One year on

What is there to say at this point? The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 was probably the worst natural disaster the millions of us that decided to live on this (seismically unfortunate) island will experience in our lives.

There were several hundred thousand in prefectures of northeast Japan that had their lives changed forever. The primary victims lived in towns destroyed by tsunami, lived in close distance to the NPP or had homes destroyed or had friends or relatives that were swept away. Then there were the secondary victims, those that were out of power and basic services in the still cold end of winter months, had homes that were damaged or destroyed or businesses that went bankrupt due to inability to work or any other number of reasons. There were the residents of Urayasu that lost water and gas services for weeks after the quake. There were farmers in Tochigi, Ibaraki, Fukushima and more that could not sell their products. Finally, there were the rest of us. The majority of us on this island didn't succumb to any disaster. We all saw it on TV just like people all around the world.

Brix were shat

Those of us anywhere in the Tokyo area or west of it were VERY lucky. Other than the pain of seeing thousands of northwestern friends' and families' lives turned to living hell and the indirect effect from the meltdown, we got off virtually scot-free. Although there was a chance that the nuclear situation could have gotten even more out of control, it didn't, and our lives were not directly affected like the 330,000+ people in Tohoku forced to evacuate.

Personally I was safe in my office in Ginza for the main quake and the many shaky weeks that followed. There was a week or two when the whole world was freaking out about the nuclear situation. Many of us here southwest of the disaster zone were glued to our computer monitors madly taking in every iota of information we could about microsieverts, becquerels per liter, debating whether to stay or go. Everyone took it in, processed it, and made their own judgement about how dangerous it was. Some left for good. Some left temporarily. Some stayed. The amount of information and misinformation flying around the web those first weeks was incredible. How could anyone expected to be conclusive about what to do? It was first time for virtually all of us to experience a nuclear crisis first-hand.

Courtesy of jurvetson

Courtesy of fleep.com

Remember this gem? Turns out it was bullshit.

I ought to give a shout out to the voices of reason in the virtual onslaught of online "experts" that emerged after the crisis. They are the ones that put in hours to translate, report, blog and get out the word about what was actually going down. Some invaluable sources after the meltdown: @martyn_williams @timeouttokyo @hikosaemon @hirokotabuchi @W7VOA @1rick (notice they are all twitterers. Mainstream media was worthless when the shit hit the fan)

Well, that's pretty much how I feel about it, looking back. There are a million side stories (example) that have been discussed and wrangled over in the meantime. Many people choose to focus their anger on the people they see to be "responsible" for the disaster. There is no doubt that some (ahem, TEPCO board of directors, ahem, NISA and METI cough cough) could have acted with the needs of the country instead of the needs of shareholders in mind pre-3/11. Some people surely should be punished and an example set. That said, it may make you feel better, but pointing fingers doesn't end up helping the situation. There needs to be reconciliation. Forward-thinking people need to focus their talents to solve the deep problems that this country now faces (energy stability, food safety, bringing back tourists, how to pay for reconstruction, aging/dying countryside, etc.).

There is still a lot of work to do. I choose to believe that there are people that are resolute about fixing this mess. If there weren't, there would not have been people like Daiichi plant manager Masao Yoshida and the workers that stayed behind risking their asses when NOTHING was certain and local politicians like Shimada mayor Katsuro Sakurai (who was one of the few to accept debris from Tohoku for processing) putting their personal convictions ahead of their fickle, ignorant constituents. Fist bump to them and let's hope that they are not the minority.

PS. Watch this Frontline doc to see the razor's edge that the country was balanced on at the beginning of the nuclear mess.

PS2. 311 SUCKS!

The Great Post-3/11 Ego Handjob

Nearly a year ago, a disastrous series of earthquakes, a massive tsunami and a nuclear meltdown ravaged the Tohoku area of Japan, killing nearly 20000 people and injuring over 6000 others, as well as engendering massive economic losses – estimated to be US$235 billion – making it one of the most expensive natural disasters in world history.

Having experienced the disaster first-hand and its nihilism-inducing aftermath, I know that a handful of foreigners living in Fukushima at the time, including myself, had it hard. Not from the lack of food, electricity, running water or internet – but rather from having to put up with the constant, juvenile, and just fucking scandalous efforts by a handful of shithead expats to co-opt the pain and loss of others for their own self-aggrandizement online and off.

“He couldn’t possibly be talking about me,” you tell yourself, ignoring all the bullshit facebook albums you posted highlighting that one fucking day you went out to scavenge clean up the strewn belongings of a gutted home near the coast – likely fueled only by a dubious cocktail of guilt and the desire to embellish your online profile. Some didn’t even bring work gloves or appropriate clothes, but they sure as shit brought their cameras. Assholes.

I remember this one girl showing up when we went down to a disaster area to help shovel a shit ton of sand out of an acquaintance’s property. Aside from the intelligent human beings dressed in coveralls, there was a dyed-blonde IN SANDALS who came hours late, with a flaccid beer gut immodestly creeping out a club halter top, asking if we needed any help – but in a obviating way, secretly hoping no doubt that we would tell her that we had shit covered so she could go home and prepare for another night of gorging tequila flavoured cocks in one of Ageha’s men’s rooms. At least she wasn’t like one teacher, who left the country for nearly 6 months, only to return as though nothing happened. I wonder how many months of pay she received for her hiatus.

This gratuitous self-promotion could be seen miles away, too. Nearly 100km away, some puerile d-bag dressed head to toe in played-out designer fashions visited a nearby school (being used as an evacuation area), presumably with the intention to land a photo in the local newspaper and look like some pseudo-local hero. Big fucking deal. The very next day, scans of the article are on facebook for all to admire, with these gemlike quotes: “I stayed for the kids,” and “Although you can’t see the heart, you can see its consideration for others,” in Japanese. That last one copied almost directly from a shitty AC commercial they were playing non-stop on TV. BARF!

The foreign media was way worse, publishing any and all information they could get their hands on, like flies on a pile of shit. I know of at least one dickhead expat that got ostracized pretty badly after being “misquoted” in the Australian news, saying that conditions were so dire that had his friend not driven him to the airport, he would have knocked the guy out and stolen his car. Needless to say, his “friend” wasn’t too happy about that. Fuck the media, asking just about any Joe Nobody with a computer and 10 fingers to report on the conditions in Fukushima as though a bunch of early-20s who jumped ship the very next day after the disaster would know anything about the conditions at ground zero or the state of the Daiichi plant.

While some of us were busting our asses every single day carrying all kinds of shit to the dump site by truck, shoveling mountains of sand, heaving mold-covered tatamis, helping out local business owners/friends, etc. wah wah wah, we had to come home to this kind of whack-as-fuck digital identity management from a bunch of asshat pussies miles away, all showered and eager to spend some of that ill-gained social capital. Forget about the disaster, that kind of shit is way harder to stomach.

There were thousands of amazing volunteers all over Tohoku - they didn’t get any special media coverage, they didn’t whore themselves on mixi or whatever digital identity micromanagement circle jerk site out there. They weren’t really heroes either, to be honest. They were just real dudes, hard as fuck and just looking to help without expecting any special thanks or attention or showers of gratitude and adulation. They didn’t do it to boost their egos, or to chisel another accolade on their digital selves. They didn’t do it just to tell their friends and family, "Yeah, I was down there last week helping out the tsunami victims." Bullshit. How easy it is to get lost in one's own self-delusions!

*flush*

Smile Fukushima -- Merry Christmas Campaign

The local Fukushima newspaper Fukushima Minpo (http://www.minpo.jp//) announced on December 15 that it is collecting Christmas messages in Japan and abroad for children in the prefecture affected by the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The "Smile Fukushima -- Merry Christmas" campaign launched on December 15 and will run until December 19.

Selected messages will be carried in the December 25 edition of the Fukushima Minpo newspaper. The page carrying the messages will be formatted so that it can be folded into a Christmas hat. The first 200 children elementary school age or younger and their parents who bring the hat will be admitted free of charge to meet a real Santa Claus from Finland at a Christmas event to be held on December 25, 2011 at the UNITED SPORTS FOUNDATION KIDS PARK supported by Super SportsXebio in Fukushima City.

The "Smile Fukushima" project was launched by the Fukushima Minpo in an effort to encourage Fukushima residents affected by the March earthquake and tsunami. In the project’s inaugural undertaking, sunflowers were planted this summer and arranged into a giant flower shaped work of art.

How to submit your message:
Send message by email to: smile@fukushima-minpo.co.jp

What to include with the message:
1) Nationality
2) full name
3) age
4) message (may be edited due to space restrictions)

Deadline:
Monday, December 19, 2011

CHRISTMAS EVENT
14:00-15:30 on Sunday, December 25 (Numbered tickets will be handed out from 9:00)
Requirement for admission: Bring the message page of the December 25 edition of Fukushima Minpo folded into a Christmas hat
Maximum number of visitors: 200 children of elementary school age or younger and their parents; numbered tickets will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis
Venue: UNITED SPORTS FOUNDATION KIDS PARK supported by Super SportsXebio (39-2 Sakurauchi, Minami-Yanome, Fukushima City; Tel: 024-555-1240)