I am currently in Los Angeles, not in Japan, but am in email and skype contact with peopel from Fukushima(where reactors are) , Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Shimane. I would like to talk a little bit about what people are saying and feeling.
The feeling that I am getting from friends and loved ones is that, although the idea of radiation is scary, it is the current suffering of the thousands of thousands of people in the North Eastern quake/tsunami hit area that is the immediate concern. There are freezing temperatures, and a lack of supplies. Yesterday four people died in a shelter in Miyagi Ken (quake epicenter). These are people who are at immediate risk. Also, of course, the power plant workers and police who are risking their lives getting close to the plant to drop water on it and check on the situation.
Some friends say that they are more worried about aftershocks and another strong quake coming than radiation.
I spoke to my friend Mika in Fukushima who I mentioned in one of my videos. Her family survived the quake and luckily is 100kim from the plants. They are scared and nervous because the wind is supposed to change and start blowing towards them.
From looking at Twitter tweets by YouTube foreign vloggers, many foreign residents in Japan are upset by alarmist Western media stories, and that the stories focus mainly on radiation fear and not the current problem of people suffering right now. Yesterday I read an AP article on Yahoo that said the UN says the radiation will reach Southern California on friday....but they left out that it is supposed to be diluted and not harmful.
The mood in Tokyo has become gloomy say some of my friends. On friend left Tokyo for Osaka and immediately saw that Osaka is much less gloomy. Osaka and Southern Japan are quite for from the reactors and I think radiation is less likely to hit. The US has announced some charter planes to evacuate people in tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya...but none in the more southern regions (Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka). I just heard on the news, that the first evacuation flight left Japan for US.
Another problem with WEstern media is that I notice is that the articles and news pieces make it sound that all of Japan is at risk and make statements of Japan as a whole...that people are hoarding food...etc... But friends say that life is very normal in many areas. There have been periodic hoarding in Tokyo and it is true that gas is hard to get and there are long lines. I'm not sure if this is true in south areas though...I don't think it would be true in Nagoya or Osaka, kyuushuu, shikoku.
The feeling that I am getting from friends and loved ones is that, although the idea of radiation is scary, it is the current suffering of the thousands of thousands of people in the North Eastern quake/tsunami hit area that is the immediate concern. There are freezing temperatures, and a lack of supplies. Yesterday four people died in a shelter in Miyagi Ken (quake epicenter). These are people who are at immediate risk. Also, of course, the power plant workers and police who are risking their lives getting close to the plant to drop water on it and check on the situation.
Some friends say that they are more worried about aftershocks and another strong quake coming than radiation.
I spoke to my friend Mika in Fukushima who I mentioned in one of my videos. Her family survived the quake and luckily is 100kim from the plants. They are scared and nervous because the wind is supposed to change and start blowing towards them.
From looking at Twitter tweets by YouTube foreign vloggers, many foreign residents in Japan are upset by alarmist Western media stories, and that the stories focus mainly on radiation fear and not the current problem of people suffering right now. Yesterday I read an AP article on Yahoo that said the UN says the radiation will reach Southern California on friday....but they left out that it is supposed to be diluted and not harmful.
The mood in Tokyo has become gloomy say some of my friends. On friend left Tokyo for Osaka and immediately saw that Osaka is much less gloomy. Osaka and Southern Japan are quite for from the reactors and I think radiation is less likely to hit. The US has announced some charter planes to evacuate people in tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya...but none in the more southern regions (Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka). I just heard on the news, that the first evacuation flight left Japan for US.
Another problem with WEstern media is that I notice is that the articles and news pieces make it sound that all of Japan is at risk and make statements of Japan as a whole...that people are hoarding food...etc... But friends say that life is very normal in many areas. There have been periodic hoarding in Tokyo and it is true that gas is hard to get and there are long lines. I'm not sure if this is true in south areas though...I don't think it would be true in Nagoya or Osaka, kyuushuu, shikoku.
