The Other Side of the Story

It is interesting to look at the news reports which are coming from within Japan, as broadcast by Japanese media in Japanese, those which are coming from Japan being broadcast by non-Japanese media in Japanese to a primarily Japan-based audience (such as NHK world), reports coming from Japan by non-Japanese media being broadcast to a primarily non-Japanese audience, and reports being made outside Japan to a primarily non-Japanese audience.

Here is a good example which shows that it is best to check more than one news source when dealing with large-scale events.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3473142/My-nightmare-trapped-in-post-tsunami-Tokyo-City-of-Ghosts.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News

Some of the highlights, and my reactions, include:

"I'm scared, and shaky with hunger and really, really tired. I've got two hungry children and just a few crisps, oranges and a can of tuna."

Then why didn't you go to the supermarket, or the convenience store, or the department store deli, or the bento shop just up the road, all of which were still open for business in Central Tokyo as well as the surrounding areas, but had just run out of certain items due to panic buying and delivery delays.


"There is no petrol, no water, no food."


Yet you live in an area with a world-class public transportation system, which was running on March 17, but some train lines were limited service, all information which was well-published on the transport webpages or easily obtained by asking station staff. Did you not say you've been in Japan 10 years? Surely you know by now how to ask these things in Japanese, and to understand the answers being given.
While bottled water stocks ran out due to panic buying, Aquarius and Pocari Sweat are still available for purchase. My tap water service never once stopped running either, and there have been no other reports of tap water stopping. Food was still on the shelves at the supermarkets and convenience stores, just not dairy products/bread/pasta/rice/instant noodles. The delis are still churning out food too. If you want bread right now, patronize your local bakery.


"The TV news has told us to take a shower when we've been outside, because of radiation worries."

In Fukushima, within the 30km radius, yes, as a precautionary measure. In the Tokyo area, a good 250km or more from the plant, no.


"But mostly there's just a test card with gentle music and children making origami dragons."

Interesting. My NHK has broadcasting non-stop about the disaster, as were Asahi, TBS, and other channels. The other channels have gone back to regular programming, but are still offering news updates.


"Train ... child in a face mask at railway station"

Being a 10-year resident of Japan, you should know by now that the masks get whipped out in the winter by people who are sick or trying to avoid getting sick once the flus and colds start up, and right now they are also being widely used due to it being allergy season. I myself have the sneezes and sniffles, either from a spring cold or from the pollen in the air.


Most confusing is the rolling blackouts. You never know when there is going to be power or not. It's freezing cold in Toyko too.

Yes, the first couple of days were a bit rough for MILLIONS of Toden service-area residents, including myself, while the consistent rotating schedule got worked out, and also while scheduled blackouts were cancelled. But what did you expect? And yes, it was confusing at first when the first list came out and areas were listed multiple times on the rotation. But all this information was publicized on NHK as well as the Toden website as it came out. And now we have a consistent, predictable timetable, and a detailed list down to neighborhoods, which can not only be found on the Toden site, but on Yahoo and Google as well. Worse case scenario is you telephone your shiyakusho and ask, or hell, chances are the convenience store people know and would be happy to tell you.

Freezing cold? Bloody hell. Apart from that cold snap last week, it has been mild compared to, say, January. If you think it is freezing cold, go live in a gymnasium in Miyagi for a few days with no heating or adequate blankets, while the snow is falling outside, and I reckon your tune will change. Do what everyone else did when it got a bit chilly and put on another t-shirt, a scarf, a ski cap, your coat, and a determined smile. You are still alive. There are thousands of people who are not.


"There's even been a public information film on TV about how hospital equipment, like ventilators, can be worked by hand"

If you've ever been to a hospital or even watched a medical TV drama, you should have known this anyway. Being here for 10 years, you should also know that Japanese are big into details and information of this sort. That's why we also had the expert on cold-weather survival on TV telling us how to make bath towel mufflers to stay warm, and the designer from the toilet company telling us how to make a makeshift box toilet with newspaper and rubbish bags.


"The British Embassy gave 'no help or advice at all'"

Hmmm... could that be because they, like other national embassies in Tokyo, were focusing their efforts on the crisis area and trying to locate their residents there? No help or advice? Then why is the British Embassy distributing Potassium Iodate tablets?
The American Embassy, for instance, made it crystal clear on their website that their priority right now was assisting American residents in Japan, and particularly those located in Tohoku, so they had stopped doing US visa services just now and had special channels for US citizens who had lost passports. Did you bother visiting your embassy's website, or surely by now you know other British residents in Japan and you could have asked them what was happening.


"I don't want my children to get cancer."

Yet you are living in the mobile phone capitol of the world, using your laptop computer to write your report, and heating your lunch in the microwave oven.


"I begged the Foreign Office man, 'Please help me'. But he told me if I raised my voice one more time he was terminating the call."

They don't have time for irrational hysterics just now, no. The airports are open again. You are an expatriate living in a foreign country. Help yourself.