Tag Archives: nuclear disaster

3/11 – Five Years After the Earthquake and Tsunami

Is it already March 11, 2016? It’s hard to believe that the big earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region was five years ago. I’m posting this at exactly 2:46 pm, which was the time of the earthquake. I Have some pretty strong memories of that day.

I’d like to direct your attention to a few posts I made in the past about the earthquake.

First of all, please read what I wrote two days after the earthquake on my Japan blog. That’s my very fresh memory of the experience. And then, the first anniversary of the earthquake.

In 2014, I wrote a comprehensive list of posts I made related to the earthquake. I recommend you read that for some very good coverage.

And then last year, I wrote a post with videos of the earthquake. I highly recommend you check that out.

Now that it’s five years later, and we’re moving to Canada, earthquakes are one thing I won’t be experiencing. In Edmonton, the ground is stable. If we ever move to the west coast, then we can experience earthquakes again. However, there’s a chance of a megathrust earthquake there, similar to what hit Japan five years ago.

Things in Japan have mostly returned to normal. However, the area around Fukushima is still suffering the effects. Not much has been resolved, either. The people in charge of TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) have been indicted on charges related to their incompetence and lies. They will go to prison, as Japan has an extremely high conviction rate. What will happen in the future is anyone’s guess.

A disturbing trend I’ve seen at times is people condemning Japanese people for what happened. You have to understand that the Japanese are the biggest victims in this. Blame TEPCO and the Japanese government for the coverup and incredibly slow response, as well as the poor maintenance of the power plants. Whatever you do, don’t blame Japanese people and insult them about this. They had as little to do with it as you did.

Comments and questions are appreciated.