Be Afraid! Massive Earthquake Coming to a Neighborhood Near You! - TV Transmissions to Continue!

A couple of stories in the news that made me chuckle this morning about how the news will do whatever, whenever it can, to sell fear. We, the doofus public, must always remember that fear and sensationalism sell the news. My friend Aaron Egon Moser reminds me that in the 1990s crime went down 43% but news coverage of crime went up 400%. I believe those statistics are from the book Freakonomics.

Of course, though, this isn't to say that normalcy bias isn't something you shouldn't educate yourself about, it certainly is. Being prepared for emergencies isn't being a nutcase, it's just being smart. Another reader, Clark, writes, "...did you know that the Crash of 1929 didn’t even make the front page of the New York Times? It took about three years for the full impact of that even and the corollary effects to work its way through the economic system. The Shit didn’t just hit all at once, it was a process, much in the same way it is happening today, little by little, bit by bit the massive economic distortions are continuing to work out through the system." 

So, like I said, having at least the minimum amount of food, water and supplies stored up isn't panic stricken, it is common sense.


Now, let's move onto the news stories that gave me a laugh this morning. First off is the report that a major earthquake in Tokyo would kill over 9,000. MSN reports: 

More than 9,600 people would die with nearly 150,000 injured if a mega-quake struck Tokyo, a disaster that would also level large parts of the Japanese capital, a government projection said Wednesday.

The frightening simulation was released by the Tokyo metropolitan government as Japan slowly rebuilds its northeast coast, which was devastated by a magnitude 9.0 quake in March last year that unleashed a deadly tsunami.

The disaster killed some 19,000 people and triggered the worst nuclear accident in a generation.

Tokyo was largely spared from the damage, but if a smaller 7.3-magnitude quake struck the sprawling metropolis, it would leave about 9,600 dead and 147,000 people with injuries, including 21,900 seriously, the projection said.

Interesting timing of these announcements... Just as the government claims it wants to raise sales taxes to pay for debt and reconstruction of up north... I wonder if these projections are more reliable than the projections made by models for Global Warming and the complete disappearance of the Himalayan glacial ice by 2035... Or was that 2350 (just a typo!)? Seriously, though, I find this kind of news interesting because I wonder what the purpose of it is. 

"Earthquake!? But dear, what about your bridge club meeting with the ladies?"

Andrew Joseph over at the thoroughly enjoyable "Japan: It's a Wonderful Rife" blog (one of my daily "must reads") writes:

"I agree with you that the media loves its doomsday scenarios to sell the news. Having worked as a newspaper reporter for the Toronto Star, I can tell you that even a well-respected paper like that does not print all the news that is fit to print. It prints all the news IT thinks you want to read about. We all know that in the entire world on any given day, there are more than the 200 news items printed in a newspaper of 50 items in a TV news broadcast that occur. Why do they choose what they choose? They need something to sell. 

Japan is hot. Nukes are hot. Ask one idiot for an opinion and you have a news story. A good media will get more than one opinion... it's probably why good magazine articles are so good... they interview multiple sources that prove a point and multiple sources that could also provide a counter-point. 

The worst part is that the reader/viewer/consumer is so ready to believe anything it hears." 

In the story about 9,600 dying in a massive earthquake, there is nowhere that says, "Do the minimum to prepare by storing water and food and emergency supplies." It is merely a fluff piece to scare people... 

Actually am also wondering why they think such a big disaster in Tokyo, if a similar one already happened in a much more lightly populated area of Japan, Tohoku, and killed 20,000, why do they think it would only kill 9,600 in Tokyo? You'd think it would kill many more.


But actually, if you're dead, what difference does it make how you die? Especially when you have a much higher chance of dying by heart disease, cancer, stroke, car accident, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. etc... Hell, I reckon the odds of dying in an earthquake are about as high as the odds of being hit by lightening. Hmm? Come to think of it, I do wonder what the odds are! Well, I checked! For example, according to the Live Science web site, you have a 1 in 5 chance of dying by heart disease; a 1 in 7 chance of dying from cancer; 1 in 100 chance of dying in motor vehicle accident; 1 in 121 chance of dying by suicide; 1 in 246 chance of dying from falling down and a 1 in 131,890 chance of dying in an earthquake or natural disaster which is just a tick above the odds of dying in a dog attack at 1 in 147,000 which is a slight nod above the 1 in 200,000 chance of dying by being hit by an asteroid.


If you realize this, then you might, as I have come to realize, stop buying lottery tickets...


Yet, I do understand that, perhaps after the March 11 earthquake of last year, the odds of dying in a natural disaster may have gone up a few thousandths of a percentage.


I also know that a 9.0 quake is a few thousand times stronger than a 7.0 quake... But the news won't tell you that... Not this news at least. 

Interestingly, this fluff piece that scares people comes a few months after another fluff piece that scared people came out just about six months ago - and six months after the March 11 disaster. Talk about timing! The BBC news reports in Big Tokyo earthquake likely "within the next few years":

The team, from the University of Tokyo, said there was a 75% probability that a magnitude seven quake would strike the region in the next four years.

The government says the chances of such an event are 70% in the next 30 years.

The warning comes less than a year after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan's north-eastern coast.

The last time Tokyo was hit by a big earthquake was in 1923, when a 7.9 magnitude quake killed more than 100,000 people, many of them in fires.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo's earthquake research institute based their figures on data from the growing number of tremors in the capital since the 11 March 2011 quake.

Wait a minute! First it says, "...(University of Tokyo team said) a 75% probability that a magnitude seven quake would strike the region in the next four years. Then it says, "The government says the chances of such an event are 70% in the next 30 years." ...Wait! What???


So, then, what does this all mean? Is this a math question? Let's see, 75% over 4 years divided by a bunch of stoner university students multiplied by 70% divided by 30 years done by a bunch of useless bureaucrats? The answer? The answer is elementary, my friend, there is a 97% chance of something big happening sooner or later.

Let's go back in time to a few days before whatever it was that was going to happen

It means absolutely nothing. It's all purely conjecture. If these people were good at predictions they'd all be rich and, far from predicting earthquakes, may I suggest that they'd be down at the horse races or sitting in front of the ticker at the stock market? 

There is nothing in the least bit useful or redeeming in this news piece either.

But never fear! Regardless of how powerful the earthquake and how many times over you and your family will be smashed, crushed, stomped on and just plain killed to death, you'll still be able to view the entire event as it unfolds on your large screen TV, from the comfort of your living room, as Japan's TV station's transmitter building - Tokyo Skytree - will never succumb to even the greatest of earthquakes! Bloomberg's Businessweek reports in Japan's newest tower uses anti-quake technology:

The Skytree has a restaurant and two cafes on the observation decks, a vertigo-inducing glass floor that allows visitors to look straight down, and an emergency staircase with 2,523 steps.

The tower was constructed with extremely strong steel tubes surrounding a central concrete column that are structurally separate from each other in the tower's mid-section. In the event of an earthquake, the concrete core and steel frame are designed to offset each other to reduce the building's overall motion.

The Skytree has been built to stand firm even if a magnitude 7 quake were to strike beneath the building, said Sho Toyoshima, a spokesman for Tobu Tower. He said the tower sustained no structural damage from the magnitude 9.0 quake that struck off Japan's northeastern coast last March, even as it was being built.

The Skytree is expected to bolster television and radio transmissions in the capital region. Owners hope it will also become a new tourist destination in Tokyo.

I cracked up about this entire thing this morning as one of my favorite web sites for Japan news, News on Japan, had the story about the killer earthquake as it's lead story and the article about Tokyo Sky Tree second.

I thought that was comical.

Doesn't this seem odd? Is someone over at News on Japan pulling our collective legs?

Anyway, folks, the point is that within the next two years or more, there is going to be a massive earthquake or not that is going to possibly happen and kill many people or maybe not. 

As my dad used to say, "You just might not never know!" I guess we'll never know until we know so stay afraid... Stay very afraid...

Tokyo: Giant Radioactive Mutant Bed Bugs Spawned From Fukushima Disaster! Bed-Bugs Discovered the Size of Rats!

"Fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats" - "Future Legend" by David Bowie 

"Giant Mutant Bed Bugs!?" Ewww! I was shocked as I read the headlines... I think one of the most absolutely disgusting things in the world are Bed Bugs. Huge ones!? That's just sickening and makes my skin crawl... 

"Tokyo: Giant Radioactive Mutant Bed Bugs Spawned From Fukushima Disaster! Bed-Bugs Discovered the Size of Rats!" Scary... And misleading... This sort of headline is fitting for Japanese 1950s Science Fiction movies ala Mothra versus Godzilla or a Gigantor cartoon. And why not? The Fukushima disaster is a real disaster and it's certainly capturing the imaginations of people all around the world including advertising agencies, survival goods suppliers, political organizations and, of course, said science fiction writers.


Some of those science fiction writers - whether for publications, mass media or retailers - are doing all they can in cashing in on Fukushima... They are cashing in on it to sell their sensationalist scribblings, video reports or just plain to peddle goods.


That's what this post is about: Selling goods using misleading headlines... What used to be called "False Advertising." One of the most dispicable things about the world of advertising is misleading headlines; the old "bait and switch." 


This post has it all! It is about misleading headlines, bait and switch and disgusting Bed Bugs. 


This morning, over my coffee, I found one advertiser that has really gone too far. There is an ad on Yahoo that, in my book, insinuates something sinister going on related to Fukushima but it is nothing of the sort. Take a lookie at this ad:

This is the ad. Now, you tell me, with all the news about Fukushima, what does this image and the text suggest to you?

Some advertisers will stoop to any level in order cash in on other peoples misery and troubles and use scare tactics to sell product... Unfortunately, most people are too brain dead from too much TV that they fail to see it for what it is.


This advertiser has really gone too far. I've said many times that things are bad enough at Fukushima for those poor folks but recently, the shrill voices of terror, gloom and doom have really gotten out of control with their reporting of "worse case scenarios" as being signed, sealed and delivered finished deals. I wrote about that in Sensationalism, Scare-Mongering and the Nanny State.


The sensationalism really has dropped to tabloid level. Just like something you'd see at the check out like at your local super market, this madness has stooped to new lows. Here's a new bait and switch that gets folks in Tokyo and the world over who are panicking about Fukushima to click their banner because it looks like it portends to news about radiation...


On the top page of Yahoo Finance, the bait and switch ad appears on the right. It says, "New Plague in Tokyo. If you live in Tokyo, you'd better read this..."

In fact, these guys are really going for it, I see where their ad is a revoling ad along with a credit card company and also appears with a different image as this, "New Bug in Tokyo. If you live in Tokyo, you'd better read this..." 

The ads are by a probable fly-by-night company named Guru Media. This poor excuse for an advertising agency claims:


Guru Media International was founded by a team of marketing and advertising professional who understand that today’s world requires a customized suite of solutions to help companies succeed. (sic)


Bwa! Ha! Ha! Terrible! "...founded by a team of marketing and advertising professional"!? Really? Guys, there's supposed to be an "s" at the end of professional, as in "professionals."


Maybe professionals at marketing and advertising but not professionals at spelling, copy-writing or editing... And these clowns are getting contracts from someone? 


Wow! A lead in suggesting Fukushima radiation problems in Tokyo that take me to an ad for Bed Bug remedies in Minnesota? There really must be a sucker born every minute! (Pun intended!)


Anyway, back to the misleading banner ad. I live in Tokyo and when I saw it this morning, I clicked it. I clicked it because I thought, "What kind of nonsense is this now? Another company selling fear and survival gear?" But no! It's worse than that! I clicked the link and found... A full page ad selling products to fight Bed Bug infestations in the United States!


This ad has zero to do with Japan! It is an ad for products to fight the Bed Bug infestation that is spreading across the United States today. There's not one single mention of anything that has to do with Japan excepting the byline at the start that claims this "news" is from Tokyo (probably an algorythm that helps the advertisers decide where the results are best). When you click the banner, it takes you to this paid advertisement. Here's the ad at the top of the page:

It reads: 

Tokyo: Remember when "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite" was just a cute bedtime expression that didn't mean anything? Well, those days are over. After 6 decades of living largely bed bug-free, the US is facing a national infestation.

In fact, the incidence of bed bug infestation has risen 500% in the last few years alone, and they're not just in dirty hotels - they're at the 5-star ones as well and swarming the public places you visit every day. Bed bugs are shutting down businesses and being found at your local movie theaters and clothing stores as they inch closer and closer to your home..

Nothing to dow with Japan at all... Now, that's some mighty fine bait and switch there! I'll bet they catch some pretty good sized fish with that too! Maybe this works for people nowadays. Maybe people are so drugged out or have such a problem with ADD or short attention spans that they've become like pigeons. You know, 1.5 seconds later they can't remember what they were doing.


What's the point of my rant? Well, I think it's pretty obvious that sensationalism sells. It sells newspapers and advertisers for TV and radio... Heck, selling by using fear and sensationalism isn't even hidden anymore. It is blatant and they have no reservations about using dishonest methods to make a buck.


You'd have hoped that, after all the lies of the mass media concerning Saddam Hussein, SARS, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Global Warming, ad nauseum, that people advertising on the internet would be a bit more sophisticated along with the audience...


I guess I hope for too much. Alas....

-----

Now, I often complain in this blog and sometimes people take me to task for only complaining and not offering solutions. I stand guilty as charged! But not today! Today, I am going to put my money where my mouth is. Today I am going to show you just how a company can be honest and still do a great business. We don't need misleading sensationalism to sell a product where a need actually exists... Where a need does not exist, sensationalism is a good way to take advantage of suckers.


So, without further ado, may I show you folks a good way on how to sell product against Bed Bugs? First off, find a person with a need (Read: someone with Bed Bugs). Secondly, have them watch the following video. This is a 6 minute long Emmy Award winning documentary called,

WHEN BED BUGS ATTACK! 

Ewwwww!!!!! This gives me the chills every time I see it. Is that creepy, or what? Can there be anything more horrible than something that bites you will you're sleeping? The vampire Bed Bugs!... That there's an infestation of these creepies all over America just gives me one more good reason why I'm staying here in Japan all safe and snug as a bug in a rug in Tokyo...


Fukushima radiation? Compared to these bed bugs, I'll stay here and take my chances.

Fear and Loathing in Japan: "Most Tokyoites Wearing Respirator Masks Against Fukushima Radiation!" - Simple Historical Guide to Japanese Face Masks

In a quick follow up to yesterday's post about the totally unfounded, foaming at the mouth, stark raving mad rant about how the Japanese government has "secret plans to evacuate 'the 10 million people living in Tokyo'" due to Fukushima fallout - uh, psst! Don't look now, but there's at least 35 million people in Tokyo. (Please refer to Sensationalism, Scare Mongering and the Nanny State) I found this very interesting letter from some guy ranting about nuke fears in Tokyo that just goes to show how completely maniac and irrational people are when it comes to fear of the unknown (radiation and nuclear power). Well, I think it has to do with the fear of the unknown as all that sort of thing seems to make people so slobbering crazy. 

You know like, "Who knows what fears lie in the hearts of men? The shadow knows!"

Here is a totally hilarious and comical letter from some guy that I found yesterday. This really reminds me of something that an absolutely clueless dork would write about Japan: Get a laugh out of this:

"I just returned from a 9 day business trip to Tokyo Japan and most people in Tokyo are wearing respirator masks outdoors. They are very nervous and scared, and rightfully so. I was able to bring with me a thumb size miniature Geiger Counter, a bottle of KI03, and 2 masks for good measure. The Japanese government has made it illegal for Japanese to purchase Geiger Counters for personal use claiming they are made in the U.S. and are inaccurate. Now there is a steaming pile of freshly laid B.S.! I also brought my own freeze dried food and water. I’m not taking any chances, it is serious business over there."

Great. Just great. I wonder if this is real or just the imagination of Gomer or Goober fresh off the boat from bumf*ck Iowa? This can't be real, can it? For one, I just checked on Amazon Japan and they have dozens of Geiger counters on sale... You need me to buy one for you?

Scene at Narita. Customs Officer: "Is this your luggage, sir?"

Hillbilly: "Yes, sir. The Igloo cooler with the duct tape... That's mine!"  

To change the subject for a moment, when I was a liasion between foreigners and Japanese for a Japanese company in 1984, there was this guy that they had hired from the mid-west of the United States. He had been in Japan for only two months or so but we had to send him back to the USA because he had fallen into serious clinical depression. He couldn't function at all. Poor guy. One day he came to see me and admitted that Tokyo wasn't what he expected at all and he wanted to cancel his contract and go home. What did he expect Tokyo to be, pray tell? He told me that he had thought that in Japan that there would be samurai and geisha running around and when he came to Tokyo and everyone was wearing business suits and it was a big city "Like New York city with Chinese people" (his words, not mine) he couldn't handle it. Unbelievable, yeah? True story!


But I digress...


Look at that nonsense that guy wrote. Hard to believe that such a clueless person could be sent to Japan for "a business trip" which makes this letter very suspect. This guy is totally silly or he is hawking goods... Or, maybe he is a great science fiction writer and comic book genius like my friend Andrew at It's a Wonderful Rife!

Well, I'm not sure about people being scared and nervous in Tokyo. It sure seems to me that the average person here is completely oblivious to the dangers that lurk around the corner. But the claim about, "Most people are wearing respirator masks outdoors" is laughable.


No, they are not.  Let me demonstrate for you. They say a picture speaks a thousand words. 


This is a respirator:

This is a mask:

Now, I admit, there probably are people wearing respirators in Tokyo THIS VERY MOMENT (they work for the fire department and are trying to put out a fire). But I haven't seen any "regular people" doing so - and trust that most people don't wear respirators. Dumb-foreign-letter-writing-visitor-to-Japan doesn't know the difference between a mask and a respirator. Hasn't the guy ever been to a dentist? (Uh, judging from the teeth of the guy in the green shirt at the top - maybe not.)


Many, far from "most," Tokyoite Japanese are wearing masks. Why? Many people always do. They wear them so that they don't spread diseases or catch colds. This time of year there are a very many people wearing these things because it's spring. Interestingly, and a possible candidate for the next Ripley's Believe it or Not! Spring is also the time flowers bloom and weeds grow!!!... And, incredibly that means hay fever season! (Oohs and ahhs here, please)...


Off the subject again! One time I had a Japanese ask me if they had hay fever in other countries like America so don't think that it's only the Americans who have license to be absolutely clueless!


Take my wife, please! She has terrible hay-fever. This time of year she wears a mask all the time - even inside of the house. I wrote about that once in Spring in Japan. I've also written about dumb foreigners here in Stupid Foreigners in Japan - 97% of the Bad Apples Spoil it for the Rest of the 3% - When in Japan, Do As the Japanese Do In Spite of Yourself. That's who this article is for, actually... Dumb foreigners... 


This article does have redeeming and, I suspect, interesting content: It's the history of masks in Japan. The Japanese have been wearing these things for over a hundred years folks. I must admit that even I, in my supreme greatness - and as a half Japanese kid with a Japanese mom, was taken back by how many people wear these masks in places like Tokyo when I first arrived here (I thought they looked like bank robbers!) 


So, on that note, without further ado, may I present the Simple Historical Guide to Japanese Face Masks?


History of "the Mask":

Though masks were introduced from outside of Japan in the 1870's, actual production of these sorts of masks began in Japan in 1912 in the Taisho period. Masks were made for industrial use. They were cloth with a brass mesh. This brass mesh would rust which called into question the durability of the product. They didn't become popular amongst the general public until 1919.

In 1919, the masks began to be used by the general public due to the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic. Due to this epidemic overseas, the use of the masks in Japan by the general public boomed. Manufacturers could not keep up with demand (this still happens sometimes).

In 1923, the masks became indelibly a part of Japan after the Great Kanto Earthquake that devastated Tokyo and the subsequent fires, and tsunami, left over 182,000 people dead and another 40,000 missing. This caused a great fear of diseases and, as said, these masks then became a part of Japanese life forever. Soon after, a smart businessman named Takeshi Uchiyama made a patent for the "Soo mask" and became the number one seller of masks in Japan. Hooray for the free market!

An industry is born:


In 1933 and 1934 Influenza ravaged Japan and the world again. Once again, with the illness came a boom in mask use. As the years went by, the technology and designs of these masks became more and more advanced and, in 1948, the design using a single wire to bend to fit one's face was made and it's been basically the standard that is in use until this very day. 

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

Boxes of cold remedies from the past. You can see that, in some pictures, the insinuation is that the cold medicines will allow one to remove the masks. 

Now, as everyone knows, the Japanese are world famous for cleanliness. You can see it in their streets and in the city. Even public bathrooms in Japan are much cleaner in general than what you see in the west. Many of the home toilets automatically flush or rinse one's derriere. There's even ones that open and close the covers and seats for you.


In public restrooms, women will often rinse off the knobs of the washlets for the next person. This doesn't disinfect them, of course, but it shows a courtesy that is uniquely Japanese. 

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

You'll often see Japanese wearing masks on trains and in the office as they do that as a matter of courtesy to other people too; they don't want to spread, nor catch colds... Every year, from about March to May and again from September to November and again during flu season, you will see a boom in people wearing these masks... And, during those times, masks might sell out... Especially if the mass media is spreading fear as in the case of the H1N1 flu that was supposed to kills millions of Japanese but wound up killing one old lady in Kyushu.


So when you come to Japan, Mr. or Mrs, Foreigner and you see Japanese people wearing masks, fear not! They most likely aren't doing it because of radioactive fallout or because they are about to knockoff a bank... It's probably not quite that exciting. They are wearing those masks because they have a runny nose, a cough or they don't want some old geezer on the train sneezing at them... The Japanese wear masks because they want to or have a need to; it's considered polite, proper courtesy and considerate to others. Thank god that many manufacturers offer many types and the sufficient amount to meet the consumer demand of the Japanese public.


If you do worry about nuclear fallout from Fukushima when you visit Tokyo then may I suggest not coming here at all or, if you must, at least get some rabies shots before you arrive. We already have a big enough problem with rabid, foaming at the mouth people as it is.

Much historical reference taken from www.mask.co.jp - Thanks!

Sensationalism, Scare Mongering and the Nanny State

The article screams that the Japanese government has plans for evacuating 10 million people from Tokyo because of Fukushima... Yeah, right! If it were so bad, then why only 10 million? There's are at least 35 million people in Tokyo.

There is still way too much sensationalism and frankly speaking piss poor writing going on about Fukushima. I found one of the worst examples I've seen in a long time today. This article's title is suitable for a gossip weekly magazine on some US supermarket check out counter along with the Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby story. The title lays bare to the low quality of writing held within: It's Not Over: Government Plans for the Worst: Forced Evacuation of Tokyo. The article goes on stating that the nuclear problem is out of control, cannot be controlled and the Japanese government has plans to evacuate ten million people from Tokyo.


Laughable.


Folks, the situation in Fukushima is bad enough as it is without some fools scare mongering. Allow me to go through this with you and point out some of the gross absurdities within. The article from SHTF will be italicized and highlighted in yellow. My comments will be added.


It's Not Over: Government lans for the Worst: Forced Evacuation of Tokyo 

While it has for the most part disappeared from mainstream view, the Fukushima nuclear disaster is anything but over. In fact, the situation in Japan has gone from bad to worse.

Bottom line: There is no way to contain the radiation.


Well, if saying that "There's no way to contain the radiation" isn't a give away for more sensationalism to come then I think I need some rabies shot before I go on reading further. As I said, at the plants in Fukushima, things aren't all roses and in many cases pretty bad especially with leakages that, by the way, have been reported to have been plugged (so maybe they can be contained?) Also, judging from the background radiation levels in Shinjuku, Tokyo measured daily, those levels are one half of what they were one year ago.

Even more alarming is that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and other agencies have warned that the nuclear storage pools (the containment units that are being used to cool the nuclear fuel) have been damaged and may collapse under their own weight.


"May" collapse? Well, I may win the year-end lottery too!

Such an event would cause widespread nuclear fallout throughout the region and force the government to evacuate the nearly 10 million residents of Tokyo and surrounding areas, a scenario which government emergency planners are now taking into serious consideration.


This paragraph is a dead giveaway that the writer doesn't have a clue as to what he is talking about. Tokyo constitutes over 51% of Japan's entire GDP. There are over 35 million homes in the Tokyo metropolitan area alone. Two questions for this writer: Where in the world did he come up with this incorrect information of "10 million residents of Tokyo"? and even if this were correct, where, pray tell would these people be sent? He goes on:

Leading Japanese newspaper The Mainichi Daily News reports:

One of the biggest issues that we face is the possibility that the spent nuclear fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant will collapse. This is something that experts from both within and outside Japan have pointed out since the massive quake struck. TEPCO, meanwhile, says that the situation is under control. However, not only independent experts, but also sources within the government say that it’s a grave concern.

The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it. The 7-story building itself has suffered great damage, with the storage pool barely intact on the building’s third and fourth floors. The roof has been blown away. If the storage pool breaks and runs dry, the nuclear fuel inside will overheat and explode, causing a massive amount of radioactive substances to spread over a wide area. Both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and French nuclear energy company Areva have warned about this risk.


Lots of "ifs" and "the possibility" of disaster...

A report released in February by the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident stated that the storage pool of the plant’s No. 4 reactor has clearly been shown to be “the weakest link” in the parallel, chain-reaction crises of the nuclear disaster. The worse-case scenario drawn up by the government includes not only the collapse of the No. 4 reactor pool, but the disintegration of spent fuel rods from all the plant’s other reactors. If this were to happen, residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area would be forced to evacuate. (emphasis mine)

This hits the crux of the problem. That last two sentences that I highlighted. They speak of the worst case scenario. This is the worst-case scenario drawn up by the government. 

I looked for the link to the original article and it doesn't exist. That's OK, though I found a cache. Then I tracked back to the original Japanese language transcripts and broadcasts.

Admittedly, they say the same thing as this sensationalist articles says, yet in a slightly different vein. The jist of the original Japanese is "If there is another huge earthquake, then the pools might collapse." They are indeed speaking of worst-case scenarios. Nowhere in the original articles do any of the experts consulted claim that this will happen. Everyone says "if"... 

Well, if I win the lottery too... If we have another 9.0 earthquake...

As far as evacuation claims, I could not find any information to that effect at all. Though I would consider that, even in the USA, there are evacuation plans for all sorts of scenarios... For example; If the Russians fire nuclear missiles; if there is a nuclear attack on a US city; if terrorists poison the water supply, etc., etc.... Gosh! There's goes that pesky "if" again.

It's all a part and parcel of the culture of fear that is pedaled by the government and media nowadays as news. 

This article was full of "what ifs". But, here's some facts:

144 workers and employees died at Chernobyl within 6 months of the event due to radiation. More than one year after Fukushima two guys dead from the tsunami, one guy dead from a heart attack, none from radiation.

As I have pointed out, the 10 million Tokyo residents number doesn't add up no matter how you slice it... Think about it.... Sure government wonks probably have plan for something like this (they also had a plan to blow a hole in the side of the nuclear reactors up with US military explosives in order to cool them down but Dr. Strangelove was out voted)... Doesn't the government sit around and make plans and committees to think up ways to screw up and spend money?.... 

This sensationalist article is full of conjecture and scare mongering... I'll bet it works good for selling products.


In fact, in some of the original article links, there are links to a daytime women's talk show where an "expert" appeared. Here's the video. Have a Japanese watch it with you and explain what is said: 

This is a morning women's talk and gossip news show on TV Asahi. For your information, few people take TV Asahi as a serious news station as Asahi TV is owned by Asahi Newspaper. Asahi newspaper is traditionally a leftist and pro-socialist publication - it has been that way for 100 years and supports the socialist parties and even did so with communist parties in the past. 

As with American morning TV talk shows such as Good Morning America and the like (we have them in Japan too - witness the above), then if you wish to trust this sort of women's gossip and news program as a news source, then you must have believed that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons so the USA had to invade, a man in a cave organized 9/11, America the brave went into Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the middle east to bring those folks democracy and freedom.... Sure.

I like the SHTF reports (well sometimes) but they don't do sensationalism from Japan well - especially since they don't speak the language so they can't verify their sources and they obviously are not knowledgeable in the history of media in this country and why some publications and news services have a leftist or rightist slant. 


But, if you check the SHTF website you see that they sell survival gear and have been selling and promoting the end of the world since 2007. So well have they done this that they've predicted 11 out of the last 1 disasters.


Far be it from me to tell you not to be prepared or get ready for a financial calamity or natural disaster... But business can't be so bad for SHTF that they need to stoop to this level of reporting could it?


Sensationalism sure sells stuff... its track record on reporting the truth is pretty shockingly bad though.

Sensationalist Reporting on Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Issues Goes on Unabated… Counter-productive to Anti-Nuclear Movement

The situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plants aren't the cozy situation that the Japanese government want us to believe. The reports are the water is leaking from one of the reactors again and until they get a better look, they can't make any judgements on what to do.

Please refer to: Fresh Radioactive Water Leak Discovered at Fukushima: 

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant found that the water level in the No. 2 reactor's primary containment vessel was only 60 centimeters deep when it checked the interior of the crippled reactor using an endoscope, Kyodo news agency reported.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Junichi Matsumoto gave assurances that the melted fuel inside the No. 2 reactor remains cooled through continuous water injection, as the water temperature in the vessel was 48.5 C to 50 C.

But he acknowledged that the lower-than-expected water level suggests that a large portion of the injected water is leaking from the primary containment vessel, possibly via the damaged suppression pool that is linked to the reactor.

This is the kind of reporting we need; Just the facts. If we have the facts, then we can decide the best course of action to take.

But when the reporting gets more and more sensationalistic, it helps no one. In fact, I submit to you that sensationalist reporting is actually damaging to both sides of an argument... It is especially damaging to the reporter as they become like the "Boy who cried wolf." The consumers of such sensationalism and mis-reporting become ambivalent and jaded... Just look at the average citizen who consumes too much TV to see the results of this sort of junk brainwashing: Too much junk in equals a junk public.

Moving a little farther towards the sensationalist side of the reporting - but not quite there yet - is a good example. This time from Gizmodo: Over a Year Later, Fukushima’s Radiation Is Still Fatal

What a difference a year makes: none. Reactor #2 at Fukushima Daichi is still leaking enough radiation to kill you.

Al Jazeera reports "One of Japan's crippled nuclear reactors still has fatally high radiation levels and much less water to cool it than officials had estimated, according to an internal examination that renews doubts about the plant's stability," adding, ominously, that safety workers "will have to develop special equipment and technology to tolerate the harsh environment and decommission the plant. The process is expected to last decades."

Decades. And that's likely an eager estimate. With radiation levels at ten times the fatal exposure level and coolant water evaporating away, TEPCO, the incompetent power firm which owns the plant, still has a giant radioactive mess on its bib. Sending workers toward the reactor will either kill or poison them, and pumping more water into the core will result in contaminated spillage and steam reaching the ocean and beyond.

The tech to repair the reactor doesn't exist yet. Developing that will take time. In that same time, radiation seeps inexorably in a nation of 130 million, and nearly 100,000 people within a 450 square mile dead zone can't go back home. This is only year one—the Fukushima story is far, far from over. 

Do you notice the obvious slant and commentary in the story? First, the use of the word, "ominously" makes me wonder about an agenda of the writer, but I can still live with that. Next? Calling TEPCO "incompetent" is commentary and has no place in serious reporting. Incompetent? Compared to what? The Japanese government? 

I keep hearing that TEPCO is incompetent. Maybe so. And I also hear many saying that the Japanese government should nationalize TEPCO and those power plants. Now that's a big joke. Talk about having the insane take over the asylum! The people who ran TEPCO, before the March 11 disaster, had turned that company into the 4th largest and most profitable energy company in the world; the largest in all of Asia... The Japanese government? They've turned this country into one of the most indebted (to GDP) nations on earth... And people want to replace the "incompetents" at TEPCO with the Japanese government? 

I think the most incompetent people in this picture are the idiots calling for such a nationalization of TEPCO, a private company. It's not needed nor desired at all. And neither is bailing them out with public money. f they can't make it, let them go bankrupt and new, competent management come in and take over. Bailing them out only allows the "incompetents" (if they really are such) to stay in their jobs.

But I digress...

Going farther away from the serious and credible reporting, we go to the dark side. This is where the writers foam at the mouth and total conjecture and paranoia are passed off for reporting. It is the recent trend of news reporting being meshed with political commentary. I find this trend quite disturbing and consider it to be quite counter-productive to finding a solution. In this case, it is bad for both the pros and the cons to the argument. 

Please refer to Alexander Higgins quoting the completely discredited Fukushima Diaries in: Japanese Being Pushed Into Revolt Over Fukushima Radiation

Japanese Citizens are left with no further possible recourse besides a revolt to end the gross human rights abuses being committed by the government of Japan.

The Japanese are finally noticing that they are surrounded by the invisible walls.

Since the bubble ended in 1992, Japan has been in a long recession, called Japan’s lost 20 years.

Leaders changed like revolving lantern.

The article claims "tens of thousands of demonstrators"... But even event organizers

only claimed 12,000. Police claimed 7,000... I suspect this photo has been Photoshopped

Japanese citizens became aware that their voice is not reflected in the political situation but they tried to ignore the fact and indulged themselves in the fading prosperity.

However, they cannot ignore it anymore.

Since 311, their government has been trying to kill the people instead of saving them.

In the very first sentence, the writer calls for a revolt against the government? I'm sure that will go over very well with average Joe-Happoshu. Then he says that, "Since 311, their government has been trying to kill the people instead of saving them"????!!!! Now, you won't find me arguing with you when you say the government is incompetent, but to say that the Japanese government's purpose over the last 12 months is the extermination of the Japanese people is just laughable.

You guys don't expect anyone, excepting your comic book reading friends, to take you seriously do you?   

The caption read: "Police Clash With Thousands in Tokyo Protesting Nuclear Lies, Incompetence and Censorship"... You call this a "clash"? You can see more of a scuffle at an AKB48 concert.  

The above is not a clash.... That's nothing... Now here, below, this is a "clash":

Read and see more videos of these clashes from the mid-1980s and more here

The writer then goes on to name a litany of actions by people to change the course of government actions. You know, the usual: Petitions, demonstrations, discussions.... Ho hum... 

Another sentence by the writer that just shows a complete lack of knowledge of Japanese history is this gem:

The Japanese have not felt the necessity of revolt this much since the last Japanese revolution in the mid 19^th century. 

Really, this guy seems like he didn't study much in school nor does he have much a grasp on contemporary issues in Japan. The idea that the Japanese haven't "felt the necessity of revolt this much since the last Japanese revolution" makes me wonder where this guy was in the 70s and 80s.

This blather comes from the Fukushima Diary which seems to be a blog clearly written with the purpose of making the owner a name for himself. He reminds me of the Global Warming Believers; they need a crisis. Where there is none they will create it. That Alexander Higgins would repeatedly quote this junior high school level nonsense is not up to par. If this keeps up, I will have to delete the link to his blog at the right side of my blog. Too bad. Alexander was doing a good job reporting these matters several months ago and did a good job on OWS... This is crap reporting...

I commented to this article at Alexander's site:

   You have to realize that there are over 35 million households in the Tokyo area alone. I don’t mean to belittle the demonstrators but a weekend gathering of 10,000 people to protest nuclear power isn’t going to impress too many in the government. Also, there were no “clashes with police.” This sort of news exaggeration doesn’t help anyone.

    When, someday, the people do serious actions like get together, march and then, say, burn their credit cards in a city square then people in power will sit up and take notice. A weekend demonstration for a few hours at a park with a peaceful march through downtown… Then back to home and watching TV is BS…. Happens all the time.

People will say “But the Japanese are docile and don’t revolt.” Quite untrue. Here’s a few video of real Japanese revolts and fights against the government. Some of these riots happened as recently as 1985. Like I said, these fun get-togethers at the park don’t impress anyone.

To belabor the point, the article also goes on with a litany of examples of how bad the situation has become in Japan. One of the claims is that, "People in Okinawa is (sic) starting to claim that they are having nosebleed or sore throat." Of course, there are no links or references to support the claims. 

Pathetic.

Marchers in Tokyo. You do the math: 35 million homes in Tokyo Metropolitan area... 10,000 at a demonstration? Sorry... Japanese department stores get more than that when they are having a sale! 

But getting back to my point; it is this kind of "reporting" that is actually damaging to the anti-nuclear movement. Actually, this isn't reporting at all. It is political commentary disguised as reporting and has no place in a serious discussion of the issues. 

Once again, the anti-nuclear people will attack me for this post, but, folks, get serious. This kind of comic-book reporting does your movement absolutely no good at all and makes serious people just roll their eyes when you speak or write.

If you want to do good serious reporting, please do. If you want to write fiction, then there is a much more profitable and hungry market for it in the romantic novel section at your local bookstore or on Kindle.... 

If you do want to write seriously, then do yourselves a favor and please stick to the facts... Doing otherwise and exaggerrating and writing like the article I mentioned is to make a laughing stock of yourselves... 

Unless, of course, your purpose is actually to discredit the anti-nuclear movement as being fools. For some reason I don't suspect that you are merely "acting" like fools.