Japan is fighting a crisis of historical proportions. After a week we now know the extent of the deaths and destruction. More than 10,000 people have reportedly been killed in the quake-spawned tsunami disaster with several more thousands still uncounted for. Hundreds of thousands more are living in shelters deprived of basic necessities in freezing temperatures.
The earthquake and tsunami disasters have been quickly overshadowed by the threat of a nuclear catastrophe and flooding. There is growing speculation of a nuclear meltdown that might serve as a turning point for the world.
Japan now assumes that possibility with six reactors at two different nuclear power plants declared to be in a state of emergency. A total of 11 of the nation’s 54 reactors were shut down following the quake, knocking out about 30 percent of Japan’s power supply. The incident drew comments from experts and ministers. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen of Germany in an emergency meeting branded nuclear energy as a "discontinued model".
Tens of thousands of victims, chain reactions with unprecedented consequences in the Fukushima nuclear reactors and a threat of supply shortages pose a human security problem - not only for Japan but for its neighbours. Radiation biologist Edmund Lengfelder of the Otto-Hug Radiation Institute in Munich opines that the consequences could be even worse than it was 25 years ago in Chernobyl accident. Japan has two to three times more densely populated areas than did the Ukrainian reactor and hence its impact on human lives could be more devastating.
The radiation leaks have triggered a seismic response outside Japan. Germany for example has taken seven plants offline, and in the West Coast of the United States and in Canada, many are stockpiling iodine tablets. Elsewhere in Hong Kong, South Korea and Southeast Asia, nuclear panic triggered unwarranted but understandable consumer rejection of imported Japanese fisheries, livestock and milk powder. Inevitably Japanese exports will suffer a serious downturn in the aftermath of the crises and the road to recovery bedevilled by great uncertainty.
Indeed, Japan is fighting to have a future.
Nevertheless Japan’s stoic response to the crises demonstrates its resilience and capacity to bounce back to normalcy. This display of courage in the face of unprecedented multiple attacks is most admirable. I don’t think I can add more than what our hearts and minds already feel for the people of Japan. What can we do in their hour of crisis? Should it not also be seen as our hour of crisis?
Our preparations for BABA 9 are more or less complete. In the last few days some of our BABA fellows have wondered aloud about the status of BABA 9 in view of these multiple disasters. This concern is understandable especially in view of the conflicting information and responses. I have reaffirmed our solidarity with our Japanese friends and colleagues. Yesterday, I received an unequivocal message from our TNF friends that we should hold the Nara meeting as planned. We shall monitor the situation carefully.
The Asian Dialogue Society believes in our Shared Future. It is again heart-warming to see the global community of nations responding so swiftly to this humanitarian disaster. The current crisis poses many challenges of leadership. In view of this, the Asian Dialogue Society invites BABA Fellows in particulars and others in general to give their comments on “Rebooting Japan After the Disasters: Shaping Our Shared Future” and what it would take to accelerate speedy recovery. Is there a need for a new human security infrastructure deployed globally to mitigate similar risks? Would the aftermath of the crises generate a new form of regional participation and architecture of collaboration? Asian nuclear renaissance will suffer a setback but what are the options and the alternatives for future energy security? Can these issues be addressed at the Nara retreat? Since the general theme of the Nara retreat is Human Security how would you address this Japan crisis in the papers you will write? I am sure you will have many more questions to raise and comments to make on how to make for a Better Asia.
M Rajaretnam
Reference the following websites for the latest on the Japan crises.
NHK World
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/
The official information is available and updated in English at:
Kantei (Prime Minister’s Office)
http://www.kantei.go.jp/
Seismic damage information from Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) in
English is available at the following website:
Comments
This morning, I read this blog post that a friend shared on Facebook, entitled "A letter from Sendai" http://www.odemagazine.com/blogs/readers_blog/24755/a_letter_from_sendai. The writer, Anne, articulated my feelings the past few days after the quake. Some people talked about the Japanese stoicism in the face of the disaster, as if they were less human for not demonstrating more hysteria. I see their humanity shine forth -- this is, humanity at its best.
Soon after news of the threat of radiation came out, many of my foreigner friends fled the country. My husband and I talked about it and we were in tears. My husband said this is where we live right now and somehow he has come to see the people here as his own. It did not feel right to leave when they need him the most now. I pondered on his words... yes, the Philippines is my home and the country I love deeply, but Japan too has been and is my home now. I look at the people around me and felt a shared fate with them.
On nuclear power: To my understanding, Japan embraced nuclear power as they didn't want to be dependent on other countries for their energy needs. Nuclear power certainly has high yield (now that the Fukushima power plant is down, we certainly feel the effects of reduced power output here in Tokyo - with rolling blackouts, elevators not working (really difficult if you have a baby stroller), a more sombre looking city with many of the unnecessary lights out, etc. But the risks are so terribly high. I will quote Al Gore who said that we have ALL the technology needed to avert the disasters he outlined in An Inconvenient Truth. We can harness solar and wind energy. But more than that, we need to look into reducing consumption (and this I'll talk more about in my presentation).
This morning, I read this blog post that a friend shared on Facebook, entitled "A letter from Sendai" http://www.odemagazine.com/blogs/readers_blog/24755/a_letter_from_sendai. The writer, Anne, articulated my feelings the past few days after the quake. Some people talked about the Japanese stoicism in the face of the disaster, as if they were less human for not demonstrating more hysteria. I see their humanity shine forth -- this is, humanity at its best.
Soon after news of the threat of radiation came out, many of my foreigner friends fled the country. My husband and I talked about it and we were in tears. My husband said this is where we live right now and somehow he has come to see the people here as his own. It did not feel right to leave when they need him the most now. I pondered on his words... yes, the Philippines is my home and the country I love deeply, but Japan too has been and is my home now. I look at the people around me and felt a shared fate with them.
On nuclear power: To my understanding, Japan embraced nuclear power as they didn't want to be dependent on other countries for their energy needs. Nuclear power certainly has high yield (now that the Fukushima power plant is down, we certainly feel the effects of reduced power output here in Tokyo - with rolling blackouts, elevators not working (really difficult if you have a baby stroller), a more sombre looking city with many of the unnecessary lights out, etc. But the risks are so terribly high. I will quote Al Gore who said that we have ALL the technology needed to avert the disasters he outlined in An Inconvenient Truth. We can harness solar and wind energy. But more than that, we need to look into reducing consumption (and this I'll talk more about in my presentation).
Thank you for your attention, now I'm more convinced that the conditions in Nara will be fine. Actually I was not too worried about nuclear, but I was afraid to bother the organizer of the Nippon foundation which is concentrating on fund raising, but they still ready, that's good news. It's just that I'm still not clear of your statement about exchange through about Rebooting Japan After the Disasters, is it for the paper topic too? does that mean we should change the topic that was selected before? because I had already raised the topic about tourism and terrorism mater, since my group is Peace and Cultural, please explain to me about it.
Thanks you Raja