Superstorm USA: Caught on Camera

The BBC touts Superstorm USA: Caught on Camera  as

The first great natural disaster documented and shared on the social network

Hang on a second.. This is barely a year and a half after the Great Tohoku Earthquake, which if I recall correctly the BBC (and others) hailed as the most recorded natural disaster in history..

I guess in another couple of years we'll be saying the same thing when some other prominent country is devastated by natural disaster..

I guess you could argue that most of the footage we saw of the Tohoku Earthquake was CCTV and other video footage, but to say that Earthquake wasn't well documented in the social networks in Japan is also totally false. In fact, take a look for yourself! I wrote a blog article commenting about that documentation here, here and here.

I guess all the above quote really proves is the West-centric viewpoint of the media, which is hardly surprising, and I suppose forgivable overall.

What I would say, watching the program is how out of proportion everything is. The superstorm was a great survival victory for the US. In its summary, Wikipedia states:

In Jamaica, winds left 70% of residents without electricity, blew roofs off buildings, killed one, and caused about $55.23 million (2012 USD) in damage. In Haiti, Sandy's outer bands brought flooding that killed at least 54, caused food shortages, and left about 200,000 homeless. In the Dominican Republic, two died. In Puerto Rico, one man was swept away by a swollen river. In Cuba, there was extensive coastal flooding and wind damage inland, destroying some 15,000 homes, killing 11, and causing $2 billion (2012 USD) in damage. In The Bahamas, two died amid an estimated $300 million (2012 USD) in damage.

Of the US it states just:

 In the United States, Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine and west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York. Its storm surge hit New York City on October 29, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city.

Its hard to sympathize with a band of Americans screaming about their car getting crushed by a tree (from the relative safety of their house) when I'm concurrently relating that with the media images of Japan's disaster.

That's not to say I shouldn't sympathize. I've the pleasure of sailing through life without even a broken bone, my closest encounter with disaster is having my foot run over. Rather gently at that...

But nor would I say the program was actually particularly bad, the events within are certainly newsworthy. Just somewhat blown out of proportion. We live in a modern society with modern comforts and next-to-no-reason to complain. What you don't get much sense of in the documentary is the ability of developed society to overcome the situation. Simply (and to get back to where we began so I can shut my big mouth), the program just doesn't do what it claims it set out to. If they wanted to show how a natural disaster was captured in modern social networks they were looking in the wrong place. Probably we're not even talking about the Japanese earthquake anymore.. Surely the trend started some time before even that? Social networks and viral videos were around when I was still at school... I just can't remember any disasters from back then. And neither can anyone else, because we just don't care.

The Admiral (A film by Shohei Kotaki)

I'm not one for doing film reviews, but I found this one interesting for a few reasons.

But first some introduction. It's called "The Admiral" or in Japanese "Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet", and is the story of Admiral Yamamoto's command of the attack on Pearl Harbour, and the naval defeats that followed. The story hinges on Yamamoto's desire for peace, as evidenced in his (highly unpopular) opposition to joining against the allies as war commenced in Europe, and attempts to dissuade government from war with America. However, Yamamoto is "promoted" out of naval government to the position of Admiral, where he must obey his orders to attack America.

Having only read up to the Meiji era in Jansen's "The Making of Modern Japan" (my bible on the history of Japan), it was good to watch a film about this grey area in my picture of history, though I can't comment much on its accuracy.

So, as a non-cinema-goer, what is so interesting, then? Firstly is the essential Japanese-ness of this film. Yamamoto is torn between his desire for peace (his personal duty to his country), and his need to fulfil his duty to his superiors. This burden of conflicting duty is Japanese enough, but to cap it off, until very near the end, Yamamoto says hardly a word about this conflict, and through much of the film exudes a cheery disposition as if somehow everything is going swimmingly. Extreme internalisation of one's problems. Its so stereotypical that had the film been made in the West, it could be construed as racist (hah).

Apart from deepening my already well-indulged stereotypes, the timing of the film is also interesting. It is set in a time of heightened Japanese Nationalism that was key for support in the war. But this fits ominously into modern politics. Relations between Japan and China have been getting steadily worse over the last few years, and there are reports of an increase in nationalism in Japan. That report also blames China of the same. I've no idea how much of either claim is true, but it makes me sad. Both sides should know better, right?! It seems to me that Japanese Nationalism was a key factor to precipitating war with America and probably China too. For both China and Japan the war was devastating beyond comprehension (beyond mine at any rate). The film ends:

"When and how did we go wrong? And what did we lose? The answer to that may have to wait 50 or 100 years... But that might also be enough time for the people of our country to forget everything."

I can't help but wonder this myself.

The film itself was quite enjoyable to watch, with more emphasis on military politics than on raw combat, which I think is a good thing in this case, where the Japanese side of events is decidedly unrepresented. Kudos to the translators, who make understanding what is going on very easy, and though there are a couple of references that non-Japan-history-buffs will miss out on, the film is quite accessible. As a piece of cinematography? Ask someone else. All I'll say is that I liked the actors, the effects were OK, but I felt the story was a bit slow, begging for a bit more fleshing out or less use of the dramatic pause.

Japanese on Android again

I've already discussed the superb aedict before, (twice in fact) and my frustration at its stroke-order-dependent kanji recognition. In my second post I also talked about AnkiDroid and  a new Japanese/Chinese handwriting IME.

I had great hopes for that IME, but after trying out several versions of it as it is released, support for Japanese still seems weak.

In the meantime, I came across WWWJDIC and Kanji Recogniser for the Android by Nikolay Elenkov. At first I wasn't impressed, since the dictionary requires connection to the internet, unlike aedict. However, I've gotten good use out of its slightly less picky kanji recognition, and I often switch between WWWJDIC and aedict while reading through a book when I come across a particularly mysterious or easier-to-draw-than-decompose-into-radicals type of kanji.

It isn't perfect, but its another option when I come across a particularly difficult character, and I don't have to bookmark so many words to wait until I can ask my wife!

Ankidroid has come into its own too, with sync fully supported, and even the ability to add cards. I would finally consider ankidroid to be a useable app, and it was very useful today, as I was left waiting for nigh on an hour at a blood donation centre. Now I can redeem at least some of my wasted time with Japanese knowledge!

Feeding a Baby Japanese advice...

Putting the events of the last month aside for the moment, I was reminded the other day of the strange discrepancies between the Japanese and English health advice.

My wife told me a story of one Japanese housewife in Italy, who had a bit of a barney with their husband over whether their child should eat pasta, but there are quite a few differences between advice between countries.

The one that strikes me most is the difference in opinion over meat in the UK versus Japan. The NHS states meat, including pork, beef and lamb as excellent sources of protein, whereas the Sakaide city office guidelines maintain you should refrain from all but chicken until ~9 months, and ham until 1 year. The NHS also recommends cow's milk as an option, whereas this is considered dubious until about 1 year in Japan*.

Of course, there are a lot of points in agreement: No honey, no nuts, etc. But I think its good to be aware of the different advice.

That said, I've not gotten into a fight over my baby's dinner yet..

*Specifically, they mention the milk should be thoroughly cooked/boiled before consumption

Sendai situation

As you'll be aware Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture was one of the first cities to experience the tsunami. Luckily for many of the residents, the city is located several kilometres inland, and I think only about half of the city was inundated.

I mentioned one blogger in the stricken city in my post a couple of days ago. In his latest post, he gives a good sense of the situation in his area. He starts off by once again thanking those who have contacted him to check he is OK.

I think Miyagi prefecture will continue down a hard road, but however many years, however many decades are needed, it will -like a phoenix- rise again. I really feel in my heart that the whole of Japan, indeed the whole of the world is supporting us.

He goes on to say how they re-opened their shop on the 14th, and they almost instantly sold out. He's got some pictures to illustrate this too, so do check the link above. Here's an extract in English:

On the 14th, we opened up the shop for the first time since the disaster. Then, in the time it takes to say "Ah!" we sold out. We'd completely forgotten to check we had enough provisions for ourself, but we've got rice, and we'll manage somehow, so I've not felt too discouraged.

A lot of  people who came for water also bought some sake to say thanks. There were others who would thank us with tears streaming down their face, and I too couldn't help letting out some tears... But we encouraged each other to stand firm... There were so many people who came to our usually quiet shop.

He also says some people also bought some candles, so presumably (and, I guess, unsurprisingly) there are still large areas of Sendai without electricity. One visitor said they were staying with friends due to damage to their apartment block. But what he says next is probably most interesting:

Then, a middle-aged couple from the Arahama town of Wakabayashi ward, and a taxi driver from Yuriage, Natori stopped by the shop, and bought some sake. "I keep recalling such terrible scenes... I hope the sake will help me forget...", he said, and laughed feebly...

...

The one's we were most worried about, our family in Yogasakihama, Miyagi district, had the tsunami roll right over them, but miraculously they all got to a shelter unharmed, it seems. Their house is completely washed away, but just that they still have their lives, we're thanking our ancestors.

Some pretty moving stuff, I think. But the amazing thing is, if you look at the kinds of places he talks about, they're all right next to the sea. Places that have been totally annihilated. My wife points out that a lot of people were likely to have been at work when the tsunami hit, and thus further inland... I think a lot of lives may have been saved just by virtue of the calamity occurring on a weekday.

In any case, the picture on the ground seems to be one of calm -albeit saddened- determination to see things set right once more.

Fukushima Daiichi plant abandons use of helicopters

According to NHK news (see this news article), plans to refill the pool of reactor 4 with helicopters have been abandoned. According to the article: "the method of using helicopters would be too difficult"

Apparently, the hole blasted by the explosion earlier was several metres away from the pool, so it wouldn't be possible to dump water through the hole into the pool. The possibility of only small quantities of water being carried was also cited as a reason for abandoning the plan.

Unbelievable Account of the Japan Earthquake

I just found this blog post. If you skip down beyond the garish pictures you'll find an incredible, first-hand account of what happened to someone working in the Wakabayashi ward of Sendai. Perhaps more amazing is what happened to her son, who went out to sea after the earthquake, to save their boat from being smashed, evidently unaware of the scale of the unfolding disaster. I've done a tentative translation of the whole article:

11 march

I was in a meeting concerning working over the weekend in the afternoon, on the 3rd floor of my workplace in Sendai city’s Wakabayashi-ward. There was a loose rocking, and just as I say “Oh, an earthquake...?” the shaking became very violent. My superiors shouted out “Everyone sit down! Keep your heads down!”. Amongst the screams, I tightly grasped the hand of one of the girls I get on with, and we crouched down.

Our superiors held us too, shielding our shoulders, as around us the shaking failed to die down. Machines fell over, glass smashed, and a flatcar rampaged on its casters. Then the power went out. As things quietened down, we dashed out to take refuge in the parking area, and there were many aftershocks.

Once, I tried to get to the locker room, but the lockers were a complete wreck. I got into my car to drive home, but the traffic was completely jammed. My phone wouldn’t connect. Even in my car there were numerous aftershocks. The traffic lights were all out, so I forced the car through the traffic to get home. On the way, I got a mail from my oldest son, who lives in Soma, Fukushima:

“House in Soma a mess. I’m going to put the boat out to see now. Anyway, I’ve no injuries. Chiiko and Shoko are taking refuge. Taka is also fine, it seems. That’s all for now.”

For the time being, I was relieved.

First I went to the nursery to pick up my daughter, then leaving my car at home, I went to the school on foot to pick up my second son. Both of them had not even a slight injury, and were fine... But I couldn’t get through to my husband. We waited in the car in the parking space by our house for him to come back, and just as it looked like night was coming, he arrived. Everyone in the family was safe.

But then the news came in: The beach area of Soma had been completely destroyed in the tsunami.

I’d heard Chiiko and Shoko had fled, but my eldest was putting the boat out to sea to protect it with his uncle. After that I couldn’t get through to them. I could let out nothing but tears. I was so worried. I thought that to have your own son die before you was the worst thing a parent could allow to happen, and so I couldn’t stop crying.

And then, I was able to get through. He told me they’d returned safely, and I cried again in relief.

He and his uncle headed out to the tsunami, and as they approached the summit of the wave, their engine cut out. On passing over the wave, it started again and they came down from the top of the wave... Apparently, this happened many times.

Once the tsunami passed, they returned to the beach...

They say that it was a mountain of rubble and bodies. They had to walk over all this to get to the shelter... My husband’s mum and grandmother where swallowed by the wave, but somehow were rescued. My parents, sister, nephews and nieces are all alive.


At this time, so many people have contacted, worrying about me. I don’t have all your real names, but there is a staggering number.

Here is a list of my internet acquaintance’s:

[list of names of people who have contacted]

If these people are able to see my situation in this article, then I’m truly happy. My husband’s family home has disappeared without a trace.

The fight starts from here. I’ll do whatever I can! And at the end, a new wind is revolving. I’m thankful to the courage that got me in touch.

From Mizuho

It seems totally unbelievable. I can't imagine what it must have been like to try and approach that tsunami head on.