No Quick Fix

I feel like the more I learn about what's going on, the more I realize how LONG it's going to take to fully recover. There are so many loose ends and endless options on how to go about fixing each it's kind of mind boggling. But I know how strong this country is, and I know how much God loves Japan and wants to work through this situation, so for now just have to take everything day by day, one step at a time. Everything seems to be moving along is a good way, but that doesn't make what's happened any easier to deal with. But I DO KNOW that everyone here now is here for a purpose, and I'm going to stand on that truth as I try to figure out what my role is.

Esther 4:14 (AMP)
"For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but...who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this and for this very occasion?"


That verse really makes me think...and I want to replace the words Jews with JAPANESE, because they're just as important to God, and I can tell something is moving here, but it requires Christians being attentive to what's being put on their hearts.

But moving on, here are the things that've brightened my day along with a few updates that I'm assuming haven't reached (or just aren't being shared) overseas:

RADIATION LEVELS GOING DOWN IN SEA WATER

I know a big concern has been about the amount of radioactive material being released into the ocean around the plant, and as of yesterday reports say the levels are going down. Actually, the materials aren't being DUMPED into the sea, as the drainage pipes coming out from the plant actually end 50-70 yards away from the ocean. But the concerns have been coming based on rainfall washing the elements into the sea, as well as from spill out of contaminated water from the plant. The reservoirs within the plant are filling because a couple of the water coolant machines still aren't working (radiation levels are still too high in reactor No. 1 for staff to reconnect it), so the government has been pouring water over the top via helicopter, but of course there's only SO much water the place can hold before it becomes full.

A big problem right after the earthquake/tsunami hit the plant was that power went out, and has still been limited to the Fukushima area, so for example the lights in the control rooms at the plant weren't working. So it's not that staff wasn't working on the situation, but issues like that work making work go a LOT slower. Also, there were over 800 workers at the plant managing reactor No. 2, but all but 50 left for several days because of the high radiation levels (aka the remaining staff could only take 2 hour shifts, otherwise they'd have too much radiation overdose). But I'm happy about the figures being released for the current situation in the surrounding ocean, since they're going down...not that investigators can even prove the radioactive leaks are coming FROM the plant, as opposed to rain water and whatnot.

Level of Iodine-131 as of:
Saturday 3/26: 1850x normal
Sunday 3/27: 250x normal
Tuesday 3/29: 28x normal

The Wallstreet Journal published a good article on the current situation this morning, so I'd recommend taking a look.

GOVERNMENT TAKING OVER TEPCO

The company that's been in charge of handling the plant situation as well as the electricity redistribution thus far has been TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co), but because of some disputes the government is thinking of taking it over. I think the main reasons are because of TEPCO releasing either really VAGUE information during its updates on the situation or retracting announcements it's made at random, which are both making the public and government very annoyed. The major problem I see is that Japan's government has never been in charge of the nuclear plants nor electricity, so them taking over might not really help, but anyway it's just something being dicussed, not implemented yet. You can read more about it from The Daily Yomiuri's report.

HOW IT'S AFFECTING ME

I guess I haven't really mentioned any personal effects all this has had on me huh. It's altered my daily routine a bit, but not too much. My train schedule is the biggest thing that's messed up I guess. TEPCO has decreased most trains in the Kanto region to working at 60-80% their normal amount, and for my line that means taking out 4 (of 6) of the services. By services I mean 6 types of trains come through my station (express, commuter, local, etc) and the 4 FASTEST have been taken out of service (as they use the most energy), so I have to take the local train (normally 30 minutes) or Commuter Express (normally 24 minutes). Not so big a problem except the amount of those trains hasn't increased, which equals MORE people trying to cram on at once and thus 20-60 minute overall delays because of taking longer to load the trains and stopping from injuries of people being squished, run over by others, etc. And I don't think most people overseas realize, but we have train staff here SPECIFICALLY for the purpose of cramming more people onto trains. Example:

Anyway, that's my day...twice a day lol. Other than that small problem, I'm peachy keen :D

Daily life now

So as spring approaches, days are finally getting warmer...and by warmer I mean finally hitting the 60s. The tsunamis made the temperature take a BIG drop, so much that hanami forecasts have been delayed by 2 weeks. I am very happy though that they're finally blooming in Kyushu and lower Honshu at least. Here's the forecast as of last week (3/23) for when cherry blossoms will begin to bloom:

For the first week, all television channels had 24/7 coverage of the earthquakes and tsunamis then shifting towards radiation. But this week, a lot have begun to show specials with time slots for making donations to help victims, and yesterday I was watching a music program that had a song I really liked. It's a Japanese duo called Yuzu and they have a new release entitled "Hey和" (pronounced Hey wa). The title has a double meaning as the word heiwa means "peace" in Japanese, but the kanji 和 means Japan, so it's like they're also saying "Hey, Japan!" The lyrics really got to me, so figured I should post the song here too - very inspirational, as the group based the song on their travels throughout 3rd world countries.

I haven't found any translations to the song yet, so figured I'd make one, enjoy ;)


Hey 和 by Yuzu (ゆず) (Translated by me)

God lives in all of our hearts
In every single life
If you atune your ears, you'll hear it
Voices of lives you never noticed before

When I look up at the night sky, I think of you
And I feel a sense of warmth
Wherever you are, you're not alone
Even if the tears fall and you're feeling lonely

Wow...
I'm going to sing again today as if it's a prayer

Hey wa born into this world
Hey wa we were able to meet
What's something I could do for you?
Hey wa a never fading smile
Hey wa a song of joy
This brightness will continue burning and never fade
Because you're all here

God tests us with questions
History looks back on past sins and errors
With unhealed wounds that remain
We cannot forget them as we live on

Why do people hang onto this sadness
These wars that steal away so much have still not ceased
Children's laughter, and eyes that reflect the future
With hands linked during these precious days
And love...

How long do we have to walk to reach an end?
Looking for endings and beginnings
Closing our eyes, we try to ask that question
And then there's a light that shines through between the clouds

Hey wa born into this world
Hey wa we were able to meet
What's something I could do for you?
Hey wa like a flower in bloom
Hey wa the world comes alive
I'm going to continue protecting these hopes I won't throw away
And our thoughts filled with wishes are what connect us now
Because you're all here

Also, as far as radiation goes in Tokyo, here are the updates I've found this morning. Overall radiation in Tokyo is going DOWN - water is now safe again (readings last Wednesday were at 210 becquerel/kilogram, while yesterday they were back at 30). As reference, the legal limit for adults is 300 becquerel/kilogram for adults and 100 for infants. Also, the main radioactive elements being recorded in the air have gone down from 0.120 microsieverts/hour on Saturday to 0.115 microsieverts/hour on Sunday. As a reference, the typical amount people receive in Tokyo from bg radiation is 0.035-.044 microsievert/hour & a typical chest X-ray equals about 100 microsieverts. So at the current rate of radiation, it'd take 36 days to equal 1 chest X-ray if you're here in Tokyo (as opposed to 94-119 days normally). Of course these figures don't include all the other types of radiation we get daily (from eachother, microwaves, electronics, etc). At any rate, I'm glad to be getting so educated about radiation through all of this, and I hope the information is helpful to those reading as well ^^

The only other problem with radiation has been vegetables. I think the "increase" in radiation being reported isn't based on vegetables becoming MORE radioactive (because remember radiation in a particular item can only decrease as the elements divide and become safe again) but the fact that more places are actually testing the food. All vegetables from the prefectures around Fukushima have been banned from entering Tokyo, and I'm trying to eat safe by only buying produce grown south of here. And I think the major thing affected anyway is actually milk (which I don't drink anyway), so just waiting for things to pass. I do worry about dairy and vegetables farmers north of here, since they're losing at least $1000/day from not being able to sell things :/

And a LOT of people have been asking me about good news sources in English, so thought I'd share a few more. They're updated daily and provide more accurate reports than the media:

World Health Organization - provides 20+ page daily summaries about EVERYTHING going on in Japan
http://www.wpro.who.int/sites/eha/disasters/2011/jpn_earthquake/list.htm (downloadable pdfs)

International Atomic Energy Agency - provides daily updates in blog format
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

If anyone has questions I haven't answered yet, feel free to post and I'll try to include some explanation in my next post :D

6 months and counting

It's true. I've been living in Tokyo for 6 months now, crazy but loving EVERY second of it!! God is doing amazing things in my life and in this nation, and it's such a cool blessing to be a part of it. Spring is slowly creeping in, and I still feel jealous when I hear people in the US tell me it's 60-70 degree weather >__>; But no worries, since it's SAKURA (cherry blossom) season here!! I noticed the first buds when I went to Tokyo Disney Sea 2 weeks ago, here's a photo I took :D

The official sakura viewing season starts at the end of this month - lots of picnics for viewing at larger parks, so I'm super excited!!

And then last Friday was when the huge earthquake hit the Sendai area ><;; I don't think people realize, but Japan has minor earthquakes everday. Of course level 3-4 is nothing compared to the 8.9 that hit, but they're common in general. I've had SO many people writing/emailing/texting me if I'm ok, and the answer is 100% FINE!! Tokyo doesn't have any major damage (actually any that I've seen...), and all the precautions being taken here are to help those further north, NOT because something is wrong here. For now, the government is trying to reduce the usage of electricity because of the explosions at the plant in Fukushima, so the influence here is that everyone's electricty is getting cut for 3 hours a day for a week. That and the trains are running less. Local businesses are helping too by using only half the lights, closing earlier, etc. I've also seen reports from overseas that Tokyo is having food shortages. WE ARE NOT HAVING SHORTAGES. The only reason stores don't have enough in stock is because locals are freaking out and buying too much at a time. The Tokyo government actually released a warning earlier this week asking people to STOP buying so much, because there was no need.

If you'd like to keep up with the current situation of the earthquakes/tsunami/factory, please do NOT go to major media sources. Half of what they say is just to get more views. I'd recommend reading up at MIT's blog about what's happening: http://mitnse.com/

And if you'd like to see the current levels of radiation in Tokyo, you can see a chart that's updated every 10 minutes here: http://park18.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html

The top graph is today's levels, and the second graph is the level in December 2010. The comparison is very interesting, at least in my opinion, since there's virtually no change. But don't get me wrong, there IS major radiation north of here in Fukushima because of the plant explosion. However the molecules being released there have a half-life of 10 seconds or less, so by the time you finish this sentence...they're already gone. But the major precaution being taken in that area is to evacuate everyone lviing within 18 miles of the plant.

Anyway, yes just felt I needed to give a basic rundown. It just seems that more people overseas are freaking out than those in Japan, which I think is largely due to the misinformed media sources, and just a different purpose for reporting (Japan = to inform/calm, overseas = to make the situation seem worse, freak people out). But I've seen the Japanese people come together in an AMAZING way to deal with this tragedy, and I've come to respect them in a new way. You'd never even know there was a problem if you didn't watch the news. I suppose this post has become long enough for now, but shall be posting more here to keep you all updated ;)