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<\/a>I appreciate all of the messages from many others who have asked about our welfare in Japan.\nJim and I are fine here in Kyoto.\u00a0 It seems strange to think that just last Saturday I was up in Sendai to give a talk (through Fulbright) at Tohoku University. I’m sooo glad that we were safe at home Friday afternoon when the terrible earthquake hit the northeastern area of Japan.\u00a0 We’ve been glued to the TV watching news \u2013 tsunami waves are unbelievably forceful \u2013 they have swept cars, houses, and large ships along in their wake. The three national TV stations canceled all of the usual programming from Friday afternoon to now (Sunday afternoon) to show news and real time footage of the disaster. For those who couldn’t stand the harsh reality any longer on Friday, there were several channels of soothing music and images (Grand Canyon and the like).
\nUnfortunately the news seems to get worse with the meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant and aftershocks.\u00a0 It’s also a shock to hear the words “being exposed to radiation” (hibaku) being applied to those who’ve been affected by the released nuclear vapr \u2013 up until now this was part of the word “hibaku-sha” which was used for those who experienced the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
\nPeople in this general area told us that they felt the tremors on Friday afternoon, but we must have assumed that any tremor was just part of the process of a large building being demolished near us.\u00a0 We’re far enough away from the Tohoku (northeast) area which has felt the brunt of the earthquake and tsunami, but are ever mindful of the unpredictable nature of earthquakes.<\/p>\n
Dan Johnson, Associate Economics Professor Bob Kerwin: Former CC director of communications Two Colorado College professors and a former employee were in Tokyo when the 8.9 earthquake struck March 11. Here is a round-up of messages and news they have sent: Joan Ericson, Professor of Japanese Language and Literature I appreciate all of the messages from many others who have asked about our welfare in Japan. Jim … <\/p>\n
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<\/a>Just got back to my hotel again, as it was evacuated again to check for structural damage as there were some superficial cracks in the walls when I first returned.
\nHere’s the story as it developed here: I’m at a conference here in downtown Tokyo, due to present some research in international trade.\u00a0 Midway through someone else’s presentation, the room started to rumble more than shake.\u00a0 It wasn’t heavy, but was noticeable as an earthquake.\u00a0 The speaker stopped to wait for it, and it kept on and on, growing stronger and stronger.\u00a0 As the light fixtures started to swing, we all climbed under our desks, hoping that the worst would pass quickly.\u00a0 But for several minutes that seemed like hours, it grew even stronger.\u00a0 The room really vibrated, and people grew genuinely terrified.\u00a0 I wasn’t scared yet, just amused, so I smiled and cracked jokes with my colleagues to keep the mood light.\u00a0 After all, what are the odds against a killer quake on my first day of my first trip to Japan, right?
\nDuring a lull in the shaking, we heard the public siren outside calling for building evacuations, along with instructions to reach high ground as a precaution against a tsunami coming ashore.\u00a0 That’s actually when I started to get scared.\u00a0 We filed out in orderly fashion, and were thankfully already on a hilltop, so could watch as dozens of others streamed out of nearby buildings to join us in the hilltop courtyard between buildings.\u00a0 The trees were swaying, the ornamental caps on one building were vibrating precipitously, sirens were blaring, and people were starting to panic.\u00a0 Everyone had cell phones out, trying to call loved ones or get news.
\nWe remained outside for the better part of an hour, with the ground still regularly trembling with aftershocks.\u00a0 Slowly word trickled in about the enormity of the quake, where it was centered, how big the tsunami wave would (and wouldn’t) be, etc.\u00a0 Security teams were remarkably calm and professional in checking buildings for gas leaks and fires and structural damage.
\nWe called off the remainder of the afternoon’s conference, and I went back to my hotel, where elevators were of course not working.\u00a0 So I climbed the 13 flights to my room, passing cracks in the wall that the bellhop asserted had definitely not been there that morning.\u00a0 Upstairs, my room was still frequently swaying and vibrating with aftershocks, so I changed into warmer clothes and went back downstairs and outside to wait it out.
\nLooking around at the skyline, it would have been a major humanitarian disaster had the quake been centered here.\u00a0 With millions of people in the city, skyscrapers on every block, streets clogged with cars and buses, construction cranes and industrial facilities in close proximity, it could have been horrific.\u00a0 As it is, by 11 p.m. this evening, most subway and train lines have been checked and are back on limited service, stores are still stocking food and water, restaurants are open to serve meals, and the city is a little subdued but not too much the worse for wear.
\nSo to celebrate surviving the Tokyo Quake of ’11, the conference group went out this evening for a fugu dinner (the Japanese pufferfish that must be prepared by a licensed chef because if prepared incorrectly it is fatally poisonous).\u00a0 It was sublime.\u00a0 And so is Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Most Japanese have expected a big quake their whole lives. We do regular drills in\u00a0hard hats and carrying survival kits – these came out for sure last Friday. But Tokyo is built for quakes and there was little damage in the city.
\n\u00a0While we had no idea if\u00a0our ordeal was over, as the aftershocks lasted for hours, everyone’s attention switched to the horrific images on TV\u00a0of the tsunami coming ashore. No drill could have prepared for that. Surviving the quake suddenly seemed inconsequential. Only family counted as everyone struggled for hours to contact their homes, many finally walking for hours in the absence of train service.
\n\u00a0Things are tense in Tokyo as the nuclear crisis has now taken center stage, but one has to admire the calm, communal approach to the danger. I can only contrast this to the alarmist foreign press that appears to live on\u00a0incomplete information, hyperbole and more than a few accusations. I have yet to hear one person complain or point a finger in Tokyo. Emphasis is on the well-being of families, with coming to work entirely voluntary for most companies.
\n\u00a0If I had one wish out of this, other of course than for the\u00a0reactors to cool down,\u00a0it would be for the foreign press to find some\u00a0objectivity and stop upsetting people needlessly. I get the impression that people in the US are more upset than here in Japan, where I can assure you we take the danger very seriously. It is amazing how a few\u00a0well placed seeds in a\u00a0paragraph of bland copy,\u00a0like “desperate bid”,\u00a0“catastrophic” (ahead of the fact)\u00a0and, my own favorite, “apocalyptic” can stir people’s fears. We may have the radiation, but at least we don’t have such a toxic press to deal with.
\nAll of my colleagues and I are buoyed by the many\u00a0messages of support from friends over the horizon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"