game.

A legal restriction on the use of electricity has been just imposed in eastern Japan

Yesterday, on the 1st of July, the government imposed a legal restriction on the use of electricity in eastern Japan where almost all the power plants were seriously damaged by the 3/11earthquake and tsunami. The legal restriction was the first since the 1973 oil shock. Because these power plants haven't fully recovered yet, companies which use more than a certain amount of electricity are officially required to reduce electricity consumption by 15%. If they fail to meet the requirement, they will have to pay a fine. Other than those companies, no obligations have been imposed but everyone is strongly advised to cut electricity consumption by 15%. Since small companies and households consume about two-thirds of the total electricity used in the area, their efforts are also a key to avoiding sudden blackouts due to over capacity.

In eastern Japan, great efforts to cut electricity consumption have been constantly made since the 3/11 earthquake. Because of this, the restriction requires everybody to make further efforts in order to get through summer. In shopping malls, more lights than ever are off to keep air conditioning on. Although I'm already used to the dimness, to be honest, I was a little surprised by the darkness when I stopped by a shopping mall today.

Actually, to avoid sudden major power outages, it's also important to level electricity consumption. From this viewpoint, operations in some factories have been shifted mainly to night. Automobile industry announced about a month ago that their days off would be shifted form Saturdays and Sundays to Thursdays and Fridays, and then the shift was implemented the day before yesterday. The industry is so huge and has such a great influence on a lot of companies that it's expected that the shift will be effective in the leveling of electricity usage. On the other hand, a lot of workers who have days off on weekends and have to do with the industry can be forced to work during their days off. Some of my friends who are managers say in a resigned voice that the shift will surely deprive them of their days off. Since managers are usually not labor union members, they are often required to cover extra duties on special occasions. My friends complain that when they were young, they were forced to work long hours without fully getting overtime payment because of the Japanese working culture. Now that they are managers, they are required to work harder to cover duties of younger workers who are protected by their labor unions since companies are required to comply with the law more strictly than when they were young. Although they find it unreasonable, they tend to bow to the inevitable since it's very difficult for them to find a better working environment.

Anyway, in both April and May, I succeeded in reducing electricity consumption at home by 33% compared to the same month last year. I've realized how much I'd waste electricity.

Posters -Saving power-http://setsuden.tumblr.com/

This is the TEPCO electricity forecast, which I check:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/forecast/html/index-e.html

It's been three months since the 3/11 earthquake---Part 4: Radioactive contamination

A majority of Japanese people think that if the Fukushima disaster hadn't happened, Japan could recover much faster. Needless to say, the disaster has complicated the situation. Despite a large number of people working very hard under extremely dangerous circumstances, there is still no sign that the plant is getting back under control. Recently, it turned out that eight workers have already been exposed to over 250mSv of radiation, including internal exposure (The figure is the temporary radiation dose limit per year only for workers at this plant in response to the immediate crisis). Since there are so many workers from various industries at the plant that the capacity of measuring internal exposure doses cannot meet the demand. It's been said that for the workers, the radiation exposure control is very important because if the control isn't good enough to protect their health, it will end up spelling trouble for overcoming the crisis.

As time goes by, thanks to great efforts made by some specialists from various fields, NPOs and citizens' groups, the issue of which areas have been contaminated by radioactive materials is becoming clear. On top of that, local governments relatively far from Fukushima prefecture recently bowed to public pressure and finally started more detailed investigations on radiation levels. So far, it's been said that a large amount of radioactive materials which were emitted by hydrogen explosions on the 12th and 14th of March have caused a wide range of contamination. The contamination was mostly caused by the direction of the wind on those two days, and the rain on the 21st and 22nd. Because of this, the soil radiation levels aren't directly related to the distance from the Fukushima plant. On top of that, it has turned out that recent air radiation levels are almost proportional to soil radiation levels. It seems that at half a meter above ground the air radiation level is slightly higher than the air higher up. This shows that current radiation comes mainly from radioactive fallout of the soil.

Actually, what is bothering people the most is not knowing how to understand the radiation levels. Our government has ordered residences in some areas to evacuate and set the guidelines for protection from radiation, but some of the guidelines have been controversial since they was announced. Some specialists have been insisting that some guidelines are not safe enough to protect people, especially children. A lot of people are skeptical of the guidelines, assuming that the government must have set them not only from the viewpoint of safeguarding the health and safety of all the people but also from the viewpoint of various social impacts. On the other hand, some people don't pay enough attention to the guidelines. Given that health effects of low-level radiation exposure have been controversial even among specialists in the field because there isn't enough data on them, I think that people have no choice but to protect themselves and to figure out what to do by themselves based on various reliable information. However, some people don't seem to like to decide what to do by themselves. Some are at a loss as to what to believe and what to do. On the other hand, some people seem to be annoyed that they are being told what to do.

I hope that another strong aftershock won't hit the plant.

iRobot Roomba and PackBot

These days, iRobot Roombas, which are vacuum cleaning robots produced by iRobot Corporation, often come up in conversation with my friends. Some who have one insist that Roombas are amazing and work better than expected. Some are seriously thinking about purchasing them. Some are intrigued by them. Are Roombas popular in your country?

Speaking of iRobot Corporation, another kind of robot "PackBots" are playing a role in the crippled Fukushima nuclear plants. When it was announced that PackBots would be introduced there, I was wondering if there were no Japanese robots which could play roles there despite Japanese manufacturers having a high global market share of industrial robots. According to WSJ, like me, a lot of people worldwide were wondering if Asimo, which is produced by Honda, could play a role in the Fukushima plant. I've heard that American robots were introduced since they have experience in playing roles in battle fields whereas Japanese ones have no such experience.

Asahi newspaper reports that Japan has twice launched a project to develop robots which can play roles in case nuclear power plants have problems. The first project was launched in 1983 responding to the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident in 1979. Although twenty billion yen was invested, the project was terminated in 1990. The other one was launched right after the Tokaimura nuclear accident in 1999. However, the projected lasted only a year. The reason why it was scraped was it was thought no more serious accidents could happen.

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/04/20/the-little-robot-that-couldnt/

http://www.asahi.com/science/update/0422/OSK201104220027.html

Have Japanese people realized that they always have their guards down ?

Every time I move back to Japan from other countries, I realize how peaceful Japan is. Few people intend to steal things which have been left on tables at cafes. Nobody checks his bill before paying. Home electric appliances hardly ever break down. There are no problems with electricity, water, and gas supplies. Good services are provided without asking. Nobody needs to dispute with a taxi driver over his fare. would say that they are things that we can be proud of. However, I'm wondering if Japanese people have realized that they always have their guard down even after the 3/11 disaster.

Due to the peaceful atmosphere, many people aren't used to dealing with unexpected things. They are not good at making decisions by themselves on what to do under unexpected circumstances, especially when they have choices. When it comes to business, I think that Japanese companies still tend to lack awareness of risk and aren't good at risk management. As for myself, outside Japan, I prepare for any situation since things which are unlikely to happen in Japan could happen. If I don't try harder to persuade others to do something or I don't make decisions quickly, I won't survive outside Japan. This is not because I'm a foreigner there. In Japan, I'm still more vigilant than ordinary Japanese people, but I'm not as vigilant as when I'm outside Japan. I always try to keep in mind that anything could happen.

Anyway, I read an article in WSJ. The article says that American specialists appearing on TV are wondering why both TEPCO and the Japanese government haven't yet improved risk management on nuclear power plants despite Japan having such a large number of earthquakes. I'm wondering as well. When I'm looking at responses to the Fukushima plant taken by TEPCO and the government, I can't help but wonder if they didn't have a risk management plan, considering power plants could be disable by terrorists attacks and so on.

Speaking of the crippled Fukushima plant, there is still no sign that the plant is getting back under control, despite a lot of workers wrestling with problems under dangerous circumstances.

Nuclear power plant addiction !?

Last Friday, Prime Minister Kan urged the Chubu Electric Power Company/中部電力 to shut down the Hamaoka nuclear power plant 浜岡原発 until stronger defenses against earthquakes and tsunamis could be built there. Then, the day before yesterday, the company complied with the request. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to nuclear power plants before the Fukushima disaster. Still, I knew how controversial the Hamaoka plant has been for many years. Actually, it's been said that the area where the Hamaoka plant is located has the highest chance of being hit by a massive earthquake in the near future. On top of that, Shinkansen bullet trains -- important transportation to connect three major cities:Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya--run within 20 kilometers of the plant. A major highway that connects these three cities is also in these area. Given that, there is no wonder that the Hamaoka plant has been controversial.

Since the shutdown of the Hamaoka plant was announced, many local people living near the plant have shown mixed responses to it. The crippled Fukishima nuclear power plant seems to have inevitably heightened their concerns about the safety of the Hamaoka plant. From this viewpoint, the shutdown would relieve them and be good news for them. On the other hand, however, there are their concerns about their local economy and their city's finances. As a matter of fact, they and their city have been depending on the plant to varying degrees for many years - like other cities where nuclear power plants are located.

Towns, cities and prefectures where nuclear power plants are located can receive a large amount of central government subsidies and taxes related to the plants. Near nuclear power plants, there are good public facilities built with the subsidies. Since some of them look out of scale with what the residents really need, the local governments which built them are sometimes criticized for not making effective use of the subsidies. I've heard that a town near the crippled Fukushima plant has been suffering from financial difficulties mainly because the public facilities built with these subsidies requires high maintenance and operation costs. It's been said that the town made decisions to build them without due deliberation. Other than this, it's reported that another city where a nuclear power plant is located has already requested an electric power company to build two more reactors in the plant in order to improve its finance.

As you can see, once local governments start relying on subsidies, taxes and businesses relating to nuclear power plants, they won't be able to get out of the dependence. Because of the addiction, nuclear power plants are expressed in such a way that they are like drugs , and the phrase "nuclear power plant addiction/原発中毒" is used.

http://www.gns.ne.jp/eng/g-ken/doukan/agr_454.htm

http://bukogera.com/up/toden5.pdf
http://www2.dengen.or.jp/html/leaf/seido/files/richigaiyo-201003.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/business/energy-environment/08nrc.html?_r=1&ref=energy-environment　

It's been about a month since the nightmare. Need somebody who can stop aftershocks.

It's been about a month since the nightmare.　Although there is growing concern about the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, even people in the most severely damaged areas have started getting back on their feet. However, mother nature is really cruel. As you may know, last night, another very powerful aftershock hit the Tohoku/東北 and Kantou/関東 areas again. During the aftershock, I was saying in my mind, "Hey, Fukushima nuclear power plant. Hold on! Please hold on" while I was pushing a bookshelf back against the wall at home in Chiba. Although we've gotten used to earthquakes because we've felt more than one thousand quakes since the devastating earthquake, that strong one reminded us of when the 3.11 earthquake hit Japan. It makes us feel shaken up and discourages us--especially the victims-- from moving on. Electricity, water and gas supply services which had just recovered in some disaster-stricken areas stopped again after the strong aftershock.

It's reported that due to the 3.11 earthquake, a sea plate about 200 kilometers from Miyagi prefecture moved about 55 meters southeast, and the range of the movement is 55 kilometers wide and 160 kilometers long. How immense nature's power is.

Anyway, as the concern about the Fukushima plant is growing, many people in the Tokyo area seem to be wondering what to do and how to protect themselves amid a flurry of speculation on the internet. A lot of people are skeptical about the information from both TEPCO and the government. I'm amazed at their inability to deliver reliable information. Their ineptness fuels anxiety and anger. I understand that Tepco is in a tumble since they are required to recover not only the nuclear power plant but also countless other their facilities damaged by the massive earthquake and tsunami. However, every time I see TEPCO making an announcement at a press conference, I realize that TEPCO is a monopoly and their culture is outdated and bureaucratic.

In Japan, unpredictable things have happened and will surely continue to happen. Even I've noticed some diplomatic games related to the disaster. Under these circumstances, I feel like I have no choice but to struggle to survive based on my decisions while trying to enjoy my life. I really appreciate thoughts, supports and donations worldwide. They can't help but make me wonder if I'd pay enough attention to people worldwide who really need help.

It's been about three weeks since mother nature attacked us.

If you go to downtown Tokyo now, it'll feel like everything is normal. Only four things: people trying to raise money for the disaster-stricken areas, some places suffering from soil liquefaction, darker downtown at night and shortages of some goods will make you realize that the devastating earthquake hit Japan three weeks ago. However, if you don't know Tokyo before the disaster happened, you may not be aware of the darkness and the shortages. As a matter of fact, many people in the Tokyo area have already gotten used to the new changes, realizing how conformable and convenient their lives used to be.

Although Tokyo is seemingly normal, even people there are struggling to discover how to cheer themselves up. We've realized that Japan will be considered as a contaminated country for the next few decades. We'll be required to prove that manufactured products aren't contaminated even if they are produced in places far from Fukushima. These things will very seriously damage our economy. In the competitive global market, competitors worldwide will take advantage of the disaster. Tax increases and pay cuts are inevitable. We'll need to support the victims in the next decade at least while struggling to develop a new economic model and system. Although my house wasn't damaged by the massive quake, I can still think of endless difficulties I'll have to encounter, and then it took me more than two weeks to prepare myself for struggling with these difficulties. Que sera sera / Whatever will be, will be!

Actually, children inspire me to struggle with these difficulties. I don't know why. I don't have a child, but many children in the disaster-stricken areas on TV make me feel like I have an obligation to keep a stiff upper lip and move on. I really hope that we'll be able to transform the disaster into an opportunity to change.

As for the Fukushima nuclear power plant, we are very sorry that there is still no sign that the plant gettingunder control. I acknowledge that the plant remains in critical condition. In order to be able to protect and prepare myself, I've read various articles on radiation. Actually, I was a little shocked to learn that the normal radiation level in the air in Guangzhou, China are higher than the current radiation levels in Chiba and Tokyo since I lived in Guangzhou for two years.

According to Bloomberg, many countries have naturally occurring radiation levels that exceed Tokyo’s (Please see Link #1 below). A few days ago, cherry blossoms/sakura started blooming in Tokyo, and the controversial pandas at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo were opened to the public. The pandas came to Japan from China one and half months ago and were supposed to be opened to the public two weeks ago. They experienced massive earthquakes in both Sichuan and Tokyo. How pitiful! They started playing an important role in helping people cheer up.

Anyway, I really appreciate thoughts and concern worldwide. Many victims of another devastating earthquake - which hit Kobe 16 years ago - say that people's concern made them move on.

Link #1

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-01/hong-kong-radiation-exceeds-tokyo-even-after-japan-crisis.html

How stupid we are. The current crisis has made us realize many things.

It's been 65 years since Japan lost the Second World War. However, there are still lawsuits against the Japanese government over compensation for exposure to radiation caused by the atomic bombs in 1945. Although our government has approved people who can meet conditions required by law as victims and compensated them, the conditions have been controversial because it's very difficult to identify victims who suffer from secondary or internal exposure to radiation.

When I was a child, my mother would always say to me, "Don't let yourself be exposed to the rain. The rain could be harmful ". At the time, nuclear tests were frequently carried out by some countries like the Soviet Union and America. Japanese people understood that nuclear tests were carried out so far away from Japan that the radiation levels in the rain were low and the rain was not likely to be detrimental to their health. Still, they were worried about secondary exposure to radiation through the rain since it was very well-known in Japan that a lot of people had been exposed to radiation in the black rain that fell right after the atomic bombs were dropped. As a matter of fact, when China carried out nuclear tests, radiation levels in Tokyo were higher than usual. Recently, I learned that radiation levels in Tokyo right after the nuclear tests in China were higher than the levels in Tokyo after radiation started leaking from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Anyway, I think that these experiences have been almost forgotten in the past two decades. On top of that, although Japan depends greatly on nuclear power, I suppose that many of us underestimated the risk of it.

Actually, the current crisis has made us realize many things. We've finally realized what it means to live in an eco-friendly way. We've realized how much we used to waste. We've realized how comforting simple phrases like "hello" and "Are you OK?" can be. We've realized how many people support us. Thank you very much!

I hope that Japan's crisis will help make the Chinese people aware of something important.

It's been a week since the nightmare. As time goes by, more details have been revealed. We have to face harsh reality. It has been said that there are still isolated places which some people have temporarily evacuated to but haven't yet been discovered. To make matters worse, some survivors at shelters died due to terrible conditions: lack of water, food, and the cold weather. Because the massive earthquake hit such a wide area of Japan (about 500 kilometers long), we've been having a very hard time transporting necessary goods to the disaster-stricken areas. On top of that, since refineries at many places, even near Tokyo, have been also damaged, we have been suffering from a serious shortage of gas.

As for the crippled nuclear power plant at Fukushima, I have no choice but to pray that the situation won't be worse, watching carefully to see whether or not our government discloses everything about the situation. So far, I don't plan on leaving Tokyo Chiba, but I try to get information from as many sources including those overseas.We are really sorry for making people scared worldwide.

I've heard that radiation leaks from the plant have caused panics in China. It's been reported that salt has disappeared from many supermarkets in China since a lot of people believe that salt will be effective when they are exposed to radiation.I really understand how much they are worried. However, I want to say something to the Chinese people.If you really care about your health, I strongly advise you to pay more attention to your environment. When I lived in Guangzhou, China a few years ago, to be honest, I felt that my heath was likely to be damaged due to air pollution and sick houses. I don't intend to rationalize our nuclear crisis. Needless to say, Tokyo Electric Power and our government deserve to be criticized. After the plant is under control, they will have an obligation to examine whether or not there were problems with risk management and to announce it.

On top of that, I hope that our crisis will inspire Chinese people to pay attention to contaminated areas in Xinjiang/新疆, China, although nobody knows exactly what is going on there. It has been said that the Chinese government carried out nuclear testing many times there and a large number of local people died due to exposure to radiation. It has been projected that since the Chinese government didn't announce anything about the situation of the contaminated areas, a lot of people there still suffer from cancers and congenital disorders.I've watched a documentary created by Channel 4 in the UK about that areas. The situation was serious.

I really hope that Japan will be able to deal with the nuclear problem well. In the past few days, the number of aftershocks has significantly reduced. However, it's expected that aftershocks will continue in the next six months.