One year later: Discussing the state of Japan

By Rose Hoonan Staff Writer hoonan15@up.edu

Last Thursday, to mark the anniversary of the 2011 Japan earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster, the University's Honors Program gathered an alumnus and two professors to discuss the country's current standing.

"It's the responsibility of the Honors Program to bring interesting programs to campus," John Orr, assistant to the Provost, said. "It's easy to get caught up in the UP bubble, but this makes sure people stay knowledgeable."

The panel discussion covered economic, geographic and social issues Japan is dealing with one year after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake.

Freshman Stefania Hajnosz, who attended the panel discussion, took away a new outlook on the natural disaster.

"(The panel discussion) has put a new perspective on the earthquake," Hajnosz said. "Now I think of more than just tragedy. I also think about the hope for recovery."

Economic

Japan lost a vast number of people who died or are still missing. One year following the earthquake, 15,848 people have died and 3,305 remain missing as a result of the disaster.

Economics Professor Bill Barnes, who spent time in Japan after completing his undergraduate degree, explained how survivors became upset with the government's lack of disclosure about current events, as well as the unaccountable radiation and health monitoring following the nuclear crisis.

"Citizens were really frustrated in part because transparency wasn't there, governmentally," Barnes said. "They feel under threat, and don't trust the government anymore. The government approval is at an all time low now, just above Putin's Russia."

Barnes pointed out the financial woes of the natural disaster one year after the event.

"It is the costliest natural disaster ever," Barnes said. "(Japan) was not insured very well. GDP contracted, and the country's debt is up to 227 percent."

Geographic

Although the Japanese people are coping well with the natural disaster's impacts one year later, the land remains in shambles. Environmental Science Professor Bob Butler explained how the earthquake and tsunami occurred and the damaged it caused the country.

When the earthquake occurred, Butler was aware of the shaking across the Pacific Ocean within minutes of the event.

"I have a seismograph in my basement," Butler said. "I knew the earthquake was big because it took 10 minutes for the waves to be detected from Japan to my basement."

Because the waves were detected by Butler's seismograph in such a short amount of time, it was an indicator of the large seismic activity that occurred in Japan, as well as the tsunami that would soon follow.

"Many people thought they were far enough inland that they didn't have to worry," Butler said. "But they did. In some places (the tsunami waves) were 40 meters high."

Butler sees the natural disaster in Japan as a great indicator of how public education and earthquake engineering is important and how people in the Pacific Northwest should be prepared for such an event.

"It's amazing to look at the comparison between Japan's plates and our own," Butler said. "They're really quite similar, and we are at risk for a similar event."

Butler ended his speech with a few words of warning regarding the possibility of such an event occurring here.

"It's not if, it's when," Butler said. "My message to you: get ready. If it happens tomorrow, it will ruin your day."

Social

2002 UP alumnus Matt Boule, who got a job working for a domestic footwear and apparel firm called Visvim in Tokyo after participating in the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, experienced people's reactions when he returned to Japan a month after working abroad in Hong Kong.

"Japan as a whole has a collective morale about respecting authority and respecting your elders," Boule said. "This idea was demolished during the earthquake. People became more reserved and distrusting of the government and one another."

Living and working in Japan has allowed Boule to understand the Japanese culture, and he has seen the impact of the natural disaster on it.

"It was clear that foreign media outlets played a role in making people aware of what the government wasn't telling them," Boule said. "But once the foreign media moved on to the next story three or four weeks later, I think the Japanese people felt a little marooned."

Despite this change, Boule is certain the earthquake has not shaken the citizens up forever.

"Culturally, they still hold the government with a certain level of respect," Boule said. "If you have a society that is as homogeneous as Japan, it's amazing when you want to get something done. It's ingrained in their culture."