Of Apologies and TEPCO

I'm sitting here at my desk supposed to studying for the test that's only in a few days, but instead, I'm reading the news. Sometimes you want to stay away from it, you know? Whenever you open it, it's never good anymore, but then you realize that you should at least stay educated about what's happening around you, so you pull it up yet again feeling like you're prepared for the worst, and yet you're never prepared. Posts by friends up on Facebook consist of things like "It's a nightmare, but I firmly believe it won't get worse;" "Ganbatte Nihon (Do your best Japan!);" and just general wanting to help. Although it seems like most of the world has started to focus back on the Jasmine Revolution, that couldn't be further from everyone's minds here. We continue to assure those abroad that we're fine, and the Kansai area remains a place of refuge for all: pregnant women and children, foreigners who have been told to evacuate here from their governments, and the list goes on.

Frustration continues with regard to TEPCO. Since the disaster began, TEPCO officials have continued to state how this sort of catastrophe could not be predicted, but recent news leaks show differently. Most of Japan's reactors tend to be near the coast for the reason or if there was a cooling failure in the plant, they would have quick access to water to cool the reactors. However, this also exposes them to tsunamis. The Fukushima Plant is located on top of a hill, and it was built in mind with the idea that a tsunami would not overcome the 6 m (20 ft) wall up to the plant. When they did the calculations, apparently there was only a 10 percent chance of this happening in the next 50 years. However, the tsunami that hit the plant on March 11 was 14 m high. The government held utilities in charge of the plant responsible for assuring that they could withstand this kind of disaster situation. 

Due to public and international doubts, TEPCO's stocks fell 18% the other day. There are thoughts that TEPCO might be nationalized. On a normal day, TEPCO provides enough power to power all of Britain. Therefore, you can't just shut down the company; the effects would be enormous and would compound the problems. If the government doesn't take over TEPCO, the likelihood that the company will collapse is high. According to the Wall Street Journal, the government must take over the company, remove top management, and possibly change the name as well to avoid further adding to Japan's problems.

TEPCO's president in an interview just admitted when asked about the current state of the plant, "Frankly, I'm very sorry. We don't know.  First, the most pressing matter is to cool reactors 1-4."「正直申し上げて分からない。まずは１〜４号機を冷却するのが急務だ。」 

TEPCO's president along with other high-ranking TEPCO officials just issued an apology to the nation stating approximately, "For all the difficulties with safety/security, I'd like to apologize. We are giving our full effort to the restoration work. While for now it is important to have everyone's support, you have my word that we will compensate for the damage."

Right now the government is debating how to best handle the situation of the contaminated water spreading into the ocean. They are considering using a tanker to collect the water from the underground tunnels, but of course what to do with said water is still up in the air. 

Prime Minister Kan is dealing with increased calls for his resignation as well as debating whether to extend the evacuation zone beyond 20 km. Doing so would displace over 100,000 more people, but not doing so could threaten their health.

A quick note, if you want to read a very good summary of how things are today, I'd really recommend going to the last source "Seawater Radiation Level Soars Near Plant" by the WSJ. It is accurate and actually tells how things are at the moment.

Sources:

Special Report: Japan engineers knew tsunami could overrun plant (Reuters)

Speculation Grows on Tepco Takeover (WSJ)

原発建屋に布、汚染水回収にタンカー案　政府が検討 (NIKKEI)

東電会社「心からおわび」福島第１原発事故 (NIKKEI)

東電会長、プラントの損傷具合「正直分からない」 (NIKKEI)
Seawater Radiaton Level Soars Near Plant

Of Some Confusion

TEPCO has been less than useful recently. We're told that the area around the Fukushima plant is high in radiation. Workers can only be in the reactors for a few minutes a time and there's radioactive particles in the water in the tunnels where they are working, compounding the issue. Furthermore, a warning bell went off which sent workers out of the reactor the other day. Then, we receive news that this was a malfunction in their system and the radiation actually wasn't that high. Other news sources such as Reuters, MIT, etc. report that even though the radiation is high near the reactor, people further away are fine. The radiation will be diluted by the sea and it will be so minuscule by the time that fish and other aquatic life consume it, it will be virtually nil. They tested water 30 km away for this. Radiation levels in downtown Tokyo are even lower than normal world averages. The water in Tokyo is safe another day for infants to drink, but that's not true in Chiba and some other prefectures that are closer to the reactor. It's gotten to the point here frankly the NY Times, CNN, FOX are just ignored for their continued "imminent doom" proclamations, and Reuters, MIT, and Nikkei are just releasing all information that they can confirm. This means that their reports often seem to be conflicting, but yet calming. The one thing that has risen out of this is the common belief that TEPCO needs to be more open, that the UN needs to help out more, and that everyone is infinitely grateful for those who have gone to the reactors to help. The workers and engineers there are not getting paid anymore than normal, and even though their families urge them not to go, they continue to go because their sense of duty to the safety of the country's people around them is their main priority.

Class schedules continue to be up in the air. We finally received the schedule today, and although everything seems to be on time, even things in Kansai are a little scattered. Students are arriving late, still waiting on their governments to give them permission to come. Some are coming even without that permission though.

I went out and bought the JLPT Registration form today. I've filled it out, and I'll take it to the post office soon to go get that finished. It's official: Level 2. Right now, I definitely can't pass it. But I'll study and do my best to try to be ready.

I have to register for classes back at Miami tomorrow. I can't even explain how far that seems from my mind at the moment.

The one thing that sticks out at the moment though is this recent dedication from everyone to scale back their excesses. Heaters are off, unnecessary lights are off, and people are gathering together to share energy. In a country where they coined the term "hikikomori" (引きこもり), literally, a person who shuts himself in his room to avoid contact with society, this alone is enough to really shock you. People who rarely if ever see each other are now sharing common areas. Although the conversations are coming slowly, the disaster has in a way made people closer and value what truly matters in life. I have to say, it's been a profound experience. And for this reason alone, I'm glad to have remained in Japan.