Hi,
So as I'm leaving Japan many people ask me what i thought was the most surprising, or what i will miss about Japan. There are many obvious things that makes Japan exciting and special to visit, like this different kinds of cafes (maid cafes/cat cafes etc), the harajuku-style of dressing, the video game mania etc. But I thought i'd point out some more day-to-day things that you don't always read about in a guidebook. Check out my list.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Monday 28 March 2011
Written sunday 27/03
At this point in time you are more likely to be better informed about the possibility of impending doom in japan than I am!
Even though I have fully prepared for my departure to Tokyo, I, rather sillily haven't had the time nor mental patience to keep up to date with the nuclear situation as I was doing a little while back.
The status as I know it is this: as the situation gets neither better or worse (the latter thanks to the hard work of those soldiers at the plant) the government is rather unpleased with TEPCo (even though they should be fuming - apparently the backup generators were outside the building, didn't know this), the managing company of the plant, for keeping knowledge of high radiation levels in the air a secret shortly after the earthquake, as well as their inadequate gear the workers were given to use!
The good news seems to be that some electricity has been restored to several of the reactors and that the amount of radiation in the air is decreasing.
On the bad side of things, most farmers in the area have lost their cost of living, due to extremely high levels of radioactive isotopes found in farm produce mainly milk and leafy vegetables. Radioactive elements are also being detected in the water, which sent a lot of people into a temporary scared mode, but let it be known that the japanese government's legal limits are abiout 1/10th of those set by the IEAE, as well as these levels are dropping too. The current problem is slightly more complicated, and also probably a result of knowledge previously untold, where not ONLY radioactive iodine-131 and caesium-133 have been detected by other isotopes as well which are only ever produced as a byproduct of nuclear fission - this means that the spent fuel rods slightly started up again and have leaked from "unknown places" into the water.
Figures presented by TEPCo only mentioned water in teh system outside the reactor but never mentioned any water outside this. I'm also curious about the far more health-threatening uranium and plutonium. There was a report on TV of police who went had to go into the 20km evacuation zone after a woman called, worried about her parents. The old lady & her husband were still living there, off of what food i don't know, and they refused the leave (the husband was unable to walk). In the end all they could do was tell them to stay inside.
Over 10,000 confirmed dead and almost 18,000 missing. They're estimating the wave that hit Minamisanriku was 14-16m high. How can you prepare yourself for that?
Life in Nagoya has gone on as normal. We don't get blackouts here as northern Japan is on a 50kHz scale and southern is on a 60kHz scale - apparently a result of post-war options of different energy systems and the sides chose differently.
Tokyo isn't experiencing any more blackouts and trains are running almost like normal, except for in the evening, where there are slightly fewer trains.
It's been tough heading up there - mainly stress from moving disasters. Basically, it was all a mess in my room & there were 4 things i needed to sort out:
1. was selling some things to someone in nagoya but she was getting back to me slowly, in the end not at all and i ended up having to carry all the heavy stuff to a recycling center near my house
2. I had been offered help by someone to help me get my sofa to a different recycling store. The person got back to me so late the shop was closed to I had to illegally dump it somewhere.
3. I needed to send some boxed home but the companies couldn't pick them up on the weekend and then i started worrying about the price too, but my Japanese friend helped me figure out that sea mail with the normal post is actually cheap, and I could drop it off any time. Saying that, just after i sent them a friend told me about her disaster with sending boxes home and I started to worry. NOT what i needed at the time
4. I was going to forward my suitcase & futon to Tokyo (a great service they have in japan) but the futon turned out to be too big so I ended up having to carry it by hand which was ridiculously havy.
On top of all this the bed i booked in Tokyo hasn't been vacated uet and so the company have had to put me up in a toom in Asakusa, far from Harajuku where i'd wanted to be, and i'm going to have to move again in a few days time.
I'm publishing this from my room in Tokyo, where I've finally managed to arrive safe and sound though a lot worse for wear. This has made me a little more susceptible to fear about the earthquake and radiation, but I feel that tomorrow, after a good nights sleep and scouting out the city, I will be in a much better state of mind.
I have a feeling that every single Japanese I meet here will tell me I'm "brave", I've heard it 4 times so far!
Even though I have fully prepared for my departure to Tokyo, I, rather sillily haven't had the time nor mental patience to keep up to date with the nuclear situation as I was doing a little while back.
The status as I know it is this: as the situation gets neither better or worse (the latter thanks to the hard work of those soldiers at the plant) the government is rather unpleased with TEPCo (even though they should be fuming - apparently the backup generators were outside the building, didn't know this), the managing company of the plant, for keeping knowledge of high radiation levels in the air a secret shortly after the earthquake, as well as their inadequate gear the workers were given to use!
The good news seems to be that some electricity has been restored to several of the reactors and that the amount of radiation in the air is decreasing.
On the bad side of things, most farmers in the area have lost their cost of living, due to extremely high levels of radioactive isotopes found in farm produce mainly milk and leafy vegetables. Radioactive elements are also being detected in the water, which sent a lot of people into a temporary scared mode, but let it be known that the japanese government's legal limits are abiout 1/10th of those set by the IEAE, as well as these levels are dropping too. The current problem is slightly more complicated, and also probably a result of knowledge previously untold, where not ONLY radioactive iodine-131 and caesium-133 have been detected by other isotopes as well which are only ever produced as a byproduct of nuclear fission - this means that the spent fuel rods slightly started up again and have leaked from "unknown places" into the water.
Figures presented by TEPCo only mentioned water in teh system outside the reactor but never mentioned any water outside this. I'm also curious about the far more health-threatening uranium and plutonium. There was a report on TV of police who went had to go into the 20km evacuation zone after a woman called, worried about her parents. The old lady & her husband were still living there, off of what food i don't know, and they refused the leave (the husband was unable to walk). In the end all they could do was tell them to stay inside.
Over 10,000 confirmed dead and almost 18,000 missing. They're estimating the wave that hit Minamisanriku was 14-16m high. How can you prepare yourself for that?
Life in Nagoya has gone on as normal. We don't get blackouts here as northern Japan is on a 50kHz scale and southern is on a 60kHz scale - apparently a result of post-war options of different energy systems and the sides chose differently.
Tokyo isn't experiencing any more blackouts and trains are running almost like normal, except for in the evening, where there are slightly fewer trains.
It's been tough heading up there - mainly stress from moving disasters. Basically, it was all a mess in my room & there were 4 things i needed to sort out:
1. was selling some things to someone in nagoya but she was getting back to me slowly, in the end not at all and i ended up having to carry all the heavy stuff to a recycling center near my house
2. I had been offered help by someone to help me get my sofa to a different recycling store. The person got back to me so late the shop was closed to I had to illegally dump it somewhere.
3. I needed to send some boxed home but the companies couldn't pick them up on the weekend and then i started worrying about the price too, but my Japanese friend helped me figure out that sea mail with the normal post is actually cheap, and I could drop it off any time. Saying that, just after i sent them a friend told me about her disaster with sending boxes home and I started to worry. NOT what i needed at the time
4. I was going to forward my suitcase & futon to Tokyo (a great service they have in japan) but the futon turned out to be too big so I ended up having to carry it by hand which was ridiculously havy.
On top of all this the bed i booked in Tokyo hasn't been vacated uet and so the company have had to put me up in a toom in Asakusa, far from Harajuku where i'd wanted to be, and i'm going to have to move again in a few days time.
I'm publishing this from my room in Tokyo, where I've finally managed to arrive safe and sound though a lot worse for wear. This has made me a little more susceptible to fear about the earthquake and radiation, but I feel that tomorrow, after a good nights sleep and scouting out the city, I will be in a much better state of mind.
I have a feeling that every single Japanese I meet here will tell me I'm "brave", I've heard it 4 times so far!
Monday 21 March 2011
Contaminated food fears thrown out of proportion
With the escalated disputes (seems folly to call them something so tame) in Libya, it’s clear that the posting of devastating stories and the suffering happening up north is pushed aside all together to only make room for a short piece on the current nuclear episode.
Not that I feel Japan deserves any special attention – after all, how long did New Zealand, Haiti or the tsunami in Indonesia stay in the news for? The media loses interest, and, shocking as it is to say, people start becoming desensitised.
However, the coming weeks will bring us the most heart-wrenching stories. When the 350,000 people living in evacuation centers will come to realise what has become of their homes and families (after all – they don’t have a TV). Miraculous stories of those struggling to survive – as the story of the boy and his grandmother showed us (he had a body temperature of 28 and doesn’t remember much of how they survived, rationing out a few snacks). Rescue workers are saying they don’t want to show the families the bodies they find amongst the rubble as their faces have turned purple, body parts are crushed, and crabs & other sea critters nibble away at the remnants of what used to be a human being. The psychological damage will prove an interesting challenge, as the Japanese aren’t known to give this part of well being a lot of attention. This article in the Economist provides an interesting few stories from different emotional perspectives:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/03/portraits_japans_disaster
As the struggle with (mainly) reactor 3 continues, reactors 1 and 2 are looking positive that, if all machinery proves functionable, cooling should start up again soon. The water temperature at all 6 reactors is now below 100 degrees Celsius, which doesn’t seem that amazing but not long ago it measures about 196 in one of the reactors. There has been detection of about 5 radioactive elements in the area in the air, which are released when nuclear fission occurs (possibly from some of the spent rods) but nothing in any way alarming.
Data now seems to be released in a unit called Becquerel, which is mainly used when talking about contaminated food. This refers to the number of nuclei that decay per second which I’m presuming refers to the way your body deals with it. The legal allowance is 300Bq/kg (iodine) for water, milk and other diary products, and 2000Bq/Kg (iodine) for vegetables. Five times this much iodine has been measured in the milk near Fukushima, and seven times this much iodine in spinach from Ibaraki. However, the government has stated that by showering in the water you do not absorb the iodine, just don’t drink it. That being said, there is only sustained damage from these products if consumed over a long period of time (and Japanese tap water is one of the cleanest around the world anyway). According to the government, drinking the contaminated milk for a year would expose you to less accumulated radiation than from 1 CT scan. And no one thinks twice about a CT scan.
At this point, I get the impression that the government is handling the situation extremely well – very calm and (most importantly) they are trying to keep everyone else that way by being incredibly transparent – the government even has a website that it updates twice daily with full radiation detection data around Japan. So if you’re looking for a good English-language news source in japan, the Japan Times or NHK World service in English is your best bet.
Not that I feel Japan deserves any special attention – after all, how long did New Zealand, Haiti or the tsunami in Indonesia stay in the news for? The media loses interest, and, shocking as it is to say, people start becoming desensitised.
However, the coming weeks will bring us the most heart-wrenching stories. When the 350,000 people living in evacuation centers will come to realise what has become of their homes and families (after all – they don’t have a TV). Miraculous stories of those struggling to survive – as the story of the boy and his grandmother showed us (he had a body temperature of 28 and doesn’t remember much of how they survived, rationing out a few snacks). Rescue workers are saying they don’t want to show the families the bodies they find amongst the rubble as their faces have turned purple, body parts are crushed, and crabs & other sea critters nibble away at the remnants of what used to be a human being. The psychological damage will prove an interesting challenge, as the Japanese aren’t known to give this part of well being a lot of attention. This article in the Economist provides an interesting few stories from different emotional perspectives:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/03/portraits_japans_disaster
As the struggle with (mainly) reactor 3 continues, reactors 1 and 2 are looking positive that, if all machinery proves functionable, cooling should start up again soon. The water temperature at all 6 reactors is now below 100 degrees Celsius, which doesn’t seem that amazing but not long ago it measures about 196 in one of the reactors. There has been detection of about 5 radioactive elements in the area in the air, which are released when nuclear fission occurs (possibly from some of the spent rods) but nothing in any way alarming.
Data now seems to be released in a unit called Becquerel, which is mainly used when talking about contaminated food. This refers to the number of nuclei that decay per second which I’m presuming refers to the way your body deals with it. The legal allowance is 300Bq/kg (iodine) for water, milk and other diary products, and 2000Bq/Kg (iodine) for vegetables. Five times this much iodine has been measured in the milk near Fukushima, and seven times this much iodine in spinach from Ibaraki. However, the government has stated that by showering in the water you do not absorb the iodine, just don’t drink it. That being said, there is only sustained damage from these products if consumed over a long period of time (and Japanese tap water is one of the cleanest around the world anyway). According to the government, drinking the contaminated milk for a year would expose you to less accumulated radiation than from 1 CT scan. And no one thinks twice about a CT scan.
At this point, I get the impression that the government is handling the situation extremely well – very calm and (most importantly) they are trying to keep everyone else that way by being incredibly transparent – the government even has a website that it updates twice daily with full radiation detection data around Japan. So if you’re looking for a good English-language news source in japan, the Japan Times or NHK World service in English is your best bet.
Saturday 19 March 2011
Things are looking calmer - one hell of a week!
Another update here from the Japan-side of things. I will admit it's not always as up to date as it may be as I am getting more distracted getting ready to move to Tokyo (yes, I am NOT changing my plans), and always hearing the same news over and over wears you down.
Things aren't looking up as such, if that's at all possible, things just seemed to have calmed down. As time wears on, the foreign media has gotten bored hyping up the situation here (and distracted by the continuing war in Libya) it seems, Japanese feel a little less edgy as a result of fewer earthquake 'warnings', and the ongoing messages of - there's no health-damaging radiation risk! - seem to be taking some effect.
Foreigners continue to flee the area, as well as the country, following their embassies' recommendations, but Yukio Edano, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, has skillfully put it by saying "that Japan is issuing its information and warnings based on scientific data."
An undertone of criticism i wonder (though he said japan'd probably do the same if the situation were reversed). Either way, the WHO even issued a statement saying that any radiation outside the evacuation zones were in no way threatening to public health! The Dutch embassy has kept its cool a little too well (the Dutch being very reluctant to send aid workers at all!) and reserved 2 KLM flights for those wanting to fly back home (at your own cost of course), but I am reassured by the fact that The Netherlands is sending over preventative iodine tablets, so anyone with a Dutch passport or related to someone who has one is able to pick up a few of these bad boys. I may join in the crowd, just for ease of mind.
The status at the powers plants (as I know it) is that the cooling systems for reactors 2 and 6 have been deemed operable, and 5 is expected to start up soon. The power cables built to reactors 1 and 2 are expected to be done by the end of today but whether these reactors are still safe to use or not may take a while to assess. Power cables to reactors 3 and 4 are expected to be up by the end of tomorrow. They're still continuing spraying on to reactor 3, which seems to be giving the most trouble. Radiation is still in the 3,000 microsieverts and there is mention of fluctuations in levels but no one seems to be able to give a good answer yet as to whether these are the result of spraying or not.
A real shout-out should go to all those workers trying their best to cool the spent fuel rods and to keep the situation under control. Some of them are just volunteers - engineers, some almost at retirement age, exposing themselves to very harmful levels of radiation battling this monster through desperate measures, as there is no one who has any experience on what to do at this point. Due to the severity of the situation the japanese government has even raised the limit of exposure allowed as most have exposed themselves beyond that per shift anyway (they can only work in short shifts at a time). The current level of the disaster on the 7-step scale of nuclear disasters (with chernobyl being a 7) to a 5, the same as the aforementioned three-mile island. Long-term damage will take a long time to assess.
And as time wears on you hear some amazing stories of people's determination in the area - the amounts of volunteers and community help and effort, a 4-month-old baby found alone amongst the rubble, dogs sticking together like pals, and just now another one of a young man who had fled after the 1st tsunami only to come back and pass out. Foreigners who are in the area who are trying their best to get basic needs met and to preoccupy the kids.
However, the death toll is now over 7000 with at least another 13000 unaccounted for. About 500 foreign nationals seem to be missing. The stories of the elderly who couldn't keep up with the younger community members when running from the tsunami, dying from exhaustion, hypothermia or hunger. There's a hall in Sendai, with 300 coffins full of John Doe corpses, and just imagine having to look at each one with the fear that the next may be your loved one. Just reaching the area your loved one may be is increasingly difficult as entire roads have been destroyed and covered up by rubble. The government is even saying there are probably more missing but there have as of yet been no reports as entire families may have been lost.
I tried to donate some blood yesterday; it turns out I can't, ever, donate blood as a result of the BSE epidemic in Belgium almost 30 years ago. Thanks a lot.
In a rather off-topic note on blood types - japanese take these very seriously! They think a person's personality is reflected in their blood type, so it's no uncommon to be asked after your bloodtype by someone you hardly know. Apparently, a person with O is very flexible and will match anyone, a A person is sincere and pays attention to detail, B's do what they want, regardless of other people, and AB people are smart but are strange. I've seen the same as our horroscopes in news papers but with blood types (apparently an A woman and a B man don't match).
Things aren't looking up as such, if that's at all possible, things just seemed to have calmed down. As time wears on, the foreign media has gotten bored hyping up the situation here (and distracted by the continuing war in Libya) it seems, Japanese feel a little less edgy as a result of fewer earthquake 'warnings', and the ongoing messages of - there's no health-damaging radiation risk! - seem to be taking some effect.
Foreigners continue to flee the area, as well as the country, following their embassies' recommendations, but Yukio Edano, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, has skillfully put it by saying "that Japan is issuing its information and warnings based on scientific data."
An undertone of criticism i wonder (though he said japan'd probably do the same if the situation were reversed). Either way, the WHO even issued a statement saying that any radiation outside the evacuation zones were in no way threatening to public health! The Dutch embassy has kept its cool a little too well (the Dutch being very reluctant to send aid workers at all!) and reserved 2 KLM flights for those wanting to fly back home (at your own cost of course), but I am reassured by the fact that The Netherlands is sending over preventative iodine tablets, so anyone with a Dutch passport or related to someone who has one is able to pick up a few of these bad boys. I may join in the crowd, just for ease of mind.
The status at the powers plants (as I know it) is that the cooling systems for reactors 2 and 6 have been deemed operable, and 5 is expected to start up soon. The power cables built to reactors 1 and 2 are expected to be done by the end of today but whether these reactors are still safe to use or not may take a while to assess. Power cables to reactors 3 and 4 are expected to be up by the end of tomorrow. They're still continuing spraying on to reactor 3, which seems to be giving the most trouble. Radiation is still in the 3,000 microsieverts and there is mention of fluctuations in levels but no one seems to be able to give a good answer yet as to whether these are the result of spraying or not.
A real shout-out should go to all those workers trying their best to cool the spent fuel rods and to keep the situation under control. Some of them are just volunteers - engineers, some almost at retirement age, exposing themselves to very harmful levels of radiation battling this monster through desperate measures, as there is no one who has any experience on what to do at this point. Due to the severity of the situation the japanese government has even raised the limit of exposure allowed as most have exposed themselves beyond that per shift anyway (they can only work in short shifts at a time). The current level of the disaster on the 7-step scale of nuclear disasters (with chernobyl being a 7) to a 5, the same as the aforementioned three-mile island. Long-term damage will take a long time to assess.
And as time wears on you hear some amazing stories of people's determination in the area - the amounts of volunteers and community help and effort, a 4-month-old baby found alone amongst the rubble, dogs sticking together like pals, and just now another one of a young man who had fled after the 1st tsunami only to come back and pass out. Foreigners who are in the area who are trying their best to get basic needs met and to preoccupy the kids.
However, the death toll is now over 7000 with at least another 13000 unaccounted for. About 500 foreign nationals seem to be missing. The stories of the elderly who couldn't keep up with the younger community members when running from the tsunami, dying from exhaustion, hypothermia or hunger. There's a hall in Sendai, with 300 coffins full of John Doe corpses, and just imagine having to look at each one with the fear that the next may be your loved one. Just reaching the area your loved one may be is increasingly difficult as entire roads have been destroyed and covered up by rubble. The government is even saying there are probably more missing but there have as of yet been no reports as entire families may have been lost.
I tried to donate some blood yesterday; it turns out I can't, ever, donate blood as a result of the BSE epidemic in Belgium almost 30 years ago. Thanks a lot.
In a rather off-topic note on blood types - japanese take these very seriously! They think a person's personality is reflected in their blood type, so it's no uncommon to be asked after your bloodtype by someone you hardly know. Apparently, a person with O is very flexible and will match anyone, a A person is sincere and pays attention to detail, B's do what they want, regardless of other people, and AB people are smart but are strange. I've seen the same as our horroscopes in news papers but with blood types (apparently an A woman and a B man don't match).
Thursday 17 March 2011
Definitive cancellation of middle-east plans
Due to the escalating situation in Syria, I have now decided to completely abandon my travel plans for the middle-east for the time being.
I am sure that many of you will be happy to hear that! (for safety concerns of course)
Developments in Japan are that the disaster region's death toll keep rising - there are now over 15000 deaths & unaccounted for. A number I'd never expected to see a few days ago. Other than the rising death toll, there's no other major changes - still aftershocks of just under 6. With the weather being so extreme (cold that is) there was worry of an unexpected power outage due to people using too much energy to keep their houses warm etc. And now weather forecasts are saying up to 17 degrees again on Saturday.
With the situation at the power plant foreigners continue to flee the country, partly on their own account and partly because the embassy recommends them to do so. Most of the people I know though are remaining extremely cool about it, which is the way it should be, and we even like the fact that now more jobs are opening up to those not so cowardly!
The power plants are still not in a state of recovery yet, but the Japanese have been working hard at fixing a power line, and they are currently saying they expect it to be running by tomorrow to reactor 1. This doesn't mean the immediate danger is over, but at least water pumping may be resumed in part, which would help calm things down significantly. Still, no noteworthy changes in radiation level have been noticed, both by independent persons and from government measurements.
That is all the news i have to say at this late hour.
I, on the other hand, have been very distracted getting ready to move, and have started my goodbyes as of tonight.
I am sure that many of you will be happy to hear that! (for safety concerns of course)
Developments in Japan are that the disaster region's death toll keep rising - there are now over 15000 deaths & unaccounted for. A number I'd never expected to see a few days ago. Other than the rising death toll, there's no other major changes - still aftershocks of just under 6. With the weather being so extreme (cold that is) there was worry of an unexpected power outage due to people using too much energy to keep their houses warm etc. And now weather forecasts are saying up to 17 degrees again on Saturday.
With the situation at the power plant foreigners continue to flee the country, partly on their own account and partly because the embassy recommends them to do so. Most of the people I know though are remaining extremely cool about it, which is the way it should be, and we even like the fact that now more jobs are opening up to those not so cowardly!
The power plants are still not in a state of recovery yet, but the Japanese have been working hard at fixing a power line, and they are currently saying they expect it to be running by tomorrow to reactor 1. This doesn't mean the immediate danger is over, but at least water pumping may be resumed in part, which would help calm things down significantly. Still, no noteworthy changes in radiation level have been noticed, both by independent persons and from government measurements.
That is all the news i have to say at this late hour.
I, on the other hand, have been very distracted getting ready to move, and have started my goodbyes as of tonight.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
panic buying
Another quick update from me on the volatile situation over east here!
As scary as it is to say, it feels like the disaster is getting closer. We had a quake in shizuoka prefecture, the one bordering north of Aichi (where Nagoya is located) yesterday by Fuji at a magnitude of about 6.4, felt down here as a 3 or so. I did feel this one! And i was about ready to grab my emergency pack and run outside.
Everyone is very tense over here, not just the foreigners! The latter seem to be fleeing the country, with some governments calling people back and offering free flights. The number of tourists and business travelers now unaccounted for are around 900 so far.
As far as the Japanese are concerned - as I previously stated 'there is another earthquake to come'. There has been a prediction for a major earthquake in the Tokai region (just south of Tokyo) for a while, and I thought at first this one was it but it turns out it's NOT. This one has nothing to do with that one. However, how much this one has affected the likelihood of the earthquake just south on the faultline people don't know, as there is no way to detect the amount of energy located at a certain place on the earth's crust (therefore also exactly how big it will be is difficult to measure) - for more information see: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/03/was-fridays-quake-tokyos-expec.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
There was an earthquake this morning just north of this area registered at a 6 in Ibaraki prefecture... it just doesn't stop.
So yes, even panic buying is happening down here, with cup noodles (because japanese have portable kerosene stoves) and the accompanying kerosene is almost sold out in the stores, toilet paper gone, batteries being bought in mass quantities. I think people are just so scared is that they've never had this much uncertainty hang over their heads... ever. And as word-of-mouth warnings of earthquake tomorrow! pass on from person to person, it's hard not to feel a little on edge yourself, no matter how much you try and calm other people down. And as a result of panic buying, not enough resources are being sent north. Catch-22.
The weather isn't helping people live normally as it's all being messed-up: we've had lovely days of up to 15 degrees yesterday and the day before, today it's CONSIDERABLY colder with very very short bursts of hail and snow, followed by clear blue sky. I was riding my bike with gloves today! Seems the weather may delay the cherry-blossom season a little, which might be appropriate for solidarity reasons.
As far as the most news-worthy disaster is concerned - the nuclear power plants are in a little bit of a pickle. Even the Japanese government isn't sure on how to cool them down, with airplanes trying to pour water on it from the top. This morning there was an explosion in reactor 4 at Fukushima Daiichi (though the news was very clear to state that reactors 1 and 3 had hydrogen explosions but 2 and 4 only had explosions) and white smoke was coming out of reactor 3 - though a clarification of what white smoke means compared to black smoke wasn't given (or i couldn't understand the Japanese). reactors 5 and 6's cooling systems stopped, but no other damage yet.
HOWEVER. Despite all the sensationalisations from the media, the radiation levels are not anywhere near critical. Tokyo is not going to be threatened by a chernobyl-esque explosion. And it's very important to remember this. The 30km radius is enough to protect people from health damage in the worst case scenario.
And although there have been higher levels than normal detected in Tokyo, it is nowhere near threatening.
So, i would like to request people to focus back on to what started this whole mess to begin with and donate! Money is the biggest problem in large-scale devastations like this. Someone put quite nicely (i think) - man up for japan. Man being a pun on the japanese value of 1 mann, or 10,000 yen - about 90 pounds/93 euros or so.
If you don't trust organisations, then donate directly to the Japanese red cross. I have.
As scary as it is to say, it feels like the disaster is getting closer. We had a quake in shizuoka prefecture, the one bordering north of Aichi (where Nagoya is located) yesterday by Fuji at a magnitude of about 6.4, felt down here as a 3 or so. I did feel this one! And i was about ready to grab my emergency pack and run outside.
Everyone is very tense over here, not just the foreigners! The latter seem to be fleeing the country, with some governments calling people back and offering free flights. The number of tourists and business travelers now unaccounted for are around 900 so far.
As far as the Japanese are concerned - as I previously stated 'there is another earthquake to come'. There has been a prediction for a major earthquake in the Tokai region (just south of Tokyo) for a while, and I thought at first this one was it but it turns out it's NOT. This one has nothing to do with that one. However, how much this one has affected the likelihood of the earthquake just south on the faultline people don't know, as there is no way to detect the amount of energy located at a certain place on the earth's crust (therefore also exactly how big it will be is difficult to measure) - for more information see: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/03/was-fridays-quake-tokyos-expec.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
There was an earthquake this morning just north of this area registered at a 6 in Ibaraki prefecture... it just doesn't stop.
So yes, even panic buying is happening down here, with cup noodles (because japanese have portable kerosene stoves) and the accompanying kerosene is almost sold out in the stores, toilet paper gone, batteries being bought in mass quantities. I think people are just so scared is that they've never had this much uncertainty hang over their heads... ever. And as word-of-mouth warnings of earthquake tomorrow! pass on from person to person, it's hard not to feel a little on edge yourself, no matter how much you try and calm other people down. And as a result of panic buying, not enough resources are being sent north. Catch-22.
The weather isn't helping people live normally as it's all being messed-up: we've had lovely days of up to 15 degrees yesterday and the day before, today it's CONSIDERABLY colder with very very short bursts of hail and snow, followed by clear blue sky. I was riding my bike with gloves today! Seems the weather may delay the cherry-blossom season a little, which might be appropriate for solidarity reasons.
As far as the most news-worthy disaster is concerned - the nuclear power plants are in a little bit of a pickle. Even the Japanese government isn't sure on how to cool them down, with airplanes trying to pour water on it from the top. This morning there was an explosion in reactor 4 at Fukushima Daiichi (though the news was very clear to state that reactors 1 and 3 had hydrogen explosions but 2 and 4 only had explosions) and white smoke was coming out of reactor 3 - though a clarification of what white smoke means compared to black smoke wasn't given (or i couldn't understand the Japanese). reactors 5 and 6's cooling systems stopped, but no other damage yet.
HOWEVER. Despite all the sensationalisations from the media, the radiation levels are not anywhere near critical. Tokyo is not going to be threatened by a chernobyl-esque explosion. And it's very important to remember this. The 30km radius is enough to protect people from health damage in the worst case scenario.
And although there have been higher levels than normal detected in Tokyo, it is nowhere near threatening.
So, i would like to request people to focus back on to what started this whole mess to begin with and donate! Money is the biggest problem in large-scale devastations like this. Someone put quite nicely (i think) - man up for japan. Man being a pun on the japanese value of 1 mann, or 10,000 yen - about 90 pounds/93 euros or so.
If you don't trust organisations, then donate directly to the Japanese red cross. I have.
Tuesday 15 March 2011
4 days later... and a cat cafe!
So as days pass by since the earthquake, there is less developments, other than in the sky-rocketing number of deaths & missing – there are now estimated of 12,800 dead & missing. Scenes of devastation and horror stories are all that people can now show on the news with the occasional update about the state of the nuclear reactors.
As far as that’s concerned – today there was a small explosion in reactor 2, though it’s been contained, and some holes have been discovered in the walls of reactor 4. Radiation, as a result of wind direction, has been detected in Setagaya-ku, which is the most populated ward of Tokyo, but this at minimal levels. Furthermore, the radiation levels in the area are ‘harmful to human health’ but this only within the 20km radius, on top of their standards being legal limits which are very conservative.
The government seem to be on top of it, providing iodine where needed (though I think they’re been a little slow to evacuate people). IF an explosion were to happen, that is a huge IF, it would only go up 500m, compared to over 9000m at Chernobyl. Most likely it would leak into the ground, in which case the government could box it in.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s scary shit, this has been a horrendous event, and I am deeply shocked by it, but people are overreacting. The media only reports on the area (understandably) but know that the rest of Japan – i.e. all the big cities, are mainly operating as usual. People are panic buying noodles (which doesn’t make sense to me because don’t you need electricity to heat them up??), toilet paper and water, which therefore means other people who really need it don’t get it.
And it’s difficult not to make all of this and other hearsay stories about major earthquakes happening here and there make you lose your cool.
Actually it’s been noted that Japan has reacted better than the earthquake in 1995. Well, you’d expect them to learn wouldn’t you! At the time the government was severely criticised for sitting on their chairs in Tokyo and doing next to nothing, and surprisingly most of the money donated to disaster relief at the time was by the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza. This time communication is much better between the disaster area and the big guys in Tokyo, and the speed of disaster relief has been notably faster. However, there are still complaints that many people are not getting what they should be.
The most urgent point, one of the failures during the Hanshin quake, was that there wasn’t enough medical staff. Currently people are saying that Japan can maybe just make do, but with the huge death toll this time round, they’re desperate for medical aid workers from overseas.
This is all information I gather on the news and from the internet, so maybe you’ve heard it, maybe you know better than me.
Trying to stay positive despite all of this, I visited a neko café (cat café) today, it was quite amusing. My friend and I got a lunch special which included 50 minutes of play time with the cats and some tuna to feed them. These cats were not about the petting and all about the food. One of them actually jumped up to hold on to my arm, at least 1m30 into the air! There were at least 25 of them as well, and one of them had one green eye and one blue eye… freaky! It was cute, but part of the fun of cats is playing with them and petting them!
These cafes have become quite popular in Japan, and I was surprised that there were about 4 other couples in there, on a Tuesday lunchtime! There are also rabbit cafes, and dog cafes but the latter is for bringing your dog to rather than actually petting them. I guess maid cafes could be put into this category, though I’m sure for most men that go to these, it’s more of a sex-factor than a kawaii thing.
As far as that’s concerned – today there was a small explosion in reactor 2, though it’s been contained, and some holes have been discovered in the walls of reactor 4. Radiation, as a result of wind direction, has been detected in Setagaya-ku, which is the most populated ward of Tokyo, but this at minimal levels. Furthermore, the radiation levels in the area are ‘harmful to human health’ but this only within the 20km radius, on top of their standards being legal limits which are very conservative.
The government seem to be on top of it, providing iodine where needed (though I think they’re been a little slow to evacuate people). IF an explosion were to happen, that is a huge IF, it would only go up 500m, compared to over 9000m at Chernobyl. Most likely it would leak into the ground, in which case the government could box it in.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s scary shit, this has been a horrendous event, and I am deeply shocked by it, but people are overreacting. The media only reports on the area (understandably) but know that the rest of Japan – i.e. all the big cities, are mainly operating as usual. People are panic buying noodles (which doesn’t make sense to me because don’t you need electricity to heat them up??), toilet paper and water, which therefore means other people who really need it don’t get it.
And it’s difficult not to make all of this and other hearsay stories about major earthquakes happening here and there make you lose your cool.
Actually it’s been noted that Japan has reacted better than the earthquake in 1995. Well, you’d expect them to learn wouldn’t you! At the time the government was severely criticised for sitting on their chairs in Tokyo and doing next to nothing, and surprisingly most of the money donated to disaster relief at the time was by the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza. This time communication is much better between the disaster area and the big guys in Tokyo, and the speed of disaster relief has been notably faster. However, there are still complaints that many people are not getting what they should be.
The most urgent point, one of the failures during the Hanshin quake, was that there wasn’t enough medical staff. Currently people are saying that Japan can maybe just make do, but with the huge death toll this time round, they’re desperate for medical aid workers from overseas.
This is all information I gather on the news and from the internet, so maybe you’ve heard it, maybe you know better than me.
Trying to stay positive despite all of this, I visited a neko café (cat café) today, it was quite amusing. My friend and I got a lunch special which included 50 minutes of play time with the cats and some tuna to feed them. These cats were not about the petting and all about the food. One of them actually jumped up to hold on to my arm, at least 1m30 into the air! There were at least 25 of them as well, and one of them had one green eye and one blue eye… freaky! It was cute, but part of the fun of cats is playing with them and petting them!
These cafes have become quite popular in Japan, and I was surprised that there were about 4 other couples in there, on a Tuesday lunchtime! There are also rabbit cafes, and dog cafes but the latter is for bringing your dog to rather than actually petting them. I guess maid cafes could be put into this category, though I’m sure for most men that go to these, it’s more of a sex-factor than a kawaii thing.
Monday 14 March 2011
Japan earthquake - small update
A short update,
They have now adjusted the magnitude of the earthquake to 9, as it seems 3 earthquakes of magnitude of 3 occurred at the same time. They are saying that there's a 70% chance of magnitude 7 aftershocks within the next month, as there's a part of the plate further down from the current fault split that has energy left over in it. This means closer to Tokyo, and down south...
Current figures are about 1600 deaths reported, and another 2000 missing. The outlook for the people in Minamisanriku is looking more and more dire, and it feels like everyone is starting to accept that most of the 10,000 there missing are dead.
The government is reluctant to send volunteers to the area as there are frequent alarm calls about possible tsunamis approaching.
In relation to the nuclear power plants - they've tried to flood the two (Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1 and 3) with sea water, but no news yet if that has been successful in any way. There was another warning from a power plant but they claim that the amount of radiation is decreasing again. They have admitted a possibility of a hydrogen explosion there too, but claim the reactors casing will hold. There has been some deformation of the nuclear elements.
Watching the news, i can't help but those pictures of hiroshima after the atom bomb coming to mind.
They have now adjusted the magnitude of the earthquake to 9, as it seems 3 earthquakes of magnitude of 3 occurred at the same time. They are saying that there's a 70% chance of magnitude 7 aftershocks within the next month, as there's a part of the plate further down from the current fault split that has energy left over in it. This means closer to Tokyo, and down south...
Current figures are about 1600 deaths reported, and another 2000 missing. The outlook for the people in Minamisanriku is looking more and more dire, and it feels like everyone is starting to accept that most of the 10,000 there missing are dead.
The government is reluctant to send volunteers to the area as there are frequent alarm calls about possible tsunamis approaching.
In relation to the nuclear power plants - they've tried to flood the two (Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1 and 3) with sea water, but no news yet if that has been successful in any way. There was another warning from a power plant but they claim that the amount of radiation is decreasing again. They have admitted a possibility of a hydrogen explosion there too, but claim the reactors casing will hold. There has been some deformation of the nuclear elements.
Watching the news, i can't help but those pictures of hiroshima after the atom bomb coming to mind.
Sunday 13 March 2011
48 hours later
Needless to say, as of Friday, the 11th of March 14.46 local time, Japan changed forever. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit 373km northeast of Tokyo, 130km east of Sendai, said to be 6000 times stronger than the one in NZ earlier this year, and 1,000 times stronger than the Hanshin quake of 1995, rocked the nation (though how I didn’t feel it beats me). The extent of the damage was very unclear at first, but slowly I’m starting to piece it all together. Here’s what I gather.
Japan is subject to two kinds of earthquakes: one caused by ruptures at plate boundaries (and the motion is a side-to-side swaying), or an epicentral earthquake (where the force comes from beneath). The former is more common, happening every 200 years or so (such as the great kanto earthquake of 1923) and the latter, which the Hanshin earthquake of 1995 belongs to, has a cycle of a few thousand years. The Tokyo was due for a big 7~8 magnitude earthquake within the next 30 years, but no one expected one this big – even though it is the former type, this size earthquake only happens every thousand years or so.
This earthquake, said to be the world’s fifth-strongest, was the result of a rupture near the boundary of the Pacific and North American plates, and the Pacific plate slipping under Japan at the Japan trench. In the process, a displacement of about 20 meters occurred and a fault a few hundred kilometres long was created. The next morning, Niigata and Nagano prefectures, almost on the other side of the island, were hit by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake, though whether that had any relation to the Friday earthquake is difficult to determine.
The extent of the damage is, well, incredible, and the video footage shown round-the-clock on the news is horrific. The death toll is over 700, and deaths & persons unaccounted are estimated at over 2900. After the tsunami, as water was draining away vortices started appearing engulfing boats and anything else in its war paths typical of those you only see in Hollywood action movies. Sendai airport was flooded with water turned to sludge so quickly and so completely that even the news commentator had to note that this was NOT the sea but the aiport. Huge settlements, like that of minamisanriku, with a population of 17,000 have completely been wiped out, with the exception of the hospital, and still over 10,000 of those are missing. Footage of houses being pushed by strong water currents against metal structures conjuring up thoughts of a shredder. People waiting on top of hospitals for help, spelling out SOS. Footage of a boat actually ON TOP of a house.
It has to be noted that the area hit, with the exception of Sendai, consisted a lot of countryside, which means there were many low, less sturdily built houses.
A friend of mine in Tokyo used the lovely imagery of shaken but not stirred, as Tokyo has been able to avoid grave damage. South of Tokyo, damage seems to be extremely limited, here in Nagoya the earthquake felt was at a magnitude of about 4. Authorities are warning people in Tokyo to stay alert, and not to think that the worst is over.
And the list goes on. Somehow old people come out of their houses with an occasional smile.
As if all of this wasn’t bad enough, the nuclear power plants are causing a stir. First of all, it really puts the issue in perspective of WHY would a country that is right on top of a heavily-active faultline still have active nuclear power plants (one friend mentioned that it’s partly a military move – you’re much less likely to attack a country with active nuclear power plants). Furthermore, the issue of what is actually going is being talked down and not all questions are being answered.
The way nuclear power is generated is through a nuclear fuel element, immersed in water, getting hot. The water carries the heat away, and the steam this generates is used to turn turbines and thereby generating electricity. If there is not enough water to cool the core down, too much steam is generated and this way the core can melt through the bottom of the reactor. There is a containment unit at the bottom to prevent any more damage, but if this unit does not work, leakage could flow from the bottom.
The past two big disasters involving nuclear plants were 3 mile island in the US – danger level 5, but minimal damage as the containment systems held – and Chernobyl, which was danger level 7 (the top) but this was the result of an explosion into the air rather than a molten core. The power plants here are currently at danger level 4.
In the Fukushima Daiichi (Fukushima 1, as there are 2 power plants in Fukushima) case, the water system cooling the core has stopped working, and despite the owner of the power plants, called Tepco, talking down the danger from the nuclear power plants, the Japanese Nuclear Power commissioner said that ‘a meltdown is possible, but officials are checking’… whatever that means. The 1st of the 4 reactor systems’ cover blew up yesterday around 15:36, before which radiation emission was detected at 1,015 microsieverts (the equivalent of the amount of radiation an ordinary person receives in one year) and after the blast this number significantly decreased. Radiation inside the control room of the reactor reached 1,000 times more than normal, and near the main gate about 70 times more than normal. So far, 190 people have been exposed to radiation, or which 19 have needed immediate assistance. Around the Daiichi plant they put an evacuation zone in place of about 20km, and a 10km one around Daini (the 2nd of the power plants). And this power plant is about 200km north of Tokyo... worrying?
The most recent development is that the 3rd reactor of the Daiichi plant is now emitting radiation levels of 1557 microsieverts…
That’s all I know so far… if there’s any other major developments, I will let you know.
Japan is subject to two kinds of earthquakes: one caused by ruptures at plate boundaries (and the motion is a side-to-side swaying), or an epicentral earthquake (where the force comes from beneath). The former is more common, happening every 200 years or so (such as the great kanto earthquake of 1923) and the latter, which the Hanshin earthquake of 1995 belongs to, has a cycle of a few thousand years. The Tokyo was due for a big 7~8 magnitude earthquake within the next 30 years, but no one expected one this big – even though it is the former type, this size earthquake only happens every thousand years or so.
This earthquake, said to be the world’s fifth-strongest, was the result of a rupture near the boundary of the Pacific and North American plates, and the Pacific plate slipping under Japan at the Japan trench. In the process, a displacement of about 20 meters occurred and a fault a few hundred kilometres long was created. The next morning, Niigata and Nagano prefectures, almost on the other side of the island, were hit by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake, though whether that had any relation to the Friday earthquake is difficult to determine.
The extent of the damage is, well, incredible, and the video footage shown round-the-clock on the news is horrific. The death toll is over 700, and deaths & persons unaccounted are estimated at over 2900. After the tsunami, as water was draining away vortices started appearing engulfing boats and anything else in its war paths typical of those you only see in Hollywood action movies. Sendai airport was flooded with water turned to sludge so quickly and so completely that even the news commentator had to note that this was NOT the sea but the aiport. Huge settlements, like that of minamisanriku, with a population of 17,000 have completely been wiped out, with the exception of the hospital, and still over 10,000 of those are missing. Footage of houses being pushed by strong water currents against metal structures conjuring up thoughts of a shredder. People waiting on top of hospitals for help, spelling out SOS. Footage of a boat actually ON TOP of a house.
It has to be noted that the area hit, with the exception of Sendai, consisted a lot of countryside, which means there were many low, less sturdily built houses.
A friend of mine in Tokyo used the lovely imagery of shaken but not stirred, as Tokyo has been able to avoid grave damage. South of Tokyo, damage seems to be extremely limited, here in Nagoya the earthquake felt was at a magnitude of about 4. Authorities are warning people in Tokyo to stay alert, and not to think that the worst is over.
And the list goes on. Somehow old people come out of their houses with an occasional smile.
As if all of this wasn’t bad enough, the nuclear power plants are causing a stir. First of all, it really puts the issue in perspective of WHY would a country that is right on top of a heavily-active faultline still have active nuclear power plants (one friend mentioned that it’s partly a military move – you’re much less likely to attack a country with active nuclear power plants). Furthermore, the issue of what is actually going is being talked down and not all questions are being answered.
The way nuclear power is generated is through a nuclear fuel element, immersed in water, getting hot. The water carries the heat away, and the steam this generates is used to turn turbines and thereby generating electricity. If there is not enough water to cool the core down, too much steam is generated and this way the core can melt through the bottom of the reactor. There is a containment unit at the bottom to prevent any more damage, but if this unit does not work, leakage could flow from the bottom.
The past two big disasters involving nuclear plants were 3 mile island in the US – danger level 5, but minimal damage as the containment systems held – and Chernobyl, which was danger level 7 (the top) but this was the result of an explosion into the air rather than a molten core. The power plants here are currently at danger level 4.
In the Fukushima Daiichi (Fukushima 1, as there are 2 power plants in Fukushima) case, the water system cooling the core has stopped working, and despite the owner of the power plants, called Tepco, talking down the danger from the nuclear power plants, the Japanese Nuclear Power commissioner said that ‘a meltdown is possible, but officials are checking’… whatever that means. The 1st of the 4 reactor systems’ cover blew up yesterday around 15:36, before which radiation emission was detected at 1,015 microsieverts (the equivalent of the amount of radiation an ordinary person receives in one year) and after the blast this number significantly decreased. Radiation inside the control room of the reactor reached 1,000 times more than normal, and near the main gate about 70 times more than normal. So far, 190 people have been exposed to radiation, or which 19 have needed immediate assistance. Around the Daiichi plant they put an evacuation zone in place of about 20km, and a 10km one around Daini (the 2nd of the power plants). And this power plant is about 200km north of Tokyo... worrying?
The most recent development is that the 3rd reactor of the Daiichi plant is now emitting radiation levels of 1557 microsieverts…
That’s all I know so far… if there’s any other major developments, I will let you know.
Monday 7 March 2011
Getting ready for the next adventure
Not too much outside the ordinary meeting with friends stuff is happening here, as I get ready to move out and leave Japan with a heavy heart. Whenever I think of what awaits me (though most of the time it's hard to wrap my head around all the change happening soon!) I get excited again. This current job is not something I want to be stuck doing for too long and being able to immerse myself in photography will be a great challenge, something I've felt a great lacking of at this job.
I have finally set dates: on the 27th of March i'm heading up to Tokyo for a month, trying to get some part-time work here and there, and then just before 'golden week' i plan on hopping on a flight to Hong Kong to stay with a friend there before flying back home on the 2nd of May.
Was going to go to the middle-east (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon) but as it's not the most ideal time to go that way, I'm looking into some volunteering options here and there - any suggestions more than welcome!
I have finally set dates: on the 27th of March i'm heading up to Tokyo for a month, trying to get some part-time work here and there, and then just before 'golden week' i plan on hopping on a flight to Hong Kong to stay with a friend there before flying back home on the 2nd of May.
Was going to go to the middle-east (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon) but as it's not the most ideal time to go that way, I'm looking into some volunteering options here and there - any suggestions more than welcome!
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