Rumours and fear ... Fukushima farmers get some positive coverage at last

It's understandable that the Fukushima nuclear problems have caused worry and fear among people living near to the power plant. Japan more than any other country has good reason to be concerned about the damage that can be caused by radiation. However it seems to me that this fear is fuelled and exaggerated by the media who seem to continually want to mention the atomic bombings along side the Fukushima issues.
I don't speak or read Japanese so I can only comment on the English language coverage. From this it seems people are afraid to use any produce originating from the wider Fukushima area and in one case a father was convinced no one would want to marry his daughter because she was from Fukushima prefecture .
Last week NHK World broadcast one documentary aimed at allaying some of these fears . It was only a small thing but it was pleasing to see .
It was called Overcoming rumours and marketing Fukushima and featured a market stall set up in Tokyo by farmers in Fukushima to sell their produce accompanied by certificates proving the produce was tested and not contaminated. In addition another stall holder had started a blog featuring recipes using this produce to help the farmers cause .
At the time of writing it's still possible to view the program at the NHK web site .
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/japan7/recent.html
I'm guessing this link will only work for a week or so , the heading to look for is Restoring a Reputation.
Interestingly neither the program ( English language version ) or the NHK World web site provided either the address of the stall or the web address of the recipe blog .
I emailed NHK who happily provided the information  which I'll reproduce below by copying part of their reply.

Please see below the information about the shop and the recipes introduced

in the program.

FYI, the information in Japanese was also added.

*Kobushi no Sato: Outlet Shop of Tamakawa Villege, Fukushima Prefecture,

located in Tsukiji Outer Market of Tokyo

Midori no Eki 1-ban sen,

Tsukiji Outer Market,

4-16-2 Tsukiji Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045

TEL & FAX:  03-3547-6061

http://www.tsukiji.or.jp/modules/shoplist/shop_detail.php?shop_id=605

(Japanese only)

Tsukiji Outer Market Official Website

http://www.tsukiji.or.jp/english/

*Cooking Blog

Tsukiji Outer Market "Midori no Eki" Diary

Website: http://ameblo.jp/midori-no-eki/ (Japanese Only)

A few more news stories about the recovery process

News of the recovery efforts are still hard to find in English but here are a few links to recent reports , some of them contain links to earlier stories and photos . We are approaching six months since the earthquake and Tsunami of March 11th and normally I would hope that the media would remind the world what happened and of the plight of the survivours. However six months to the day from March 11th will also be the 10th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centre which will understandably occupy the headlines .
I hope that some of the media in the west see fit to remember the scale of the disaster in Japan and it's effect on many thousands of ordinary people and don't just focus on the Fukushima crisis .


http://www.panorientnews.com/en/news.php?k=1140

http://www.stripes.com/news/ishinomaki-residents-rebuild-their-lives-as-they-rebuild-their-town-1.153738

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/26/us-japan-tsunami-bathhouse-idUSTRE77P0H520110826

http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/drink/japan-tsunami-earthquake-2011/japans-sake-makers-unite-tohoku-372887

Not so much a positive news story but it highlights the difficulties faced in Onagawa and other coastal towns.

This article in the Economist outlines the magnitude of the task faced to rebuild towns like Onagawa and reminds us that many people still live in rescue shelters and are waiting patiently for temporary housing.


Read the article here .

A photo story about the cleanup process five months after the Tsunami .

Unfortunately this is from one of my least favourite U.K. tabloids,  however , I need to give them some credit for running a story about the recovery after the Tsunami that doesn't focus on the Fukushima crisis.

Some thought provoking before and after photos .

I found the link from this Facebook page

Kesennuma building for the future Facebook page.

they run positive stories about the recovery in Kesennuma , here is another example

https://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/kesennuma-building-for-the-future/news-from-kesennuma/237277909650158

another U.K. newspaper story about recovery of survivors belongings here ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/18/japan-tsunami-victims-reunited-cash

Sakura CD reviewed in the September issue of WIRE magazine .

Again the reviewer kindly mentioned that money raised goes to help tsunami survivors in Japan .
We placed an advert for the album in the same issue .

August 9th 2011 . Memories and fear ... the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

On 27th October 2009 I was lucky enough to visit the wonderful city of Nagasaki .

It has a rich history and there are plenty of fantastic things to see and learn about . 

In addition I wanted to visit the atomic bomb museum and peace park . It was beyond moving to stand at the exact spot over which the bomb exploded . I urge anyone to visit Nagasaki if you are in the South of Japan, learn it's rich history, eat lunch in China Town and be humbled by it's messages of peace.

Today on the 66th anniversary of that atomic bombing I was able to watch a recording of the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony which was broadcast live on NHK TV earlier in the day . The broadcast included an interview with a father and daughter from Fukushima who attended the ceremony , they feared that no one would consider marrying the girl simply because she had lived in Fukushima echoing the prejudices that occurred for people from Nagasaki all those years ago. In the U.K. the plight of the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami seems overshadowed by the Fukushima incident but the speeches and interviews at todays ceremony highlighted the fear felt by those people living near the nuclear plant.

The survivors of the bomb in Nagasaki speaking about their experiences must be the most qualified people living on this earth to express their opinions on nuclear weapons and nuclear power.

The ceremony was incredibly moving and I'm glad I was able to see the entire event with an English commentary .

News story about the ceremony click here.

photos from my visit to Nagasaki ,

Nearly 5 Months on some interesting and positive news stories .

A few recent news links from The Mainichi Daily News .......

a great achievement and a morale booster , the Japanese Ladies football team beat America in World Cup Final and are honoured by the government

Japanese ladies to be honoured for winning the World Cup.

There is still a long way to go but if you search hard enough in English language news there are stories of progress with reconstruction. This short story about the Ground Defence Forces completing relief operations in Onagawa hints at progress and also illustrates the scale of the problem when almost everything is washed away.

The GSDF personnel complete operations in Onagawa .

In addition this story about the Japanese Government announcing some reconstruction policies illustrates the immense scale of the work still to be done .

Reconstruction policy announcement

Japanese astronaut has a live chat from space with elementary school children who lost 70 % of their classmates in the Tsunami ..

ISS crewman talks with students of Tsunami devastated school via transmission