Oofunato City, Iwate

Oofunato City, Iwate prefecture, had an estimated population of 40,753 on January 1, 2011. Its port, with a depth of over 13 meters, could accomodate ships of up to 40,000 tons and was one of the most important in the prefecture. The city suffered extensive damage from the tsunami but as of March 14 had a relatively modest total of confirmed dead or missing: 391    

Update: March 15, 2:15 PM

More than 6,000 are reported dead or missing from last Friday's quake and tsunami, an increase of over 1,000 since this morning.

The explosion earlier today at the crippled nuclear facility in Fukushima released a massive amount of radiation, according to Japanese media. Residents within a 30 kilometer radius (up from 20) have been urged to evacuate or remain indoors. The government has issued instructions on preventing radiation sickness.

An explosion and fire have occurred at the facility's Unit 4. The fire has been extinguished.

Eight hundred plant workers have been evacuated.

Prime Minister Kan has expressed anger with the plant operator, TEPCO, for its failure to notify authorities promptly of developments at the site.

This is bad, very bad.
      

Earthquake Update- Tuesday, March 15

At 6:10 this morning there was an explosion at Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.  Japanese media are reporting that 965 micro sieverts of radiation were released into the atmosphere.

Japanese media put the number of those confirmed dead or missing at 4895 this morning. 

March 14- Explosion at Fukushima Nuclear Plant Dai-ichi 1, Unit 3

The explosion at 11:01 AM on March 14 of Unit 3 at the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima was more serious that initially thought. Eleven workers were injured, one with serious burns. It is believed that a partial meltdown has occurred in the reactor core of the unit. Moreover, the cooling system of Unit 2 (like those of Units 1 and 3)  was disabled by the tsunami last Friday, and it is now showing problems likely to result in the same trajectory of developments. 

Soma City, Fukushima

Soma City, Fukushima, had a population estimated at 37, 730 on January 1, 2011.  Soma was an important town during the Edo era with a castle of 60,000 stones (by contrast, the walls of Nagoya Castle may contain as many as 200,000 stones)- the structure, unfortunately, was razed during the Meiji Restoration, but nice photos of the historical site as it was before the tsunami are available here .  The tsunami that hit the city on March 11 was over 7 meters, making it one of the most destructive. More than 1,800 homes were lost.

Minami Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture

Minami Sanriku, Miyagi, had an estimated population of 17,393 on Jan. 1, 2011. Nearly the entire town was inundated on Friday, March 11. Media  report today that search teams have discovered 1,000 bodies  in the town. Furthermore, the present location of 10,000 residents is unknown.

Earthquake Update: 11:30 AM, March 14

The national broadcaster NHK reports that an explosion occurred just after 11:00 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nclear power facility. Smoke can been rising from Unit 3.

Additionally, it is reported that a new tsunami has formed and is heading for already stricken areas. It is thought to be between 3 and 5 meters high.

Update 1: Media are reporting that an insignificant amount of radiation was released in today's explosion and that the reactor core remained sound.

Update 2: The tsunami alert was a false alarm.

Update 3: At 2:30 PM on March 14, NHK reported that 10 workers at the nuclear plant were injured in this morning's explosion. 

Japan Earthquake, 2011: Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture

Rikuzentakata, Iwate, population 23,197 (1/1/11) was virtually destroyed on the afternoon of March 11.  Some 25 minutes after the massive 9.0 quake, a tsunami swept through the town, razing nearly everything in its path. As of Mon., March 13, 17,000 residents had been located in evacuation shelters. The whereabouts of the others is unknown.  The video was shot by a local firefighter as the waters poured into the city and citizens ran to high ground.   

Earthquake Update- Monday, March 14

Japanese media report this morning that the radioactive vapor released from the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant measured 1,557 micro sieverts.  The micro sievert is the unit used to measure the biological effects of radiation exposure. Humans average 2,400 micro sieverts per year of natural radiation exposure. 

In other news, the operator of the nuclear facility, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), announced rolling blackouts of three hours' duration to offset a loss in capacity equivalent to 25% of normal energy use.  The blackouts will affect Tokyo and other areas supplied by TEPCO and will occur in cycles over the coming days.    

Earthquake Update, Sunday, March 13

The magnitude of Friday's quake has been upgraded to 9.0.

Fuji News Network reports that 3,000 persons have been confirmed dead or missing.

The chief of the Miyagi Prefectural Police says that the number of dead in his prefecture will likely reach the tens of 1000s.

To reduce pressure in the reactor core, radioactive steam was released from Reactor 3 at the troubled nuclear plant in Fukushima. A nuclear power expert analyzing the situation at the plant for Fuji News rates yesterday's explosion of part of Reactor 1 a "5" (on the IAEA's scale of 6), in other words, between Chernobyl and Three Mile Island in criticality. Evacuation has been ordered for those within a radius of 20 km. 

   

Nuclear Disaster

ANN News is reporting that 190 people have been exposed to radiation from explosions and deliberate steam releases (the most recent of which occurred at about 8:30 AM today, March 13) at the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima.  Evacuation of everyone within a 20 kilometer radius was ordered on March 12.

In other news, the  FNN network puts the number of dead or missing at 2,700 as of Sunday, March 13.

Earthquake, 2011- Help Us

Last night was bad- strong aftershocks occurred throughout northeastern Japan almost without break .

At 3:59 AM, Niigata (where I live with my family) and neighboring prefecture Nagano (of 1998 Olympics fame) registered a quake of magnitude 6.7. Damage to road and rail lines was sustained.

Reports of tsunami-affected areas are quite worse today (March 12th) than last night- it's hard to be hopeful.

Today: entire cities are gone.  Roads and raillines have disappeared. Surviving communities are unreachable. Many areas look like Hiroshima or Nagasaki after the atomic bombings. 

The number of confirmed casualties has been raised to 2,000 (since last night): estimates of total casualties reach the tens of 1000s.

Additionally (as of 3 PM) , 1 of 4 reactors at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture has exploded, releasing radiation into the atmosphere.

This is very serious. It feels like the end of the world.

If you can help in any way, please do.

Thank you.

Brian Southwick  

The Great Earthquake of 2011

Today, March 11, at 2:46 PM,  a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, Japan's strongest ever, occurred offshore Miyagi prefecture. Over the next 45 minutes 4 more quakes were recorded, each with a magnitude of at least 7, at points along a line stretching hundreds of  kilometers, roughly parallel to the Pacific coast, in the direction of Tokyo. Within 40 min. of the first quake, tsunami had begun inundating coastal areas, with devastating effect.  As of now, multiple waves of tsunami have devastated hundreds of kilometers of Japan's coastline and lowlying areas inland. Nearly 9 hours have passed as of this writing, and tsunami warnings remain in effect for most of the country, with the most vulnerable areas told to expect waves as high as 10 meters. NHK, the public broadcaster, puts the death toll as of 12:20 AM at more than 200, with hundreds confirmed missing. Petroleum refineries are ablaze, fires are raging out of control in several communities, millions are without power, thousands of homes are uninhabitable, and rail networks are paralyzed.

Areas in red have been warned of tsunami reaching more than 10 meters.

Update, 12:40 AM: death toll raised by NHK to more than 300

Futagawa: View #36 of Hiroshige's Tokai Road Series

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Futagawa, Aichi prefecture, as depicted by Hiroshige 

Hiroshige's "Yoshida" View, with Toyokawa Bridge: #37

Hiroshige's woodcut shows steeplejacks, or tobi, repairing a castle beside the river Toyo in present-day Aichi. Years ago one of my students at middle school decided not to continue his education, opting instead to become a steeplejack. I suggested to one of my colleagues that perhaps this wasn't a particularly wise move for the young man. The teacher's wry comment: the accomplished tobi can make as much as 1,000,000 yen in a month (approx. $11,000). By the way, the Japanese term for "black kite" (the bird) is tobi, and the two share the following Chinese character: 鳶 .

On the Tokai Road Again: Hiroshige's Woodcut Series, # 38

Hiroshige's print shows a view of Edo-era Goyu, a neighborhood in present-day Toyokawa City, Aichi prefecture. The man seated at right has a tub for bathing the feet and appears to be directing the attendant's attention to a particularly bothersome blister, no doubt caused by the chafing of his straw sandals, or waraji. The lower photos show views of the area today.

Japanese Minister Quits over Donations

Seiji Maehara announced on March 6 his resignation as Japan's Foreign Minister. Maehara bowed to pressure that he quit after it was discovered his political funds committee had accepted donations from a Korean permanent resident over a period of five years. (Japanese law prohibits political donations from non-citizens and corporations that are 51% foreign-owned.) How much did Maehara receive from the Korean friend whose restaurant the former often visited when a schoolboy?  Brace yourself: 250,000 yen, or approximately 3,000 American dollars. What would the US Chambers of Congress look like if foreign persons, corporations, and governments were forbidden to buy US politicians?      

Supreme Injustice

The US is stuck with this supreme court criminal until he croaks. In Japan most supreme court justices are over 60 when appointed and must retire at age 70. And, in Japan court justices are subjected to a people's review and can be recalled by popular demand.

The Sumo Match-fixing Scandal

The Japan Sumo Association is embroiled in the worst scandal in the history of the national sport. Evidence obtained from wrestlers' cell phones during an unrelated investigation into illegal gambling revealed the not-illegal, but certainly unsportsmanlike, practice of match-fixing among a number of wreslers just below sumo's upper division.  The term yaocho refers to this practice, and the word has an interesting derivation. It seems there was a greengrocer, one Chobe, who lived during the Meiji Era. Now the Japanese for "greengrocer" is yaoya, and as Chobe was the tencho, or manager, of his shop, he went by the appellation yaocho.  Chobe was an avid and accomplished player of the Japanese game of go, and a frequent visitor to his shop was a former sumo wrestler who fancied the game himself.  Rather than risk offending this customer and losing the man's custom, Chobe, the superior player of the two, would allow his opponent to win.  And this is how throwing a sumo bout came to be called yaocho. 

The Matoi, or Fireman's Standard

The fireman's standard, or matoi , is not just for firemen or the fully clothed.