News from UP North

March 24, 2011 -#2

Mizuho Bank is really having a hard time fixing their computer system failure. It seems part of their problem happened when a lot of people tried to take money out of the bank after the quake. And they have not been able to fix it since then. They said on Sunday, that they would have everything ready by Monday or Tuesday at the worst, but it is still not fixed. And salaries are not being paid. Now, most companies in Japan pay their employees by bank transfer. But, transfers have been stopped for several days now.

Radiation exposure is expanding in more types of food and into the water supply in a wider range of areas. They are saying on TV that the amount of contamination is very low and the water can be used. But it should not be given to babies. Elements in the radiation will be collected in the baby's thyroid. It seems that this does not happen in adults, because babies are growing and their bodies mistake some parts of the radiation as something they need.



Up till now, the govt. has been telling farmers and farm co-ops NOT to deliver certain foods to the market place, NOW the govt. is saying DO NOT EAT THESE FOODS, and they have a published list.

I would like to get a complete list of the half life of the radiation elements and their proper names in English and Japanese.

• the iodine isotope has a half live of 8 days
• another, cesium, leaves the body in about 80 days

Roads heading north have been opened to the public this morning. But, even just two days ago, truck drivers in some towns who were delivering much needed gas would not go to some towns because they were too close to the Fukushima Nuclear Plants. The little towns that needed the gas, had to find a gas truck themselves and go find the truck driver and pump in the gas themselves.

NHK had a very sad report this morning, in one of the sad towns that was hard by the tsunami, the town office loud speakers, during the quake and after, kept broadcasting. The young woman who was in charge of that job kept telling everyone to "go to higher ground," "keep moving higher". After the tusnami, NHK talked to the survivors who all said that the broadcast helped them to keep moving and to not stop. But, during the tsunami, most, maybe all of the city employees fled up to the second, then the third floor and then the roof and they barely lived. Well, the broadcast center was on the second floor and since Miki san stayed at her post till the end, she did not make it out alive. Later, NHK found her parents and they wanted to listen to the recording made by a security camera. They wanted to hear their daughter's voice for the last time. We could clearly hear Miki san telling everyone to climb to higher ground and you can just barely see the tsunami sweeping over the city office.....

Another sad story -- a daughter asked the Japanese Self-Defense Force to look for her mother and father, who live just 3K from the Fukushima Plant. The reporter along with them filmed the encounter. They found the very old mother. The father is bedridden. She refused to leave or to barely talk to anyone. She was clearly not thinking clearly and looked a bit out of her mind, but the military did not have authority to forcefully remove them both, so they tried to give them some advice - keep the windows closed, etc. But, just imagine, the military guys were all wearing full nuclear protection gear and masks..... They looked like something from outer space. I wonder what the old woman is doing for food.

The blackouts will most likely be extended through the spring and into the summer. Usage goes up almost double what it is now.... I hate to think about that.


Talking about the Japanese Self-Defense Force, I saw something surprising. There was a base near Sendai. And since Sendai was hit by a large tsunami 10 or 15 minutes after the quake, the base was hit as well. They knew very well that a big quake would create a large tsunami and they trained for it all the time - the commander said, but they were unable to save any of the jets or helicopters. I mean, don't they have pilots on the ready at all times to fly those jets in case of "problems"??? The fighter jets were rolled around by the tsunami, getting seaweed, it looked like, in their engines. I find that is kind of amazing, unreal. The base commander had tears in his eyes as he said that they were unable to help save anyone because they had nothing to fly....all the helicopters were wrecked.