Here's a short preview of the documentary video made by Chris Noland (whom I've just found out is one of my Twitter followers).
from a tweet by this person who says:
マスコミでは報道されない．政府は国民の生命よりも，原発の利権を優先している．もう，日本を日本の子供を救うのは，国際世論しかない．
This [documentary] will never be reported in the mass media. The Japanese government is putting the interest of the nuclear power industry before the lives of Japanese citizens. Now, only the international opinions can save Japan and Japanese children.
Hmmm. I don't think so. Japan, you can't depend on or look forward to "outside" intervention. There is no "kamikaze" (divine wind) here that blew to wipe out the warships of Mongols. If you don't stand up, no one will do that for you.
30-Day free trial by following the link.
Tokyo Time
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12 comments:
I guess you did say the same at your japanese blog...
Might be interesting for us non-japanese speaking people to hear about the comments. Please keep us up to date.
@Viola, I'm thinking about writing in Japanese about that, plus more.
People there have this strangely cynical attitude that is diametrically opposite of pleading for international intervention. On the one hand, they say only the foreigners can save them now. On the other hand, they say Americans (military) helped Japan in the early days of the disaster, with radioactive materials falling on them, only because it was to the benefit of the United States militarily, and think it's cool and sophisticated to spout that idea. Then their own government has misappropriated the donation money from the international communities for whale fishing.
Makes me feel utterly hopeless and useless trying to whack their heads (figuratively) to make them come to their senses.
@ arevamirpal::laprimavera
Wow, that's a big problem indeed... I never met this attitude with japanese people I know, but this may be due to the fact they're all anti-nuclear anyway. So - what might help? Voices not coming out from the US? Would you imagine they'd rather accept french, german, english stuff? Or is it a general mistrust in foreign whatsoever?
As to your last point about the whale fishing money: I did some research because I was really angry about that. Looks like it isn't the donation money that they spend but part of the governmental budget. But anyway - this doesn't make things better... I can remember well the voices in Germany back in March who said "Why shold we donate for Japan? It's a rich country, they can help themselves." I didn't favour that opinion then, I still don't. That's why I donated then. And I'm pretty sure my money went to the people because I choose the organisation according to their agenda...
But for sure the japanese government couldn't be more sucessful in destroying their least bit of credibility with such a step. As well as this accounts even more for the prejudice against the japanese people.
Tragic. And for those who live near Japan, on land, or near the ocean or where there is rain...we all will share in the tragic results of radiation. No where in the media is the spreading danger mentioned--the poisoned rain people collect and drink, land and foods grown poisoned by Fukushima, poisoned oceans of the world. This is NOT a horror movie which ends when the film is over. The horror is forever.Japan's nuclear mess is going to damage if not destroy the world--
Sad.
International help, yes.
Let's see. In my memory, I find a young girl trembling with fear and asking her father whether there would indeed be a war in her country. The father, a man with some intellectual repute and supposedly informed, laughs and says: "No, don't be foolish. The international community would not allow that, it's not in their interest."
He was wrong. There was a war and the international community made some money and some practical claims about policy on the basis of the wars.
You are right. The international community will not do anything. It will be the fiction of business as usual as long as it can be sustained. With the USSR, it was expedient to point out their failures. With Japan, it's not expedient.
The Japanese, and other people who understand what is happening, are largely on their own. There are perhaps only three options: a huge uprising/protest movement, mass emigration, and a slow, private development of toughness and knowledge on how the survive the roulette.
Unfortunately, I only foresee the third option in the future, with the consequence of many people, especially children, dying until people develop an "instinct" for what to do. I am not romanticizing this option; I prefer a large, demanding uprising. But a lot of damage has been done already and people living in Japan will have to develop ways of coping with what happened in practical ways: eat this, don't eat that. go here, don't go there, your Geiger counter is busted, get a new one. It's already happening. It's too individualized for me, too atomized (pardon the pun), but that seems to be the Japanese way.
What a paradox, isn't it? Instead of a group solution (for this is a group problem, actually, it'a global problem), even that most group-oriented society (or so they say) is finding only highly individual solutions.
@anon at 10:21PM, thank you for the excellent comment.
Good stuff but Chris needs the post production folks to spell check the subtitles. Also, they need to place information text on who is talking if it is an official.
Also, for example, the one foreigner who was describing that reactor #4 was meant only to 400 (I believe that's what he said) spent fuel rods but it has over 1500 crammed in there. It was difficult to hear him and he spoke quickly so it should be subtitled also so others can understand what he said.
Great effort on his part! Hopefully the background music will not be too loud as to drown out those speaking in the movie. Love your efforts Chris but please take care of your health and body.
Well, I'm really sorry for the japanese population, but seriously, how could anybody from the outside spread information without getting suspected of pushing his own agenda? Worse, most likely those who do will try to push their agenda.
Just compare the contents of MSM in UK and Germany, it's ridiculous if you see both sides. Which one is "true"? Or is there even a "true" side?
Again, I'm sorry, but this is a problem the japanese society has to form their own opinion on. They have the means to get information from outside, it is the duty of a democratic society to stay informed as best as possible.
Frankly, from the outside, I don't feel like we are even legitimized to influence the japanese society in basic decisions like that. It is not like we don't want to do so, personally I have an urge to push my anti-atom believe.
You are absolutly right.
And now you begin to realise the true meaning behind the notion A Nucklear Nightmare.
A fluid flux of reality, where as everything persived looks "okey".
And stil the radiation is there, and its leathal to anything, not only humans, this is without mercy or moral, it just damages anything and the ultimate price is death by radiation. Neverforgett its a full spectrum radiation(aprox: 200 different Isotops) poisiouning at a mindboggelig scale and scope.
The suner you realise it, the bigger is the chanse for actualy gain something.
Time is essens.
This issue is not just a Japanes one, had this happened in My country I am 100% shure the situation and peoples recation, would be exactly the same. No exeptions.
And we all know that in the end it boils down to our self, and nobody else. In this times of danger, they all wait. The biggest lie of them All is the Notion of What can I as a simple individ do, against this fate, alone.
The tipping point wil not ocure before they all know hat the only way to regain a goverments proper actions, is to force them to.
By presens and number.
Nothing wil happen if you dont do anything, nothing.And the consequences is stil mounting and accumulating, doing nothing wil just increas the dangers.
peace
It is interesting that the last comment in the documentary is the main subject of the conversation.
I filmed this after volunteering the first time when I wondered where all the aid was..... I volunteered and made this film at the same time. I did not move to Japan for it, I was already there and I was not a documentary filmmaker.
The film largely features people that did stand up for themselves, saying they could not even depend on their own Government during the Tsunami relief and nuclear disaster.
The movie is mostly in Japanese with affected Japanese people, it was a project I started to get them the answers they wanted, and when I could not get them either, I saw that the system was broken, just like almost anywhere in the world.
The problem with the nuclear disaster is that it knows no borders, and that accident is a world problem. Even bigger is that its not over either.
The Japanese Government in my opinion fails to realize they have created a problem for the entire earth, yet they are not even willing to do anything about the huge cesium blanket over fukushima, they would just rather you forget about it.
I had really high hope that they would turn to renewables for energy and it would all have a happy ending. But they are not and there is no mass uprising, so this is the reality of what I ran into for 6 months in Tohoku.....
Chris Nokand, I emailed you and sent you a facebook message. I would like to screen your film.
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