Instead, it is the text at the bottom of the screen. It says: houshanou morenashi, or "there are no radiation leaks." It was a pretty ironic heading to see on a picture that illustrated an article about the leakage of nuclear waste at at Kashiwazaki during the quake.
"There are no radiation leaks." This is precisely what we were told ad-nauseum yesterday, as we watched the fire at the nuclear plant on TV. And despite the very disturbing images of billowing flames right in front of us, we believed as we were told. We took comfort in the caption on the screen. At least I did.
I went to a meeting last night where a Japanese man spoke about his mother's five-year battle with cancer. I was especially taken aback by the fact that both the hospital and this woman's family kept the real nature of her disease from her (they told her she had an ulcer, I think) until the last months of her life. I've heard over and over again that such practices are the tradition here, yet the clash in values across cultures always amazes me.
By extension, his story made me think about the extent to which Japanese authorities are experts in covering up scandals. Here in Japan the general public is on a strict need-to-know basis, under a system that generally assumes that we don't need to know most things. The realization really made me second-guess the official take on the nuclear accident.
Sure enough, I woke up this morning to developing news that some radiation may have actually leaked from the plant due to the earthquake. I don't feel this way often, but I hate being right just now.
Love the 3 eyed fish. You crack me up.
Ya, I hear you. I didn't believe that from the time I first heard it though. But I am a skeptic by nature. Something that doesn't serve me well in sobriety. ;-)
Hope you stay well.
Peace,
Scout
Posted by: Scout | July 18, 2007 at 01:57 AM