Thread is about the various issues surrounding Japan in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. Don't bring the shit side of the internet to the thread, and post with the realization that this thread is very important, and very real, to your fellow members.
Do not post speculative and unconfirmed news you saw on TV or anywhere else. Generally the more dramatic it sounds the less likely it's true.
He concludes: “You asked what Americans can do to help. When it comes to any response by institutions and volunteers, if the outlet at the area in need is inefficient, all the external aid will be wasted. I strongly believe that the press needs to be firm and show how the government is incompetent so as to pressure the bureaucrats and party in power. I know this is very difficult and too late, but the world needs to understand that incompetence is killing people, even though they were saved from the earthquake.
Mani, is that the feeling you've gotten too from Japanese media? From what I've heard (second hand from my mother) incompetence from TEPCO and the Tokyo's Governor's Office have allowed the earthquake, which did relatively little structural damage, turn into a possible catastrophe.
She also sent me an email about this book that's gotten a lot of attention on Japanese Amazon.
A book titled "Nuclear Reactor Time Bomb" (原子炉時限爆弾) was published last August in Japan, written by an activist writer. Based on the summary and Amazon reviews, the book appears to lay out historic data of Japanese earthquakes and warns of the danger of inadequately prepared nuclear plants in Japan.
The book especially warns about "Hamaoka Nuclear Plant" in Shizuoka which sits right on one of the active faults and is located close enough to wipe out Tokyo and Osaka, the most populated regions in one catastrophe.
Interestingly, reviews posted before Jan. 2011 (and still visible on Amazon Japan) includes those written by self-claimed experts in nuclear science and energy who literally laughed at the book and author's credibility and called the book a fiction and waste of time.
I have a friend whose mom is in Osaka, and she complains that the highways are still down.
Another in Tokyo complains that her son has to walk 8-9 hours to go grocery shopping. Tokyo is otherwise completely unaffected by the earthquake, tsunami or nuclear crisis.
So yeah, something's seriously wrong with the response, and there are definitely people suffering as a result of it.
With no recent prime minister lasting in office for more than a year, it's not news to anyone that the government is completely incompetent -- especially the mayor of Tokyo. It's a little strange that people have decided to forget that in light of the disasters, when in fact it's now more than ever that the government is being counted on.
My workbuddy who is Japanese, and has been listening to the NHK stream since the quake said that there seems to be a silent panic going on, Japanese not showing it much outwards, but stockpiling on supplies. Wich is why stores are currently low on certain food, while curry that requires alot of side ingredients, aren't stockpiled on. + Show Spoiler +
And from what I read in that article, first half of it basicly stated that, the problem is they can't distribute the supplies because they're all out of gas everywhere. Is the lack of gas due to people stockpiling on it?
He concludes: “You asked what Americans can do to help. When it comes to any response by institutions and volunteers, if the outlet at the area in need is inefficient, all the external aid will be wasted. I strongly believe that the press needs to be firm and show how the government is incompetent so as to pressure the bureaucrats and party in power. I know this is very difficult and too late, but the world needs to understand that incompetence is killing people, even though they were saved from the earthquake.
Mani, is that the feeling you've gotten too from Japanese media? From what I've heard (second hand from my mother) incompetence from TEPCO and the Tokyo's Governor's Office have allowed the earthquake, which did relatively little structural damage, turn into a possible catastrophe.
She also sent me an email about this book that's gotten a lot of attention on Japanese Amazon.
A book titled "Nuclear Reactor Time Bomb" (原子炉時限爆弾) was published last August in Japan, written by an activist writer. Based on the summary and Amazon reviews, the book appears to lay out historic data of Japanese earthquakes and warns of the danger of inadequately prepared nuclear plants in Japan.
The book especially warns about "Hamaoka Nuclear Plant" in Shizuoka which sits right on one of the active faults and is located close enough to wipe out Tokyo and Osaka, the most populated regions in one catastrophe.
Interestingly, reviews posted before Jan. 2011 (and still visible on Amazon Japan) includes those written by self-claimed experts in nuclear science and energy who literally laughed at the book and author's credibility and called the book a fiction and waste of time.
I have a friend whose mom is in Osaka, and she complains that the highways are still down.
Another in Tokyo complains that her son has to walk 8-9 hours to go grocery shopping. Tokyo is otherwise completely unaffected by the earthquake, tsunami or nuclear crisis.
So yeah, something's seriously wrong with the response, and there are definitely people suffering as a result of it.
With no recent prime minister lasting in office for more than a year, it's not news to anyone that the government is completely incompetent -- especially the mayor of Tokyo. It's a little strange that people have decided to forget that in light of the disasters, when in fact it's now more than ever that the government is being counted on.
My workbuddy who is Japanese, and has been listening to the NHK stream since the quake said that there seems to be a silent panic going on, Japanese not showing it much outwards, but stockpiling on supplies. Wich is why stores are currently low on certain food, while curry that requires alot of side ingredients, aren't stockpiled on. + Show Spoiler +
And from what I read in that article, first half of it basicly stated that, the problem is they can't distribute the supplies because they're all out of gas everywhere. Is the lack of gas due to people stockpiling on it?
Yeah, the lack of gas is another serious issue. One of my family friends is an emergency medical aid worker who's working in Miyagi right now because he happens to live there (i.e. he's a victim of the tsunami), and supplies and help are really hard to come by because of gas shortages.
I don't know if any individuals are very capable of stockpiling on gas considering most people don't exactly carry gas tanks anymore, but I imagine that some companies are stockpiling on gas.
I know that during Katrina there were gasoline stands that were gouging gas prices. I don't think that's a problem they're having in Japan.
On March 18 2011 15:42 AllFreakingNight wrote: Haha my dad comes in and laughs (he's full Japanese) and says "I donated to GodHatesJapan".... I'm like wtf.... oh haha cool dad.
Oddly enough i dont recall phelps making any comments recently. I think he did refer to japan as 'heathens' before. Usually he jumps at every chance to troll... ie haiti.
On March 18 2011 15:42 AllFreakingNight wrote: Haha my dad comes in and laughs (he's full Japanese) and says "I donated to GodHatesJapan".... I'm like wtf.... oh haha cool dad.
Oddly enough i dont recall phelps making any comments recently. I think he did refer to japan as 'heathens' before. Usually he jumps at every chance to troll... ie haiti.
Oh well.
My mom's been making Godzilla/Mothra jokes all day.
He concludes: “You asked what Americans can do to help. When it comes to any response by institutions and volunteers, if the outlet at the area in need is inefficient, all the external aid will be wasted. I strongly believe that the press needs to be firm and show how the government is incompetent so as to pressure the bureaucrats and party in power. I know this is very difficult and too late, but the world needs to understand that incompetence is killing people, even though they were saved from the earthquake.
Mani, is that the feeling you've gotten too from Japanese media? From what I've heard (second hand from my mother) incompetence from TEPCO and the Tokyo's Governor's Office have allowed the earthquake, which did relatively little structural damage, turn into a possible catastrophe.
She also sent me an email about this book that's gotten a lot of attention on Japanese Amazon.
A book titled "Nuclear Reactor Time Bomb" (原子炉時限爆弾) was published last August in Japan, written by an activist writer. Based on the summary and Amazon reviews, the book appears to lay out historic data of Japanese earthquakes and warns of the danger of inadequately prepared nuclear plants in Japan.
The book especially warns about "Hamaoka Nuclear Plant" in Shizuoka which sits right on one of the active faults and is located close enough to wipe out Tokyo and Osaka, the most populated regions in one catastrophe.
Interestingly, reviews posted before Jan. 2011 (and still visible on Amazon Japan) includes those written by self-claimed experts in nuclear science and energy who literally laughed at the book and author's credibility and called the book a fiction and waste of time.
I have a friend whose mom is in Osaka, and she complains that the highways are still down.
Another in Tokyo complains that her son has to walk 8-9 hours to go grocery shopping. Tokyo is otherwise completely unaffected by the earthquake, tsunami or nuclear crisis.
So yeah, something's seriously wrong with the response, and there are definitely people suffering as a result of it.
With no recent prime minister lasting in office for more than a year, it's not news to anyone that the government is completely incompetent -- especially the mayor of Tokyo. It's a little strange that people have decided to forget that in light of the disasters, when in fact it's now more than ever that the government is being counted on.
My workbuddy who is Japanese, and has been listening to the NHK stream since the quake said that there seems to be a silent panic going on, Japanese not showing it much outwards, but stockpiling on supplies. Wich is why stores are currently low on certain food, while curry that requires alot of side ingredients, aren't stockpiled on. + Show Spoiler +
And from what I read in that article, first half of it basicly stated that, the problem is they can't distribute the supplies because they're all out of gas everywhere. Is the lack of gas due to people stockpiling on it?
Yeah, the lack of gas is another serious issue. One of my family friends is an emergency medical aid worker who's working in Miyagi right now because he happens to live there (i.e. he's a victim of the tsunami), and supplies and help are really hard to come by because of gas shortages.
I don't know if any individuals are very capable of stockpiling on gas considering most people don't exactly carry gas tanks anymore, but I imagine that some companies are stockpiling on gas.
I know that during Katrina there were gasoline stands that were gouging gas prices. I don't think that's a problem they're having in Japan.
I would imagine they used some of there rail network to ship products, but since the rails are probably mangaled they need to go by roads that aren't in poor shape.
He concludes: “You asked what Americans can do to help. When it comes to any response by institutions and volunteers, if the outlet at the area in need is inefficient, all the external aid will be wasted. I strongly believe that the press needs to be firm and show how the government is incompetent so as to pressure the bureaucrats and party in power. I know this is very difficult and too late, but the world needs to understand that incompetence is killing people, even though they were saved from the earthquake.
Mani, is that the feeling you've gotten too from Japanese media? From what I've heard (second hand from my mother) incompetence from TEPCO and the Tokyo's Governor's Office have allowed the earthquake, which did relatively little structural damage, turn into a possible catastrophe.
She also sent me an email about this book that's gotten a lot of attention on Japanese Amazon.
A book titled "Nuclear Reactor Time Bomb" (原子炉時限爆弾) was published last August in Japan, written by an activist writer. Based on the summary and Amazon reviews, the book appears to lay out historic data of Japanese earthquakes and warns of the danger of inadequately prepared nuclear plants in Japan.
The book especially warns about "Hamaoka Nuclear Plant" in Shizuoka which sits right on one of the active faults and is located close enough to wipe out Tokyo and Osaka, the most populated regions in one catastrophe.
Interestingly, reviews posted before Jan. 2011 (and still visible on Amazon Japan) includes those written by self-claimed experts in nuclear science and energy who literally laughed at the book and author's credibility and called the book a fiction and waste of time.
I have a friend whose mom is in Osaka, and she complains that the highways are still down.
Another in Tokyo complains that her son has to walk 8-9 hours to go grocery shopping. Tokyo is otherwise completely unaffected by the earthquake, tsunami or nuclear crisis.
So yeah, something's seriously wrong with the response, and there are definitely people suffering as a result of it.
With no recent prime minister lasting in office for more than a year, it's not news to anyone that the government is completely incompetent -- especially the mayor of Tokyo. It's a little strange that people have decided to forget that in light of the disasters, when in fact it's now more than ever that the government is being counted on.
My workbuddy who is Japanese, and has been listening to the NHK stream since the quake said that there seems to be a silent panic going on, Japanese not showing it much outwards, but stockpiling on supplies. Wich is why stores are currently low on certain food, while curry that requires alot of side ingredients, aren't stockpiled on. + Show Spoiler +
And from what I read in that article, first half of it basicly stated that, the problem is they can't distribute the supplies because they're all out of gas everywhere. Is the lack of gas due to people stockpiling on it?
Yeah, the lack of gas is another serious issue. One of my family friends is an emergency medical aid worker who's working in Miyagi right now because he happens to live there (i.e. he's a victim of the tsunami), and supplies and help are really hard to come by because of gas shortages.
I don't know if any individuals are very capable of stockpiling on gas considering most people don't exactly carry gas tanks anymore, but I imagine that some companies are stockpiling on gas.
I know that during Katrina there were gasoline stands that were gouging gas prices. I don't think that's a problem they're having in Japan.
I would imagine they used some of there rail network to ship products, but since the rails are probably mangaled they need to go by roads that aren't in poor shape.
From what I remember, it's mostly trucks and highways that carry goods around that area. The roads aren't that significantly damaged.
Also, construction in Japan generally doesn't have the kind of managerial overhead that we see in North America (it took over half a year for me to move back in to my house after a fire) -- so restoration projects are a lot quicker given adequate funding -- which the cost of repairing train lines should be in the hundreds of millions of dollars at most.
Japanese government efforts to deal with the unfolding nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture are ''desperate,'' a group of U.S. nuclear experts said Friday during a panel discussion held at the National Press Club in Washington.
The steps being taken by Japan ''are not steps that are anywhere near the top of the options'' normally available, said Robert Alvarez, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and an adviser to the U.S. secretary of energy in the 1990s.
Beginning Thursday, Japan has used trucks and helicopters to dump water on the damaged reactors in Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in an attempt to cool their overheating nuclear materials.
The efforts, Alvarez said, were ''improvisations on the playbook'' for stopping a nuclear meltdown.
Alvarez's claim that there are no good options left for addressing the crisis is evidenced by the risky approach Tokyo has taken to cooling the reactors.
When combined with the high heat at the reactor site, the seawater currently being poured on the facilities could destroy their cooling pumps or even corrode the containment vessels holding the plant's nuclear fuel, increasing the difficulty of containing the radioactive material.
''This is what you call the last-ditch stuff,'' Alvarez said, noting that the severity of the crisis had taken the standard, safer options for responding ''off the table.''
In the short term, Alvarez expects that even these extreme measures will be unable to stop the crisis.
''It doesn't appear at this time that they are working. The accident is likely to unfold over a period of weeks,'' he said.
In the meantime, the Japanese government has raised the incident's severity rating from 4 to 5 on an international scale of seven. The move puts the crisis on a par with the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, when the combination of an engineering failure and human error led to the partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor in the northeastern United States.
Asked about the decision to change the rating, Peter Bradford, a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said he expected the threat level would be raised again.
''It's very hard for me to believe that at the end of the day, this accident will be seen as being the same level as Three Mile Island, which was also a level 5,'' Bradford said.
Jeffrey Patterson, a radiation exposure specialist, had an even bleaker assessment.
Unlike natural disasters, such as earthquakes, with nuclear accidents, ''the end never comes,'' Patterson said.
''This just goes on forever, because the effects of radiation go on forever,'' he said.
Finnish news says that The Daily Beast says that some criminal expert says that Yakuza has donated money to help with the crisis in Japan... that's really uhh interesting. o_O
One of the poorest countries in Asia, Burma, has supported Japan with 100.000 dollars.
On March 19 2011 08:57 Shikyo wrote: Finnish news says that The Daily Beast says that some criminal expert says that Yakuza has donated money to help with the crisis in Japan... that's really uhh interesting. o_O
One of the poorest countries in Asia, Burma, has supported Japan with 100.000 dollars.
I think that all is really, really cool.
Yeah, it's not in the mainstream news for obvious reasons, but the yakuza helped out a lot in Kobe and they're helping out a lot right now.
It's apparently not uncommon to see yakuza directing traffic or delivering resources to victims.
And Burma... a little sad that such an impoverished nation would donate, but it goes to show how kind people can be.
Some new footage. I don't know what I would be thinking at that moment if I were in his position... The driver did live to share his tale. He also managed to save his phone (obviously).
A Japanese driver has captured the heart-stopping moment he was swept up by a tsunami as he drove along a coastal road.
The unnamed man was driving in Asahi City in the Chiba Prefecture last Friday when the ferocious wall of water struck.
The driver, who appeared to have a camera positioned on his car bonnet, described how the enormous wave surged over a road barrier and crashed down on the road in front of him.
"When I came to the fishing port and turned the corner I could see the wall of water," he said in an interview.
"At that moment I could do nothing else but keep driving. In the middle of that situation my car was taken by the wave."
The driver escaped unharmed but at least 11 others in Asahi have been confirmed dead, with roads destroyed and fishing boats, cars and homes swept up in the tsunami spawned by last Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake.
Across Japan the official death toll stands at 5692, but more than 9000 are still missing.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has upgraded its travel advisory to Japan, telling Australians to leave Tokyo due to the radiation risk from the quake-hit Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant amid fears of a meltdown.
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has told Fairfax Radio the federal government will provide whatever practical assistance is necessary to Australians experiencing difficulties in getting out of the country.
He concludes: “You asked what Americans can do to help. When it comes to any response by institutions and volunteers, if the outlet at the area in need is inefficient, all the external aid will be wasted. I strongly believe that the press needs to be firm and show how the government is incompetent so as to pressure the bureaucrats and party in power. I know this is very difficult and too late, but the world needs to understand that incompetence is killing people, even though they were saved from the earthquake.
Mani, is that the feeling you've gotten too from Japanese media? From what I've heard (second hand from my mother) incompetence from TEPCO and the Tokyo's Governor's Office have allowed the earthquake, which did relatively little structural damage, turn into a possible catastrophe.
I think it was a lose-lose situation for the government and TEPCO. No matter what they could have said, people would have been willing to say "cover up" right away. This whole time they have done daily briefings, but the words have been so twisted about by the media and come from so many different angles that it gets drowned out. That being said, it appears TEPCO tried to stall the government, and if you can lay any blame it is that the government didn't force their way into the situation faster.
A big culprit is the foreign community like France who went on record right away to jack up the warning levels, Austraila evacuating their citizens who are 500km away from the plant, and random people streaming their Geiger counters (inside lol). The hysteria around the plant is a media creation. Tsunami? We had that in 04, and it can't touch us. But a meltdown? THAT is news worthy because in their imagination it can affect everything.
While I wish the response to the tsunami was faster and better, I think people aren't comprehending the scope. We had volunteers headed northward within 6 hours from Osaka, and I imagine that happened everywhere. Meh, the logistics problems alone are tremendous and things take time. I refuse to believe it is negligence. Again, I blame the media. For the first week all they did was show dead people, people searching for relatives, people without medicine. There was no balance. Now (as of last night) they have swung in the other direction and the daily news was basically a PR campaign for companies who donated food.
The fact of the matter is that helicopters / hovercraft / and port vessels have all been doing their best to get in. You can't just clear roads with magic. It takes time. And while that is terrible for the people living there, it doesn't mean the efforts haven't been 100%.
On March 19 2011 08:57 Shikyo wrote: Finnish news says that The Daily Beast says that some criminal expert says that Yakuza has donated money to help with the crisis in Japan... that's really uhh interesting. o_O
One of the poorest countries in Asia, Burma, has supported Japan with 100.000 dollars.
I think that all is really, really cool.
Yeah, it's not in the mainstream news for obvious reasons, but the yakuza helped out a lot in Kobe and they're helping out a lot right now.
It's apparently not uncommon to see yakuza directing traffic or delivering resources to victims.
And Burma... a little sad that such an impoverished nation would donate, but it goes to show how kind people can be.
The history of the Yakuza is that it grew out of the ruins of the second world war. John Dower's "Embracing Defeat" outlines this nicely.
Does anybody know the radiation levels that are supposed to hit the west coast of the USA tomorrow? Some say that it is nothing, like 1/10000 of the radiation from an X-Ray, others say that one should not go outside.
On March 19 2011 10:22 origamiXD wrote: Does anybody know the radiation levels that are supposed to hit the west coast of the USA tomorrow? Some say that it is nothing, like 1/10000 of the radiation from an X-Ray, others say that one should not go outside.
I doubt even the most precise geiger counter would detect any radiation on the west coast.
On March 19 2011 10:22 origamiXD wrote: Does anybody know the radiation levels that are supposed to hit the west coast of the USA tomorrow? Some say that it is nothing, like 1/10000 of the radiation from an X-Ray, others say that one should not go outside.
On March 19 2011 10:22 origamiXD wrote: Does anybody know the radiation levels that are supposed to hit the west coast of the USA tomorrow? Some say that it is nothing, like 1/10000 of the radiation from an X-Ray, others say that one should not go outside.
I am hearing lots of this in Nevada as well, despite me telling them that there has not been a nuclear explosion, and they will not die in the next few weeks. I guess people don't realize they get radiation everyday(especially in Nevada) just from being on the planet. I mean the news has done a bad job reporting it, but not nearly a bad enough job that everyone should think the things they are thinking, yes every news channel has been fear mongering, but even Fox news didn't say you needed to take iodine pills on the west coast they just reported the increase in demand for them.
I will never understand this situation in the U.S., it's beyond funny, people are spreading these rumors while obviously never ever checking their facts.
On March 19 2011 08:57 Shikyo wrote: Finnish news says that The Daily Beast says that some criminal expert says that Yakuza has donated money to help with the crisis in Japan... that's really uhh interesting. o_O
One of the poorest countries in Asia, Burma, has supported Japan with 100.000 dollars.
I think that all is really, really cool.
Yeah, it's not in the mainstream news for obvious reasons, but the yakuza helped out a lot in Kobe and they're helping out a lot right now.
It's apparently not uncommon to see yakuza directing traffic or delivering resources to victims.
And Burma... a little sad that such an impoverished nation would donate, but it goes to show how kind people can be.
The history of the Yakuza is that it grew out of the ruins of the second world war. John Dower's "Embracing Defeat" outlines this nicely.
I've never heard of anything like that, nice to know. Can anyone share what exactly happened with Yakuza after WW2 and what's their status as of now? Do they really help out a lot with this disaster?
The moment nuclear plant chief WEPT as Japanese finally admit that radiation leak is serious enough to kill people
Officials admit they may have to bury reactors under concrete - as happened at Chernobyl Government says it was overwhelmed by the scale of twin disasters Japanese upgrade accident from level four to five - the same as Three Mile Island We will rebuild from scratch says Japanese prime minister Particles spewed from wrecked Fukushima power station arrive in California Military trucks tackle reactors with tons of water for second day
EPT![[image loading]](http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/5953/500xtales.jpg)
