People willing to get married. People willing to get divorced.

The 3/11 earthquake has made people realize that they need to have somebody around. People who used to enjoy living alone have started feeling insecure. In downtown Tokyo, some traditional style, casual restaurants where you can feel the warmth were very crowded for a few months after the massive earthquake (please click here). Many people have been encouraged to get married. Travel plans for three generations (the extended family) have become more popular. The Japanese word "絆/Kizuna (bonds or ties)" was selected as the word to describe the Japan of 2011. All in all, people have become more concerned about others, despite a clear tendency before the earthquake for people to be less concerned about or indifferent to others.

On the 11th day of every month, more news related to the 3/11 earthquake is reported. According to recent news, in the tsunami-stricken areas, people who are thinking about divorce have been sharply increasing. The differences in opinion on how to cope with their enormous difficulties and move on have caused rifts between couples. Some insist that due to the disaster, some critical gaps which they were never aware of have emerged. It seems that sticking to what they believe or what they want is the only way to overcome the difficulties for some victims. Come to think about it, when you are stretched thin, it would be very hard for you to listen to others and discuss issues.

Speaking of divorce, I've heard that gaps in the perception of the radioactive contamination have pushed some couples to think about divorce. Mothers tend to think about what to do based on the worst case scenario because they always give first priority to protecting their children. However, some fathers don't try to understand what their wives are worried about, saying that the worst case scenarios that their wives have assumed are unlikely to happen. As time goes by, more people have become able to think about and discuss what to do rationally, but there still seems to be many couples who are struggling to bridge the gaps in each other's perceptions.

It's been already ten months since the earthquake. However, there hasn't been significant progress yet. Yesterday, Prime Minister Noda reshuffled his cabinet in order to make his big policy push. Although I hope that he'll never give in, I've been recently feeling that whoever becomes a leader, he/she will take quite some time to implement policy under the current political system and climate. I've been really tired of the situation where politicians criticize a policy without suggesting an alternative idea.