WIT Life #178: Fukushima Fallout, Nuclear and Bureaucratic
Earthquake Tsunami, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers 
Comments Off on WIT Life #178: Fukushima Fallout, Nuclear and Bureaucratic
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Interesting article from today’s NYT about the government’s (mis)handling of the post-Fukushima disaster, specifically not providing information when it was available regarding potential radiation levels. The public is now not only fearful but outraged, claiming that the government cared more about covering up than about its own citizens. One notable aspect of the article appeared on the last page, discussing a group lawsuit being carried out by parents in a city called Koriyama by the nuclear plant. They decided to stop listening to the government and are appealing to force Koriyama to relocate their children to a safer area.
Another highlight of the article that especially hit home for me was comparison of the government’s reaction to the current crisis to its response to a case in Minamata, Kumamoto in the 1950’s. Because this was my prefecture on JET, I had heard about “Minamata-byo” upon arrival. This disease is a neurological syndrome that afflicted thousands of people living in the region, caused by mercury poisoning from a nearby chemical factory’s runoff over the course of more than 30 years. A national scandal emerged when it was revealed that bureaucrats and industry officials had colluded to protect economic growth, and decades later the company finally provided financial compensation to the victims. Let’s hope this is not a case of history repeating itself.
Comments are closed.