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Main Content
Double Vision of Disaster
How has the population of Japan managed to remain so calm in the face of last month’s tragedy?
It’s already a month since the biggest earthquake to hit Japan in over a century wreaked chaos in the country and sent its 8.9 magnitude shockwaves around the world. The ensuing tsunami swept across the north-east of the island, washing away entire villages and resulting in thousands of deaths. The subsequent fiasco at Fukushima threatened to bring about a Chernobyl-esque radiation disaster in a country where the scars of 2 nuclear bombings in 1945 are still only beginning to heal. And of course the effect that all of this will have on Japan’s economy, already not the powerhouse that it once was and overshadowed by its oriental neighbours in Beijing, is still to be determined.
All old news of course. Although one month on the Japanese are still only contemplating the tip of what is a mammoth iceberg of a recovery operation, the ever-fickle media have scrambled away to newer and more interesting pastures in North and West Africa. Life nevertheless goes on in the land of the rising sun; how is the population coping with the effects of last month’s disaster? Such a catastrophe would have untold psychological effects in the emotional western world, where even something like the marriage of two relatively ordinary people (no offence to the Royal family) can monopolise the public consciousness for weeks. Despite the massive and often on-the-ground news coverage of events in Japan, the cultural and linguistic differences mean that we have not got an idea of how the Japanese John Doe actually feels about everything that is happening. Is he conforming to the typical oriental stereotype of stoicism or is this an event which has marked the public mentality for years to come?
Obviously for those directly affected by the events - those who were displaced, those who lost family members - the legacy of the tsunami will be difficult to shake off any time soon. However, for those living in less affected regions, business seems to be as usual. Shane, an English teacher living in Odate in north western Japan, informed TheBeginner.eu of his surprise at how quickly the people of his area seem to have returned to a normal way of life. Pragmatic problems such as power, petrol and food shortages caused a slight stir but the situation is “more or less back to normal now”. As regards the impending nuclear holocaust which was announced by the western media following the tsunami, Shane says that there has been “near to complete calm” in his Akita prefecture; there’s been no rush to buy gasmasks or handfuls of iodine tablets, nor any irrational fears about the approach of killer nuclear clouds.
This calm in the face of adversity can probably be explained by two factors. First, although Japanese television has of course given extensive coverage to the events, the emphasis has been more on practical advice and cold information rather than the sensational rolling news stories of the western media. Thus, the scaremongering and hype surrounding a possible nuclear disaster has not penetrated to the more rural areas of Japan, where local citizens are happy to get on with things until they are directly and tangibly affected. Whether or not the slant taken by western news sources regarding Fukushima and the earthquake in general was indeed exaggerated and sensational is difficult to ascertain; just as it is impossible to know how much information the Japanese authorities are giving and how much they are keeping to themselves. However, as if we needed reminding, this shows once again just how powerful and influential the media can be.
The second thing which might explain the lack of panic amongst the Japanese people is their character and no-nonsense manner of dealing with the tribulations of life. The Japanese stereotype is one of calmness and stoicism, and in a nation which has had to deal with its fair share of disasters (both military and natural) in recent centuries it is easy to see how a get-on-with-it mentality has developed amongst the population. Although the bright lights of Tokyo might temporarily deceive, neither pomp, ostentatiousness nor pointless overreaction are part of the Japanese vocabulary, and this can help explain the relative calm in the country following the disaster. It happened and must be faced. A recent video showing one of the numerous aftershocks which have hit the country following the major earthquake of the 11th March displayed a man standing in his office when the room begins to shake and files, cups and computers begin to fall off desks. Rather than panic, however, which any self-respecting westerner would do, the man simply looks around him with an expression of mild curiosity on his face before sitting down and waiting for the earthquake to run its course. Panic doesn’t help, so why panic?
Perhaps hype and overreaction is the western way of coping with problems; but maybe we can also learn something from the Japanese people.