‘I can’t feel safe and breathe normally’
By Nick Jones in Tokyo
As Tokyo resident Wichien Sanguansree watched the television pictures of the sea surging ashore after a massive earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan on 11 March this year, he was reminded of similar horrific events more than six years before.
On the morning of 26 December 2004, he was working at a hilltop resort hotel in his hometown of Phuket, Thailand. As the first shouts of alarm went up, he ran to join a crowd of guests and staff staring down at the white sandy beach below them. He watched, mesmerised, as the ocean crashed ashore, laying waste to homes and hotels packed with tourists.
"The tsunami brought back bad memories," Sanguansree, 37, said, "and feelings of sadness and fear." Living and working in the Tokyo area meant that he was insulated from the harrowing destruction hundreds of kilometres to the north. But since that Friday afternoon, other dangers have emerged for people -- including thousands of Southeast Asians -- living in the Tohoku and Kanto regions.
After the tsunami crippled the reactors at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, about 240km north of Tokyo, workers have battled a series of crises in a bid to stop radiation spewing into the air and sea. Radioactive elements, however, have been found in produce from areas outside the government's 30km evacuation zone around the plant and radioactive iodine was detected briefly in Tokyo tap water recently.
Such discoveries have prompted countries like the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong and a number of other Asian countries to ban the import of some vegetables, dairy products and seafood from Japan and step up their screening of other imported products.
Filipina Joy Tolentino, who is a spa receptionist in Tokyo and who has lived in Japan for seven years, said that while she was trying to remain calm and positive about the precarious situation at the Fukushima power station, she was worried about how long it was going to take to regain control of the reactors.
"I have no doubt about the Japanese ability [to fix the problem]," the 27-year-old said, "but as long as the problem is there, I can't feel safe and breathe normally."
Staying put
Despite such concerns, Tolentino said she didn't plan on returning home to the Philippines, as some of her compatriots had done. "I believe, even in a small way, I can help the Japanese people rebuild their country," she said. "And I really want to help those people who have been badly affected by the earthquake and tsunamis. The Filipino community here in Japan is collecting things to donate to the affected areas."
Like Tolentino, Singaporean and long-time Tokyo resident Minette Nakamichi, 54, said she had no intention of joining the thousands of foreigners who had left the country since the quake, despite numerous calls and e-mails from worried family and friends in Singapore.
"I can't just leave, because my younger daughter doesn't want to leave," said the mother of two, who, originally from Bedok, has lived in Japan since 1983.
With a number of nuclear plants along the northeast coast knocked out by the disaster, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has been forced to introduce rolling blackouts for the sprawling, densely populated Kanto area in order to conserve energy. The company has said that such outages could continue for months.
But Nakamichi said she accepted such inconveniences, as well as the shortages of petrol and items like milk, bread and eggs. "I remember when I was young, my mother used to talk about hardships during and after the war when food was scarce. She often told us not to waste even one grain of rice because of her experiences back then," she recalled. "Now, although the situation is not as bad as during or after the war, I am glad in a sense that my daughters, 23 and 19, get to know something about such hardships so much earlier in their lives."
Sanny Ayunda is one of those who have chosen to leave Japan for a short break. With her two daughters on their spring holidays from school, she decided to take them to stay with family in Singapore.
The 32-year-old Indonesian said the frequent aftershocks, food shortages and radiation fears have combined to make for a period of anxiety, uncertainty and "sleepless nights." Her Japanese husband has remained in Japan and has urged the family to stay abroad a little longer, Ayundra said.
Although both the Japanese government and Tepco officials have been criticised for their handling of the emergency at the Fukushima plant, Ayundra said she trusted those in charge. "I think they are trying their best and quite open with the public," she said. "Although some people say the government is not 100 percent open with the public, I myself believe this government will overcome this crisis."
Thai Sanguansree, however, is not so sure. "I feel like [Tepco officials] tend to cover up the problem, so it could be bigger," he said. Like many apprehensive relatives overseas, Sanguansree's family in Thailand has pleaded with him to evacuate. Since business has been slow at the Tokyo restaurant where he works since the earthquake, he flew, together with his elder son, back to Phuket at the weekend for a two-week holiday.
With a house and family in Japan, he wasn't about to leave Japan for good, he stressed, but he recognised the importance of having a plan for the next time catastrophe strikes. "We don't know what will happen in the future," he said.
Nick Jones is a magazine editor in Tokyo.
