Shock Begins To Turn To Anger In Japan
Shock among survivors of Japan's earthquake and tsunami turned to anger Wednesday as nearly a half-million people displaced by the disaster and resulting nuclear crisis remained crammed in makeshift evacuation centers, many with few basic necessities and even less information.
The governor of northeastern Fukushima prefecture, the site of a badly damaged nuclear power plant, fumed over what he saw as poor government communication and coordination.
Developments In Japan
- The confirmed death toll from the quake and tsunami stood 3,700, but officials expected the figure to climb to more than 10,000 because so many people remain missing. More than 450,000 people were staying in temporary shelters.
- U.S. Embassy in Tokyo advises American citizens within a 50-mile radius from the badly damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to evacuate the area.
- Japan's Emperor Akihito called the nuclear crisis "unprecedented in scale," while Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered officials to take radiation level readings and relay them to the public.
- Experts say the economic cost of the disaster, which Japanese officials described as the worst since the end of World War II, will likely exceed the estimated $159 billion for the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
- Thirteen U.S. ships were participating in relief operations for Japan, but poor visibility limited humanitarian aid flights.
"The anxiety and anger being felt by people in Fukushima have reached a boiling point," Gov. Yuhei Sato told broadcaster NHK. He said shelters do not even have enough hot meals and basic necessities for those living near the plant who have already been relocated.
In a rare address to the nation, Japan's Emperor Akihito called the nuclear crisis "unprecedented in scale" and urged the country to pull together in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.
"Nobody knows how many people will die," the 77-year-old emperor said, "but I fervently hope that we can save as many survivors as possible."
Prime Minister Naoto Kan also appeared on television, ordering officials to take radiation level readings and relay them to the public.
The official death toll from the disaster has reached nearly 3,700, but authorities expect that figure to climb to more than 10,000 because so many are still listed as missing.
A blanket of snow in parts of the devastated northeast added to the misery for millions of people faced a sixth night with little food, water or heat. Police said more than 452,000 people were staying in temporary shelters.
'Something's Just Not Right'
Doualy Xaykaothao, reporting for NPR, visited one such shelter set up in a school gymnasium in Koriyama city, about 40 miles southwest of Fukushima. She said people were still dazed by the tragedy and craving more information from the government.
Men and women at the gym, where about 400 people had taken refuge, huddled in near-freezing temperatures despite a kerosene heater that provided a bit of warmth and made hot water for tea.
In one corner, a 69-year-old grandmother wearing a face mask sat on a small blanket, with bags and a box stacked next to her. She read a newspaper featuring a front page photo of the crippled reactors at Fukushima, one burning and smoking.
The woman said she was alone at the shelter and had been unable to contact family members in the hardest-hit city of Sendai. In tears as she spoke, she said she has long been against nuclear power, especially in a region prone to earthquakes.
One man who arrived at the shelter said he used to work at the Fukushima power plant cleaning up biochemical waste. The man, who identified himself as Maeda, said he had come from Okuma, about 30 miles to the east.
More NPR Coverage
Workers Evacuate Part Of Japanese Nuclear Plant
U.S. official says new failure at Japanese plant could hinder efforts to stop further deterioration.
Crisis In Japan: Here's How To Help
InterAction.org lists 22 "appropriate disaster relief" organizations now working in Japan.
He said some of his friends still work at the plant, but said he trusts that everything will be OK.
"Nothing to worry, for myself, for my family, and for everybody," he told NPR.
But Xaykaothao said many others were less sure.
"People are now starting to get angry," she said. "A couple of days ago, people were still in shock, just trying to figure out what was next for them or how to reach safety.
"Now, they are starting to realize that something's just not right — this could be done faster, the information could be more accurate," Xaykaothao said. "And of course the big question now is what is really happening at this nuclear plant."
Assessing The Damage
Amid the human suffering — unprecedented for Japan since the end of World War II — experts were making their first back-of-the-envelope calculations of the economic costs of the catastrophe.
Some say the cost of the destruction is likely to exceed that of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which Standard & Poor's estimated to have been $159 billion.
The four most severely affected prefectures — Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki — are home to key industries ranging from farming to auto parts to electronics and make up some 6 percent of Japan's economy.
The biggest port on the northeast coast, Sendai, was essentially destroyed by the quake and tsunami. It handled mainly container shipments of exports including rubber and marine products, office machinery, paper goods and auto parts. Three others — Hachinohe, Ishinomaki and Onahama — were severely damaged and will very likely be out of commission for months.
Six oil refineries that can turn 1.4 million barrels of oil a day into fuel — a third of Japan's refining capacity — also have been shut down. Two closures were due to fires, and an out of control blaze at one refinery raged for a sixth day.
"The destruction to ports, power plants and oil refineries in northeast Japan has been extensive," economists Matt Robinson and Ruth Stroppiana at Moody's Analytics wrote in a report. "The cleanup will take months, and the rebuilding of key infrastructure will take substantially longer."
EnlargeToru Yamanaka /AFP/Getty Images
People rest on the floor at a evacuation center after the recent tsunami and earthquake in Natori, Miyagi prefecture, on Wednesday.
U.S. Aid Ships Forced to Change Course
President Obama was meeting with USAID Administrator Raj Shah on Wednesday to review U.S. aid efforts for Japan, as well as in Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and Africa.
The review comes as 13 U.S. Navy vessels have been deployed to help provide humanitarian assistance to northern Japan.
Some of the warships have had to change course to avoid radiation over part of the eastern shore of Japan. Other ships en route must navigate through massive debris fields.
Eight ships were already on site and an additional five were moving into position.
Lt. Anthony Falvo, aboard the command ship USS Blue Ridge in the South China Sea, said the American warships in position along the Japanese coast have been able to deliver 25 tons of aid, including food, water and blankets. They've also helped transport Japanese first responders to the disaster sites.
Falvo told NPR that radiation-detection equipment aboard the carrier USS Ronald Reagan found enough radiation Tuesday to raise concerns. So the Reagan and other U.S. ships in the area changed course as a precaution.
"What they've done is move just north, 180 nautical miles away from the Fukushima site, just ensuring that they are not downwind of the radioactive plume," he said.
"These are very, very low levels of contamination," Falvo added. "It's equivalent to one month's natural background of radiation from the sun, so what we're doing is, we're taking every precaution."
Those precautions include making sure Navy personnel are wearing their flight suits with the sleeves rolled down and protective coverings on their boots. Anyone who goes off the ship is tested for radiation before coming back onboard.
Poor flying conditions Wednesday also hampered relief efforts. Pilots on the deck of the Reagan said they were unable to fly because of a lack of visibility. Only 15 flights with humanitarian supplies were launched from the carrier group, according to the Navy.
Radiation Fears Prompt U.S. Evacuation Advisory
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo advised American citizens to evacuate areas within 50 miles of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant because of the "deteriorating situation" at the facility.
"We want to underscore that there are numerous factors in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, including weather, wind direction and speed, and the nature of the reactor problem that affect the risk of radioactive contamination within this 50 mile radius or the possibility of lower-level radioactive materials reaching greater distances," the embassy said in a statement.
That radius is more than four times as large as the evacuation zone the Japanese government recommended earlier this week.
Concerns about radiation were at the forefront of several countries' concerns.
France urged its citizens in Tokyo to return to France or head to southern Japan. Officials also called on Air France to mobilize aircraft in Asia to assist with departures.
Australia told its citizens to consider leaving Tokyo and earthquake-affected areas, while the U.K. advised against all nonessential travel to Tokyo and northeastern Japan.
More than 3,000 Chinese in northeast Japan have already been evacuated to western Niigata prefecture, according to Xinhua News Agency. On Tuesday, Beijing became the first government to organize a mass evacuation from the quake-affected area.
With reporting from freelancer Doualy Xaykaothao in Koriyama, NPR's Chris Joyce in Tokyo, Anthony Kuhn in Mizusawa City, and Dan Charles and Rachel Martin in Washington, D.C. Material from The Associated Press was used in this story.
comments
Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login / Register
NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.
Really? And you wonder how things get so far off topic?
"For the record, I didn't see any actual evidence in the article of any Japanese getting angry.
I can see them being exasperated, and understandably so. But do not use the stronger word 'anger' without actual evidence."
To clarify, by evidence, I mean something to examine for myself, such as a picture of an angry face or an unambiguously angry direct quote. I realize that there are indirect references to angry people in the article, but I'd rather not rely on some person's characterizations.
I mean, how many times in your personal life has someone described a situation to you, and then you later discovered it was a bit of an exaggerated description? Some people I know are even prone to this...
Therefore, I find the article's title misleading at best, inaccurate at worst. I do not however believe that it was intentional.
See above article
Sigmund Winston (JungsMindset) wrote:The People are Not angry,they're hurting and feeling gut-wrenching challenges from day to day...This is not a fiction novel,an act,it's real life,and to throw stones,
Dear God ,bring closure .
It has been pointed out that these reactors could be sealed off with dirt, concrete, mud, sand whatever they can come up with to seal off the exposed rods. The government has a daunting task ahead. However, to be sure these people should be moved as quickly as possible by what ever means necessary.
Ill prepared is an understatement. I at one time worked for OEP which is now FEMA and that agency has gone to heck in a breadbasket, why? Because political appointees who have no clue are running the show. Probably the same in Japan. 100,000 soldiers should be moving people out of these areas to safe shelters where there is food and water and heat. Instead of looking for surviors. You save the living walking wounded first then go back and look for surviors once that mission is accomplished. Pure insanity has run amok.
Basically, conventional methods of cooling, this spreading reactor heat is spreading and our best friend, H2O is not able to be applied. Too Dangerous or too little.
1. Build a earth dam quickly around the facility.
2. At the same time evacuate all humanity from the area.
3. Create a mini-tusami, Oppenheimer Style
4. Since the area is low and level, a 10 foot wall, higher than reactor is easily done. Don't tell me about the mudd or durability. Worry about the details later. Time is more important.
5. Place a explosive device, off-shore, at a significant depth, which will force water, across the flats and over the berm.
6. I'm sure the US or Japan for that matter has a device of creating a mini-tsunami. It may have be nuclear, but it will be under water.
7. Make certain, at detonation, the winds are not blowing or are atleast in a favorable direction.
8. This is a plan, work fast and cool the boiling pot.
I just wish someone would pass this to someone who can take action.
We set off nukes in the Nevada desert for years without (okay, alot of people got sick) major distress.
Now is not the time to wait until there is a Chernobly brewing for forever.
Please pass this on
Or would that tick off your loyal donors way to much ?
More generally, could you imagine the U.S. government requiring officials to release radiation readings to the public? Would. Not. Happen.