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JPRI Japan/Pacific
Rim Media Report: May 3, 2011
In This Week’s Report
1. Senior Nuclear Advisor Resigns in Protest
2. Debris Cleanup Slowly Proceeding
3. Asbestos Poses Additional Threat to Disaster Survivors
4. Pearl Harbor Exhibits Now Include Japanese Perspectives
5. Opinion: Importance of Traveling to Japan
1. Senior Nuclear Advisor Resigns in Protest
The Wall Street Journal (Martin Fackler, “Japan's Leader Defends Handling of Nuclear Crisis,” 30 April 2011) reported that senior nuclear advisor to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Toshiso Kosako, resigned from his position, stating that he could not continue to defend the government's decision to set high radiation exposure limits for people living near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Kosako's “abrupt resignation fed growing criticism of the handling of the crisis by Mr. Kan's government.”
 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/world/asia/01japan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
2. Debris Cleanup Slowly Proceeding
National Public Radio (Yuki Noguchi, “One Big Obstacle to Japan's Recovery? Trash,” 29 April 2011) reported that the March 11 disaster has created about 16 years' worth of waste, totaling about 100 million tons. Rebuilding key infrastructure cannot proceed without first removing trash and debris, which contains unknown amounts of radioactive and toxic materials. According to the article, despite the Japanese cabinet approving spending for cleanup, local governments and residents are proactively and voluntarily “clearing their neighborhood communities” of burnable debris and other materials.
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/29/135770675/one-big-obstacle-to-japans-recovery-trash
3. Asbestos Poses Additional Threat to Disaster Survivors
The Seattle Times (Tomoka A. Hosaka, “Asbestos, Japan tsunami's other hidden danger,” 27 April 2011) reported that environmental levels of the cancer causing agent, asbestos, and other toxic airborne particles are expected to rise as cleanup workers breakdown and remove large pieces of debris in disaster-hit areas. As one small step to protect public health, authorities have moved to distribute 90,000 light protective masks.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014884233_apasjapanearthquakeasbestos.html
4. Pearl Harbor Exhibits Now Include Japanese Perspectives
Associated Press (“Pearl Harbor visitors now get Japan and US view,” 31 April 2011) reported that with the building of a new center at Pearl Harbor, Japanese perspectives on WWII have been put on display. According to Daniel Martinez, the National Park Service's chief Pearl Harbor historian, while this change was long in coming since it “would have been found unsavory by some…who were still dealing with the wounds of that war,” it is important for the American people to grasp the complexities of a relationship in which former enemies are again close allies.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h5oSuIjO_LwKX1j-1_SDt2raCnRw?docId=1e33f8f9092d4ba08f1e442c8ddaeed0
5. Opinion: Importance of Traveling to Japan
The Telegraph (Nina Grunfeld, “Tourism slowly returns to Japan,” 01 May 2011) featured a travel report on Japan, which noted that the people were still lively and the culture alive around them. The article offered an upbeat message: “Japan needs to start celebrating and not to allow those who have survived to be overwhelmed by guilt” – and that people all over the world can support Japan by visiting, and therefore “not just by donating a few quid, but by making the country feel alive again - and wanted.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8480382/Tourism-slowly-returns-to-Japan.html
The JPRI Japan-Pacific Rim Media Report is compiled and edited in cooperation with the
Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies (MAPS) Program at the University of San Francisco.
Editor: Chiho Sawada
Editorial Associates: Kristine Anthony, Joshua
Del Pino, Eric
Santiago, Jonathan Schmitt, Dai Sun
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