Japan

Obviously this isn't the promised "big anime in review" entry (which is in progress, despite the limited time I've devoted to finishing it...there are just too many great titles). With more pressing matters facing the world today, I wanted to be serious for a moment and reflect on the crisis in Japan.

My interest in Japan doesn't stop at anime's door. My house is decorated with Japanese items and other Asian-style decor, I proudly own a full kimono ensemble, I've taught middle school children about Japan's culture, geological background, history, and even the modern day products, like the cars their parents may drive or the game consoles they use or the cartoons they watch, and, of course, I'm addicted to manga, anime, and Pocky Sticks. I've even adopted some tenets of their culture, such as asking people to remove their shoes when they enter my home. I love Japan and admire how fast its economy rebounded after World War II. Their ability to get back on their feet after a disaster is remarkable, to say the least, having faced not only the WWII atomic bombs, but also bombings and earthquakes that leveled whole cities. Now, I'm not trying to open up a discussion about WWII and the controversy around the atomic bombs. It happened. It's part of history. Just as it's historical fact that Japan made a relatively swift economic recovery.

Japan is known for its polite society, self-reliant citizens, and hard-working force of dedicated employees. Many scenes on the news compare the looting and chaos following the Haitian earthquake to the civil order occurring in Japan today. Those pictures and videos provide a tangible form for people around the world to witness what they've heard about Japan almost firsthand. However, perhaps nothing brings the dedication home more than thinking about the 50 workers who stayed behind at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant to fight a losing battle after hundreds of their co-workers had been evacuated. Today, those workers are being hailed as heroes, and rightly so. More than likely, they have already made the ultimate sacrifice and will pay with their lives, but even if the conditions at the plant continue to deteriorate, the situation could have and would have been much, much worse had they not stayed to fight. Their fight was not in vain.

As I watched the news last night and heard that they had suspended operations and evacuated the building, I not only wondered what this meant - after all, the anchors and the expert were near speechless at the proclamation and couldn't fathom the disaster that could befall Japan with no one at the helm to even try to regain control - but it also got me thinking about the rich history of the country and the way of the samurai during the days of the shogunate.

Samurai warriors lived by a code of honor called bushido and would commit seppuku, a form of ritualized suicide, if they failed to uphold the tenets of their code. Perhaps it's a stretch on my behalf to hold the two in one thought, but thinking about those people, the only thread between full-on disaster and the hope of partial recovery from a disaster in progress, just made me think about the bravery of the warriors who fought for Feudal Japan so long ago and the bravery it had to take for those workers to stay at risk to their lives.

There are no words that can accurately convey the severity of the situation. To say that it's sad doesn't do it or the people affected any justice. Japan was a country extremely prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis. To throw the nuclear crisis on top just seems like a cruel twist of fate by karma's hand. Like so many others have said, my heart, thoughts, and prayers are with the people of Japan. And like the Emperor appealed today, they should not lose hope. It will take time. People will suffer and grieve, and the world will watch as the disaster worsens if the Fukushima situation cannot be contained. But, history and even the present day workforce of Japan has proven its people to be resilient. They won't give up and they will rebuild, and they will be stronger and better prepared than they were yesterday.

I don't often campaign for anything, even for MS Foundations although I suffer from MS and would benefit from medical breakthroughs, but I am asking for anyone reading this to make donations to charities helping during this crisis. I am asking that anyone reading this to appeal to your neighbors and community to reach out and help in any way possible. In my local community, if every person donated just a dollar, that's almost $92,000 that could be helping. Whether it's a dollar, five, ten, or more, it adds up and every bit helps.

This disaster is so unprecedented, it has experts scratching their heads. No one knows what is going to happen. But if Chernobyl, an admittedly different kind of nuclear disaster, can show us anything, it's that this crisis can affect the world. Look at Chernobyl, a site people still can't visit over twenty-five years after the explosion. That was one reactor. Fukushima has six and all six are in varying stages of distress. The possibility of what could happen has the experts speechless because it's too scary to even begin to fathom.

The Japanese people need help. Now.