Return to Japan

As indicated in a previous posting, Clara and I reluctantly returned to Japan on Wednesday 23rd March. Although the situation in Japan is far from ideal on a number of fronts, the situation at the Fukushima nuclear power station appears to have stabilsed. The day Clara and I flew out of Japan, the situation appeared to be worsening minute by minute. By the end of our stay in Hong Kong, minor battles were being won by the engineers up in Fukushima.

As is apparent from the news, the situation is still very serious. Should there be any further hint that control may be lost once again, perhaps an impromptu holiday in Okinawa will be called for. The current situation in Tokyo is not ideal, but not one of great hardship. There are very occasional power cuts, train schedules have been pared slightly, and people are very conscious to look after each ampere of electricity.

So, many of my foreign friends wonder what the future holds. Perhaps the Japanese do not think about the future so much as they are fully committed to the physical and economic recovery of their country. Foreign residents have many wider issues to consider (although perhaps of a lesser gravity) and a greater range of options. Power cuts are expected to continue, and perhaps increase as the forthcoming summer heat forces people to turn on their air conditioners. The newspaper cutting indicates the schedule of blackouts in the Tokyo area. Areas are divided into groups, with each group scheduled to have a 3-hour blackout at a pre-planned time.

Aftershocks still rock the Tokyo area - there was a long magnitude 6.3 shock a couple of hours ago. Many people remain on edge and are keeping their fingers crossed there are no more traumatic events to follow. It will take a long time for nerves to settle and for us all to be confident the ground we are walking on is solid once again.