Land of the setting sun

As Japan plunges into darkness after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, a first person account of a Tokyo resident who says they continue to live in a climate cloudy with fear

At first glance, it seems to be business as usual here, where I live and work in the Japanese capital of Tokyo.
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Yet, it takes just one step inside a store to show you that life has changed in so many ways for the Japanese, even for those who may not have been in the direct line of disaster when the earthquake and subsequently, tsunami struck.



The first thing that strikes you inside these stores is the paucity of food on the shelves and no electricity, so it is dark inside. North East Japan is still reeling but the effects are being felt everywhere with a damaged supply resulting in a shortfall of water and electricity.

Damage
Though the damage in Tokyo is nothing compared to the situation in Tohoku (N E Japan), people are scared. I can see the fear on their faces; hear it in their voices. It is this fear of the unexpected that is driving people to buy as much food as possible. It is impossible to get any bread or rice in the super markets. This fear bordering on paranoia was palpable last week but now after one week, I see people have cooled off. There is actually a transfer of feelings from 'I' to 'they'. People who were selfishly stocking up on goods are now actually holding back so that food and other essentials could actually be supplied to North East Japan where the desperation and despair is evident and people need food much more over there.u00a0

Trepidation
Yet, it is not like people are not experiencing stomach churning trepidation, even now, on a daily basis. We have aftershocks one after another continuously, so there is a feeling of great uneasiness. These do not influence daily life or lead to any major disaster here, but I presume that the aftershocks occurring on the Miyagi coast are actually damaging those areas and of course, mentally affecting people. We are anxious that these might trigger another massive earthquake. There is a sense of living on the edge if one could put it that way.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Radiation
Then, of course, there is the possibility of the prospect of radiation hanging over our heads like a Damocles sword.u00a0 Real worry set in with the explosion of the power plants due to the quake and tsunami and people living 10 km from the power plant being told to move away. It was compounded when we in Tokyo heard that it was doubled to 20-30 km in just a few hours time. As soon as the nuclear leakage was reported, most foreigners started to go back to their countries and foreign capital firms began to move their office to Osaka, for temporary relocation. We are eagerly devouring reports about the cooling down of the power plant, aware that we too might be exposed to radiation at any minute. Some Tokyo citizens especially with small children are still moving out to visit their family or relatives in western Japan, like Osaka, Shikoku or Kyushu, so the fewer express trains have been overcrowded with people escaping from Tokyo.

Shortage
Due to the expected heavy shortage of energy, the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started to do a planned blackout in Kanto area, (The Kanto region is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area) including Tokyo. The blackout is held according to the area and is done at odd intervals with a cycle of three hours. Since trains use up a massive amount of electricity, JR and Tokyo Metro have decreased the number of trains. There are no prizes for guessing the result. Trains are running even more crowded than usual. Some people come late for work and others have been absent from office because some lines have totally stopped working. Some workers have decided to stay at home in case of nuclear leakage.

Light
For me personally, it is a one-hour walk to the office these days. I enter a dark zone where sometimes the only light is that of the computer screen. In a twisted kind of way one can call that working by computer screen light, instead of the more romantic and appealing candlelight dinner. Because of the efforts to save energy, the office is dark and one is not allowed to turn on the heater or boil water to make tea. Everybody though is working as usual, only wrapped up in a blanket thanks to the unforgiving Tokyo winter. My boss and I work, tapping our frozen fingers on the computer keyboard (in fact, they are frozen even as I write this) with the only light coming from the screen.

Dark
Yet, this darkness envelops us everywhere, not just physically but mentally too we start to feel dark, discussing how depressing and stressful it could be for people evacuating in the shelter of Tohoku area. They say that in adversity, people rise above themselves. That belief has got new life, I think, when I look at the people around me.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Care
Most of the people around me are not irked about these inconveniences, they know that the least they could do at a time like this for the people in the devastated area is to save as much energy as possible, so that they can get more supply. From the darkness comes certain rays of sunshine. I learn that there is a great capacity to care for others in my fellow countrymen. The consistency of the Japanese to put others before self in the shadow of such a catastrophe is remarkable. The decency and inherent tendency to be well organised is standing the Japanese in good stead, preventing any kind of panic or chaotic situation.

Emergency
Just a couple of days ago, I received some emergency food from a friend living in Shikoku (Western Island comprising Japan) where there was no damage by the earthquake. She saw on television how Tokyo is running out of food and quickly sent us some tinned food with her warm regards. Concerns from friends are the biggest support. I wish I could support people in this devastated area in any way I can.

Feasible
Questions have arisen in my mind about why huge companies do not close their offices completely, since they are consuming so much electricity in Tokyo? When I asked friends working in major Japanese companies, they told me that some part timers were told to stay at home. Yet, most of the core staff has been asked to report to work. March is the end of year (for companies and schools) in Japan, and is the busiest time of the year so to keep away from work is not feasible. For others though, work is a comfort right now, a must to retain one's sanity and peace of mind.

Shaking
On March 11, when the earthquake occurred. I was working on the third floor of my office building. The building was designed to absorb quakes, but the shaking was immense and lasted so long that I could not even stand. Soon my boss shouted,u00a0 "open the door" so I went to the door and opened it but it kept shutting. We could not run out. The shaking lasted for almost three minutes, after which we turned on the TV. We were shocked to learn that an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter Scale occurred and a devastating tsunami happened soon after. Telephone lines went dead and I could not reach my parents till that evening, though the Internet was more reliable.

Home
That night, because most of the people were not able to go home as public transportations were stopped, the tatami (tatami means mat in Japanese) room for emergencies was opened for everyone to stay. I spent the night there with about 20 colleagues lying on tatami wearing coats and checking information on TV and our mobile phones.

Also, eating emergency tinned food. Some people, who had already started heading home, had to walk hours to reach home from where the train had stopped.

Overseas
My friends who live overseas are telling me to move away from Tokyo. They say that the media in Europe is looking at the situation in a very pessimistic way, which makes them think that I am in absolute danger and should move away from Tokyo at any minute. Other friends are calling me and sending me emails and messages via Facebook, encouraging and showing sympathy. These are really cheering me up and are very touching.

Change
At work, I notice a change in my colleagues. Generally, everybody is becoming close and caring more deeply for others, bringing food and drink to colleagues, visiting each other's desk more often than usual and checking news on TV and exchanging information.

They have been discussing the news, what we can do for the people in Tohoku, and how the electricity cuts are affecting us. Most of us are trying to keep ourselves busy so that we don't have to think about this tragic situation too much and become too nervous. Overall, though, there is a sense of calm now.

Conflicting
Personally, there are so many conflicting thoughts and since the situation is in constant flux, because of the threat of more power plant explosions, I am still not at a stage where I can think of the future.u00a0 But one thing I am sure about is that my life has not changed as drastically as the people in the devastated areas. My parents are alive and my colleagues are fine. Nothing has changed for the citizens of Tokyo compared to the people who survived in the Tohoku region.

I want to sign off by saying that the threat of nuclear radiation has compounded all our problems. If this was not happening, the rehabilitation from the earthquake and tsunami could have been started earlier in a better way andsome of the lost lives during this week could have been saved. I feel strong anger and grief at this man-made disaster.

I hope every country in the whole world learns a lesson from this and hope that this kind of nuclear power station crisis never occurs again.

The change I see
Moe Fukui says some changes are tangible in Tokyo like:
Public transportation not working as before
The city is very dark at night because the convenience stores and all the other buildings have turned off the lights due to energy saving
There is no food (especially bread and rice) in stores
There is a shortage of gasoline
There is a water cut in some suburban areas of Tokyo
People are wearing masks
My room at home is messy with things that fell from the shelves during the earthquake
Furniture at home is now fixed so that it stays fixed during aftershocks
The TV is always turned on for information about aftershocks and condition of the nuclear power plants