Someone sent me a link to this online petition:
We are demanding that all residents living within 80km 50 miles radius around Fukushima Daiichi Power plant be evacuated at once.
via Petition EVACUATE FUKUSHIMA 福島の子供を守れ.
The problem with demanding the state take on more and more responsibility and force other people to do something is that it usually ends in tears, and something other than the result the well-intentioned had anticipated.
The following excerpts pretty much speak for themselves, but because this is the media speaking, take a large lump of salt with all this. I’ll add my usual pearls of wisdom after you’ve read the quotes.
“It breaks my heart that they did nothing for the children,” said Sadako Monma, herself a mother of two, who has run the Soramame center for 15 years. “Our answer was to stop waiting for someone to help us.”
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Slow action by the government has set off a revolt among the usually orderly ranks of Japanese bureaucrats.
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“I don’t believe the government,” said Kanako Nishikata, 33, a mother of two elementary school children here. “The air here is dirty. The soil is dirty. They are leaving Fukushima to suffer and perish.”
via In Japan, Fukushima Parents Grow Angry Over Radiation – NYTimes.com.
The figure is equivalent to 20 times the annual radiation limit for ordinary people. When releasing the statement, the ministry also did not touch on any measures to decontaminate school facilities.
Parents voiced complaints and concern. “It is a figure too high for children,” said one parent. “No specific measures have been presented,” said another.
The city of Koriyama has decided to remove top soil from school playgrounds on its own. Even so, the central government brushed aside the local government’s move. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said, “Based on the guideline of the education and science ministry, there is no need for removal.” Read the rest of this entry »
A journalist (Gilder) seeks out a young black accused of rape, follows him and his family around for a few years and comes up with a devastating critique of the modern welfare state in the U.S.A.Although Gilder insists everything in t…
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Email, maps and travel guides most wanted on foreign trips | 世論 What Japan Thinks
Aug 22
Posted by sheffner in Uncategorized | Comments off
via Email, maps and travel guides most wanted on foreign trips | 世論 What Japan Thinks.
No. 2 was “using maps to look up routes”. Can you guess what #1 was?
And here are some other recent surveys. They give an interesting glimpse into Japanese psychology, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.
via When Japanese think they’re back home from overseas | 世論 What Japan Thinks.
No.1 is totally predictable.
via How Japanese spent their summer holidays as kids | 世論 What Japan Thinks.
This one’s pretty depressing. Top of the list is “Was busy with club activities so didn’t have any free time” and “Was busy studying so didn’t have any free time” comes in at #4. All work and no play and all that, so it’s not surprising that No. 2 is “was at a loose end every day.”
Tags: children, cultural commentary, Japan, surveys, what japan thinks