first and foremost, i was really happy that so many people were concerned for my well-being, my parents, zhihua, and other friends as well. i have not spoken to some of these friends in ages, but still they worry for my safety. it is truly heartwarming to discover that they care so much for me.
the way the japanese have dealt with this crisis is remarkable. though i can only speak for what i see around me, which is the tokyo/yokohama area, but i think this behavior is a reflection of their culture, and i believe people around the nation will behave in similar fashion. i can go on and on about this issue, but i will try to keep it as succinct as possible.
firstly, it's the calmness in which they are dealing with the situation. despite the fear of radiation exposure that has sent most foreigners fleeing the city, if not the country itself, many of the japanese are still continuing with their way of life as far as possible. children still play in the street, people still go out jogging, and obviously salary-men still make their daily commute to work. the elementary school near my dormitory held their graduation ceremony yesterday. the people are not paralyzed by fear and panic. of course there have been disruptions, such as conferences and university graduation ceremonies getting canceled, but those were because of the rolling power outages that have been imposed by TEPCO.
secondly, it's the civic-mindedness of the japanese. because of electricity shortage in the power grid, people have been voluntarily reducing their power consumption. for example, in my dormitory, last monday when everyone was stuck in dorm because the train service to tokyo was not running, almost no one turned on their heaters, choosing to wrap themselves up in more layers of clothing instead. initially i thought the company chartered a shuttle bus to send the employees to work, because from the electrical panel it appeared that the heaters were not turned on in the rooms, so that i thought no one was in. however, along the day, i realized that people were actually still in dorm, just that they decided to reduce the electricity consumption. of course this behavior is not restricted to my dorm. elsewhere, non-essential elevators and escalators were turned off, vending machines were operating without the backlights and so on.
there are many other examples that have impressed me, and have made me wonder what will happen if a similar disaster struck singapore. assuming there was a radiation leak in malaysia, or indonesia, will people flee singapore? will we be able to continue with our everyday life, and not be paralyzed by fear and panic? will the MRTs and buses still run? will i still be able to eat murtabak in the middle of the night? or will changi airport be jammed packed with singaporeans fleeing? however, actually given that a fair bit of our population are foreigners, i'm guessing that there will be a mass exodus anyways.
one thing that got me really irritated during the past week was the press coverage on this event. while japanese news articles tend to be more factual on the on-going events, foreign news agencies tend to dramatize the whole thing, especially with the nuclear power plant issue. this is known as media sensationalism, and has pissed me off quite considerably. here's one example.
i guess it's the reporter's job to try the make the article as catchy as possible to increase readership, but such over-dramatization will cause unnecessary panic amongst the people. when unwarranted fear and panic grips the country's population and disrupts what needs to be done, then the situation will deteriorate and generate even more fear and panic, leading to an uncontrollable downward spiral. fortunately that has not happened here to the majority of the japanese people (albeit foreigners have been evacuating in droves), and necessary steps have been taken to resolve the nuclear power plant issue, and more importantly to provide support for the disaster-stricken areas up in tohoku.
speaking of fear and panic, my original choice was to remain in japan, as i find the situation here safe, at least in the area where i live and study. of course, my parents, zhihua and some friends have been suggesting that i go back to singapore till school starts given the threat of radiation exposure. i had to explain to them my viewpoint to convince them to let me stay on, and i'm very happy that my parents trust my judgment of the situation. however, i am only human, and when i read foreign news articles (given that i cannot understand japanese news articles) i will naturally be swayed by their language and get worried. furthermore, several scholarship bodies (DSTA, EDB and AStar to name a few) have started to recall their scholars from japan, and during this period i have questioned my decision to continue staying in japan. though logically speaking, based on my understanding and analysis of the situation, there is no real threat in tokyo/yokohama, i am becoming increasingly alone and will still worry. and from this, i understand that it takes a lot of strength and conviction to hold true to your belief and go against the actions of the masses. as of this post, i'm still upholding my decision to remain in japan, and i hope i have made the right decision.
