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For the past few days, I have been writing about the awful situation facing the people of Tohoku Japan and the hardship that they have been facing. I have to say that I have been somewhat annoyed at the level of attention that is being paid to the nuclear situation to the exclusion of the plight of the earthquake and tsunami victims. I think that to a large degree the question of a nuclear situation has overshadowed what ought to be our primary concern: getting basic necessities to those who need it and doing it ASAP. To be honest, for these past few days, I have regarded the whole nuclear issue as something of a bright, shiny object. Something that conjures up primeval fears that render us incapable of accurately assessing the true dangers facing us and our fellow people. In large part, I stand by that assertion. The undeniable fact is that debates about the wisdom of nuclear policy in the United States can wait until tomorrow, or next week or even next year. The earthquake and tsunami victims don't have that long. They need our help now. For the average Kossack, there is nothing that can be done about the Fukushima nuclear reactors, but there is something that we can do about the desperate situation in which something on the order of half a million people find themselves. To be completely honest, my attitude could have been best summed up thus:
Do you want to talk about nuclear energy? Well, have you given anything to the victims in Japan? Have you even found it in you capacity to give ten, even five dollars? Have you thought their plight worthy of the price of a single gimmicky green beer on St. Patrick's Day? Because if you haven't I don't want to hear one fucking thing about their plight in support of your position. Do you understand me? Not one fucking thing. Because if you talk about US nuclear policy in light of what is happening in Japan and you haven't done anything to relieve their suffering then you are a ghoul. You are a ghoul seeking to advance your pet cause on the bodies of people about whom you actually do not care. You are no better than the GOP scum that screams about supporting the troops and then tries to block veterans benefits. You are a ghoul and I want no truck with you at all. Good day.
That was my attitude and in large part still is. Because of that, I really didn't want to hear about Fukushima. I wanted to dismiss it as a distraction, as something that really didn't matter because I just can't stand people that use tragedy for political grandstanding.
Well, today something changed my mind. I still think that debates about nuclear energy can wait. I stand by that. What I don't any longer have confidence in is my feeling that Fukushima isn't that important. Follow me below the fold to find out why.
I still cannot be sure that this isn't so much sensationalism. I'm still not completely convinced that this isn't a case of people jumping up at the mention of the nuclear bugaboo, but I am convinced that some pretty powerful people think otherwise and that's enough to get my attention.
My first indication came earlier this morning when I looked through some of the Japanese media. There was absolutely no coverage of the nuclear situation. It was weird. It was a truly ominous silence. For days, it had been front page news just like it was here. Then . . . nothing. Just stuff about what train lines were back up and running, sports news, a few items of basically just mundane stuff.
What you have to understand is that all of those who complain about the "corporate media" here in the US, have no idea what that really means. In Japan there are five major daily newspapers, all with nationwide distribution. They are all part of media conglomerates that also own national television networks. All of them also have national media networks. In addition, there is a single advertising agency that controls more than a quarter of the advertising market, and they are not averse to throwing their weight around. None of these media conglomerates can afford to anger Dentsu and neither can any advertiser because of the weight that Dentsu carries with the major media outlets. They can make things simply disappear. Of course, now with the internet, that is more difficult, but even in the US, we have seen how such influence can be hard to overcome. The point of all of this is that it looked as if someone had given the word that nothing more should be said about the nuclear accident. That worried me. It turns out that it was apparently nothing more sinister than a lull in the news cycle, because Fukushima is front and center again, but it still put me in the mood to consider the danger more seriously.
I was further concerned when I spoke with someone who has relations at a naval base "South of Tokyo" who told me that they were being evacuated. As a general rule, the US military is not particularly shy to expose people to low levels of radiation.
Again. That raised some concern.
Then this afternoon, I was looking at the Nikkei, basically Japan's version of the Wall Street Journal, when I saw an article about foreign residents of Japan leaving en masse. As I read through the article I saw something that I found disturbing:
The United States State Department has chartered a plane and permitted the evacuation of about 600 people who are family members of personnel stationed at the embassy in Tokyo or such places as the consulate in Nagoya.
For those of you unfamiliar with Japanese geography, Nagoya is hell and gone from Fukushima. It is more that 450 km away:
That bubble/pin in on the upper right is the Fukushima power plant. The one on the lower left is Nagoya. That one in the middle is Tokyo.
Uh-oh.
If one extends that radius from Fukushima, it includes the entire area that has been devastated by the quake and tsunami. All of the refugees are at risk. ALL OF THEM. In addition, the entire population of Tokyo may be at risk.
Looking back over this diary, even as its author, I would have to say that it is somewhat alarmist. After all, so far, these action are only being "permitted," not "recommended," nor "required." They is no indication that this is anything other than the State Department trying to absolve itself of responsibility and, perhaps, in the process creating a panic. I don't know.
But then again, I don't know.
I will no longer dismiss concerns about Fukushima. I am convinced that they are real, they are legitimate. That said, the people this will affect most are those who are starving, thirsty, dirty and without homes. This is, or rather should be, more about the people in harm's way in Japan than about us. That much remains unchanged. Let us do what we can for these people. They need our help.
Tohoku Japan: Man walks by sign directed to helicopters asking for food relief.
Japan Disaster Relief Donations
Japan: How to help
Donate to Japan Disaster Relief