海外への情報発信（6）

March, 30, 2011

I came back to Japan on Sunday after visiting Chongqing, China for a few days.
Narita international airport was not busy as many foreigners have already evacuated from Japan, I guess, and there were no extra procedures such as radiation check upon arrival at Beijing airport.

I heard news that Sakura, our national flower, is officially blooming in Tokyo, and our everyday life is getting very close to that of before, at least in Tokyo.
But this apparently does not mean that everything in this country is getting back normal.
Recovery of the suffered area and stabilization of the nuclear plant will take very long time for sure.

I thank everybody giving us warm words and expressing concern.
We sincerely appreciate TOMODACHI (friend ship) project of the U.S. and other help from many countries.
I would like to contribute to the recovery process and helping the victims by whatever I can do, and I hope my short reports helped you to understand the situation in Japan better.

海外への情報発信（5）

March 22, 2011

Stopped Escalators
Another week has started. Train operations are almost normal, but there is something not normal; dim lightings and stopped escalators. They are apparently to save electricity. In buildings, some elevators are not used for the same reason. Some ceiling lamps are also turned off in shopping stores. “Electricity meter” is appeared on Yahoo Japan web site; this meter indicates how much electricity is consumed in TEPCO service area.

Evacuation
I had to talk with a woman who is working for a trading company this morning, but she was not in her office. In returning to my email, she wrote me that she has evacuated to Osaka with her husband. Her husband is a French person, and he was told from his company to evacuate from Tokyo.

Graduation Ceremony
March is the season for graduation ceremony in Japan. Some schools with little damage held the commencement even in the suffered area. Chairs were prepared for all the graduates in the ceremony, but there are many empty chairs. Parents, teachers, and students were all crying. I could not see the news without tears.

海外への情報発信（4）

4.March 21, 2011

Information Rate decreases
Today was a national holyday, but it has been rain all day long in Tokyo. I was staying in my apartment. Media continuously broadcast the devastation in Tohoku area and the situation in the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant. I see that information rate (new information per unit time) is gradually decreasing, and I watched news programs every one or two hours while I never turned off the TV before.

Rolling Blackout
There was no rolling blackouts imposed in Tokyo today since many business operations were stopped for the holiday, but TEPCO announced there will be tomorrow. I think the blackouts have to be imposed for long time as the situation will get much worse in summer. TEPCO can produce 34millionkW of electricity currently, but the power consumption will become 60millionkW in summer according to a news paper article.

Radiation Issue
There were no radiation standards for foods in Japan, and a tentative standard is announced a few days ago by the national government. Contamination in vegetables, milk and water based on the standard was found in the vicinity of the nuclear plant, and distribution of the foods was stopped. Professors and specialists in TV programs are telling people that the amount of radiation is not serious to people right way. The difference between amperes and volts is very easy, and the difference between 1mA and 1A is also easily understood at least for me. But the difference between “Sievert” and “Becquerel,” both units for radiation, is not clear for almost everyone including myself. In addition, since we cannot sense radiation, I think the contamination by radiation is rather psychological issue as we don’t understand the numbers anyway. Up until now, there is no panic here, but it will be very sensitive issue for sure.

海外への情報発信（3）

3.March 20, 2011

I received an encouraging message from Dr. Schlesinger of CMU for my report. The message makes me going further. I thank him for the encouragement. I also start to distribute these memos to CMU Japan chapter’s mailing list.

No Blackout in Weekend
Since electric consumption in industrial sectors is less in weekends, no rolling blackout is imposed. As a matter of fact, my apartment never experiences the blackout until now.
I didn’t understand why for a while.
But I guess now that this may be because a large hospital and an airbase of the self defense force nearby my apartment are exempt from the blackout, and this resulted in no blackouts in the vicinity of the facilities.
We used to complaint loud noise from the base before, but now the existence of the base may be benefiting us somehow.
I see that values of many things are reversed after the tragic rare accident, and this is just an example.

Coping with Stress
I know for sure that our stress cannot be compared with those of people in the severely suffered area.
But continuous “low level” stress from fear for radiation, aftershocks and uncertainty for our future certainly makes us uncomfortable.
In order to cope with this stress, we need something enjoyable.
For me, it is to observe the sun using a telescope.
I have a small American telescope having a Fabry–Pérot filter, so that detailed image on the sun can be observed from my apartment.
Making pencil sketches is the remedy to relieve my stress.

The Nuclear Plant
Injection of sea water to the troubled reactors by the fire department and self defense force was successful to some extent according to TV news, but, on the other hand, radiation in excess of allowed limits was detected in some milk, water, spinach near the evacuation area.
Good and bad are still mixed, and we still have a long way to go.
I deeply respect those who risked their lives in pursuing the injecting mission.