Moving due to Fukushima disaster?

[tokyoboy]

I realize this is a sensitive topic but I just wanted to get some feedback from my fellow FG'ers.

1. Have any of you moved or considered moving (further south, west or even outside of Japan) due to concerns related the ongoing Fukushima disaster?

2. Have any people you know (Japanese/foreign friends, family or coworkers) moved or are considering?

3. Do you discuss this topic with your friends, family, coworkers or not at all?

4. Has it (thoughts on moving, food safety, etc) been a source of conflict with your spouse and/or family?

[Yokohammer]

I do so hope you're not another Fukushima troll. Assuming you're not, I'll answer as honestly as I can.

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. No

Everyone is concerned, and has been afraid at some point. The initial reaction to fear is to flee, so I think it's safe to assume that a lot of people have considered it. In our case, after examining the situation on the basis of what we know and can learn abut it, my wife and I have decided to stay. We're in Miyagi, by the way, not too far from the northern border of Fukushima.

The real worry right now is the radiation being released into the ocean, and frankly I doubt that moving further south will be much protection from that.

But if, for example, your partner is freaking out about it and wants to move, it might be wise to comply for the sake of her/his sanity and the relationship, whether it's a reasonable reaction or not.

[6810]

"reydiayshun!" they all say... herder, hadder, herder hadder, herder, haaaarrrrghhh!

Dere beez all kindsa radiation out there most ov it virtually harmless. Sure, there's some dangerous radiation but the biggest worry is the effluent that pumps out of press releases by TEPCO and foreign media.

[tokyoboy]

Yokohammer, thank you for your reply. I must admit I have not been following FG since 3.11 but as I grew tired of attacks from others when discussing Fukushima in other forums I thought I would give it a try here.

I must admit that we left Tokyo in the week following 3.11 (despite having spent almost half my life there) and then Japan altogether within a month. It was a very difficult choice I did not want to make but felt I had to. Since having left I watch in horror at the way this unraveling and worry about Japan, my relatives, friends and coworkers.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I realize this is a sensitive topic but I just wanted to get some feedback from my fellow FG'ers.

1. Have any of you moved or considered moving (further south, west or even outside of Japan) due to concerns related the ongoing Fukushima disaster?

2. Have any people you know (Japanese/foreign friends, family or coworkers) moved or are considering?

3. Do you discuss this topic with your friends, family, coworkers or not at all?

4. Has it (thoughts on moving, food safety, etc) been a source of conflict with your spouse and/or family?

1. I thought about it at first but never very seriously.

2. Yes, I know some people who have. Some of them are now the biggest spammers in my Facebook news feed with links to various articles - no matter how dubious - about how dangerous Fukushima and the surrounding areas are. I think they're trying to justify what they know deep down inside was probably not a very rational decision.

3. I had some family and friends in The US tell me I should leave. Really? Anybody got a decent job and place to live lined up for me? No? I've lived in the Tokyo area longer than I've lived anywhere else. This is my hometown. I wonder how many of the people I know back "home" would permanently relocate if they were in the same situation.

4. No. I'm single. I totally disagree with Hammer that moving for the sake of one's partner who's freaking out is a good idea. Therapy would be cheaper and less disruptive.

[GomiGirl]

Tokyoboy - your question was thoughful and not trollish - thank you. You will get decent replies due to this approach. (Yes DudesAbide, I am talking to you)

My opinion pretty much mirrors SJ and Hammer's.

My friends who left are also bombarding me with Fukushima "news" trying to justify why they left. My reply is always that is fine if you think that way, but don't assume I naively have my head in the sand.

I am married to another FG and we have a 3year old.
My brother and his family live in Japan also.
My mother was living here at 3-11.
My father was on a trip to Australia so he was fortunately able to defuse most of the other overseas family and friends' hysteria in the weeks and months following.

Post 3-11, my friends were split 50-50 between those that stayed and those that left. Of course it made us really evaluate what we thought and what was best for us and our then 6 month old son that I was breastfeeding. We chose to stay and have been happy with this decision. Of course we are continuing to watch the news and evaluate the situation.

Lots of people have different feelings and you need to do what is right for you. You can't be anywhere comfortably if you are in constant fear - irrational or not.

I have a UK friend who can't travel to Australia as she is certain that she will be bitten by a poisonous snake, spider or wombat or will be attacked by dingos or drop bears or other beasties. Whatever. She has just moved to Chicago.

My father (ex-Brit, naturalised Australian) will not travel to Chicago for fear of being gunned down in the street by gangs or Al Capone. Whatever.

I have no desire to travel to India as I hate the heat and I don't enjoy being groped on trains (hence I live in Tokyo). Irony much?

So everybody has their thing and it is not up to any of us to try to convert anybody else. You gotta do what your gut tells you. There are dangers lurking around every corner in every country and you have to assess the risks personally, stay aware and also be willing to change your mind.

[Coligny]

Code: Select all

1. Have any of you moved or considered moving (further south, west or even outside of Japan) due to concerns related the ongoing Fukushima disaster?

No

2. Have any people you know (Japanese/foreign friends, family or coworkers) moved or are considering?

No

3. Do you discuss this topic with your friends, family, coworkers or not at all?

Yes and it's quite shortlived... with the average age of people in my addressbook, they have more to fear aboot mochis than still having long enough to live for developping cancer.

4. Has it (thoughts on moving, food safety, etc) been a source of conflict with your spouse and/or family?

No

Might be one of the only topic on this for which we have a near complete matching viewpoint.

[matsuki]

I have no desire to travel to India as I hate the heat and I don't enjoy being groped on trains (hence I live in Tokyo). Irony much?

I have more fear of what the local curry would do to my bowels than a quick lap in one of the Fukushima cooling tanks.

[legion]

I have no desire to travel to India as I hate the heat and I don't enjoy being groped on trains (hence I live in Tokyo). Irony much?

I have more fear of what the local curry would do to my bowels than a quick lap in one of the Fukushima cooling tanks.

try the super hot mutton curry from the Nepalese takeaway near my office, it makes your ass meltdown the next day

what was the question again

are we all doomed because of Fukushima? No, we are all going to die anyway. I'm more worried about the next big earthquake hitting Tokyo.

20,000 people died in the tsunami, so far nobody has died from radiation from Fukushima.

[Coligny]

Nobody ever died of AIDS either, so I guess it's ok to bareback that Thai shemale prostitute...

[Samurai_Jerk]

Nobody ever died of AIDS either, so I guess it's ok to bareback that Thai shemale prostitute...

Of course it is. It's not like you can knock them up. If she's a real woman, you should only bareback the anus.

[legion]

Nobody ever died of AIDS either, so I guess it's ok to bareback that Thai shemale prostitute...

I think you missed my point

Earthquakes, tidal waves & floods are all common in Japan and cause fatalities, however some people fixate on the radiation boogieman.

tattoo ink, particularly the dark blue and black contains carcinogens, yet some people pay to have it injected into their skin

[yanpa]

I realize this is a sensitive topic but I just wanted to get some feedback from my fellow FG'ers.

1. Have any of you moved or considered moving (further south, west or even outside of Japan) due to concerns related the ongoing Fukushima disaster?

2. Have any people you know (Japanese/foreign friends, family or coworkers) moved or are considering?

3. Do you discuss this topic with your friends, family, coworkers or not at all?

4. Has it (thoughts on moving, food safety, etc) been a source of conflict with your spouse and/or family?

1: not directly. During the first couple of weeks after the quake, I was prepared to leave *if necessary*, but after following the situation and learning more about radiation etc. than I really wanted to, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be necessary. However had power-cuts become an ongoing issue for central Tokyo, I would have had to relocate at least temporarily with a bunch of hard disks to keep my employer's business operating.

2: I don't know of any "flyjin" (of the OMG! teh radiations! must drop everything and flee to safe gaikoku!) amongst my personal acquaintances. One person I know did decide it was wise to take a few day's family holiday at the in-law's in Shikoku, but later returned. For a couple of people (including the aforementioned acquaintance), the whole episode did become a catalyst to relocate from Japan.

3:Not really. It was raised during the interview I had for my current job; basically they wanted to know if I was the kind of person who would bug out without good reason.

4: No.

[yanpa]

are we all doomed because of Fukushima? No, we are all going to die anyway. I'm more worried about the next big earthquake hitting Tokyo.

I've been worried about that ever since I arrived here, which lead me to take some precautions which came in very handy in 2011. (I got some weird looks in the office when after moving to a new location in 2010 I insisted on securing strategic shelving with various items of 防災品). I'm not particularly paranoid about physical risks, but if things do go tits up (in a big bouncy wobbly way, not in Yamato-esque padded-bra style) it will probably mean permanently relocating in the general direction of gaikoku for economical reasons.

[Coligny]

Nobody ever died of AIDS either, so I guess it's ok to bareback that Thai shemale prostitute...

I think you missed my point

Earthquakes, tidal waves & floods are all common in Japan and cause fatalities, however some people fixate on the radiation boogieman.

tattoo ink, particularly the dark blue and black contains carcinogens, yet some people pay to have it injected into their skin

Maybe because your point is dull... Putting individual side effect of a voluntary one time action against unwanted and unproperly measured exposition to industrial pollutant daily, at random because you are not necessarily knowingly at the wrong place at the wrong time is not a point... The Japanese as usual totally unable to do something properly decided to enjoy doing it badly and call it another name... "Radiation are not dangerous, it's the stress that gets you"
Plus, the tattoo people mindset is usually more like any risk taker mindset: they know the normal risk involved but consider it worthy against the benefits from which it is born.

Earthquakes, tidal waves & floods are all common in Japan and cause fatalities, however some people fixate on the radiation boogieman

Radiation is one more risk. It's not accounting 101 at Enron school for legally challenged. You can't deduce risks based on the fact they don't kill on the spot but can trigger disease in a manner that would require actual honest and willful search for evidence of their links.

Saddham Hussein was a boogeyman, Kaddafi was a boogeyman. Declaraing radiation to be safe and a boogeyman in a crisis where the problem is radiation os like playing 1 on 1 baseball with the psychotic kid from the hood who will stab the ball with a knife to avoid losing the game. Trying to reset all radiation related viewpoint to the version mainly used in 1932 of "natural, good, plenty available everywhere, whiten the teeth" is not just lame. It's downright pathetic. It's like in movies were the disposable hero lose half of his guts then the non disposable hero tells him it's ok, just a flesh wound... Because it sounds so much better than "you are as good as fucked, buh bye..."

I don't remember anybody being that bold even 20 years after Tchernobyl. Arguing the number of total death or the reason for the freakshow in local orphanage was common and already a bit pathetic. But jumping the shark to the whole 'radiation are safe' is creationist level derping...

[sublight]

1. Yes, I thought it would be a good idea to send my wife and kid back to her hometown down south right after the quake, since neither of them needed to be in Tokyo for the next month and nobody knew what was going to happen. She didn't want to leave.
2. Yes, many parents and teachers at my kid's school fled the country in the month after the quake, and many additional teachers left when the school year ended. They had to hire about 40 new faculty over the summer (plus having everyone there with a college degree pull double duty for the last few months to cover for the ones who just ran without giving any notice). Don't try to tell me that 'flyjin' is a myth invented by the Japanese press.
3. Yes, we talked about it right after the quake, now it's a non-issue.
4. Nope.

[Mike Oxlong]

I realize this is a sensitive topic but I just wanted to get some feedback from my fellow FG'ers.

1. Have any of you moved or considered moving (further south, west or even outside of Japan) due to concerns related the ongoing Fukushima disaster?

2. Have any people you know (Japanese/foreign friends, family or coworkers) moved or are considering?...

1. I thought about it at first but never very seriously.

2. Yes, I know some people who have. Some of them are now the biggest spammers in my Facebook news feed with links to various articles - no matter how dubious - about how dangerous Fukushima and the surrounding areas are. I think they're trying to justify what they know deep down inside was probably not a very rational decision...

Posted from Seoul?

[Samurai_Jerk]

I realize this is a sensitive topic but I just wanted to get some feedback from my fellow FG'ers.

1. Have any of you moved or considered moving (further south, west or even outside of Japan) due to concerns related the ongoing Fukushima disaster?

2. Have any people you know (Japanese/foreign friends, family or coworkers) moved or are considering?...

1. I thought about it at first but never very seriously.

2. Yes, I know some people who have. Some of them are now the biggest spammers in my Facebook news feed with links to various articles - no matter how dubious - about how dangerous Fukushima and the surrounding areas are. I think they're trying to justify what they know deep down inside was probably not a very rational decision...

Posted from Seoul?

Nice try but getting out of town for a few days ain't the same as permanent relocation.

[jingai]

I'm interested in moving to the Tohoku area, so if any fleeing gaijin leave behind a good job, let me know. I'd prefer non-profits, management, etc. if possible.

[Yokohammer]

I'm interested in moving to the Tohoku area, so if any fleeing gaijin leave behind a good job, let me know. I'd prefer non-profits, management, etc. if possible.

Any specialties?
Areas of expertise?

Oh yeah ... and why Tohoku? (serious, non-snarky question)

[Russell]

1. Have any of you moved or considered moving (further south, west or even outside of Japan) due to concerns related the ongoing Fukushima disaster?

No. That said, I live in Kansai, so there is not too much pressure, though if Fukushima really would fuck up, the 800 km separation may not prove much of a safety barrier.

2. Have any people you know (Japanese/foreign friends, family or coworkers) moved or are considering?

Yes, I know of one FG who worked in Kansai but was about to be moved to the Tokyo area for job reasons, just after the earthquake. He quit for that reason. Stupid move. As far as I have heard, the guy still doesn't have a job.

3. Do you discuss this topic with your friends, family, coworkers or not at all?

After the nuclear disaster my sister frantically called me to relocate back to Holland. I did never consider to leave my job or Japan, since I consider it my home here.

My Japanese wife brought up the topic, because she was a bit worried. At the time of 3/11 we just bought a house a couple of months before, and she started to question whether that was a good move. I told her that it was especially a good move in hindsight, because in the unlikely event that the Fukushima problems would cause evacuation of Tokyo, sad as it would be, those people would move to Kansai, driving up land prices here.

4. Has it (thoughts on moving, food safety, etc) been a source of conflict with your spouse and/or family?

Never.

[yanpa]

I'm interested in moving to the Tohoku area, so if any fleeing gaijin leave behind a good job, let me know. I'd prefer non-profits, management, etc. if possible.

I hear there's good money to be had in the coastal powerstation decommissioning business

[legion]

I don't remember anybody being that bold even 20 years after Tchernobyl. Arguing the number of total death or the reason for the freakshow in local orphanage was common and already a bit pathetic. But jumping the shark to the whole 'radiation are safe' is creationist level derping...

Nobody said radiation was safe

However the fear of radiation seems to have a peculiar grip on the public imagination, probably due to a combination of bad b movies and environmental agendas.

[matsuki]

I don't remember anybody being that bold even 20 years after Tchernobyl. Arguing the number of total death or the reason for the freakshow in local orphanage was common and already a bit pathetic. But jumping the shark to the whole 'radiation are safe' is creationist level derping...

Nobody said radiation was safe

However the fear of radiation seems to have a peculiar grip on the public imagination, probably due to a combination of bad b movies and environmental agendas.

...and the involvement of the Japanese government and their unique ability to multiply all possible chances of shit hitting the fan

[Coligny]

Well, mix a health hazard who can't be easily detected unless a) you really look for it or b) you are already bleading out with a governement and companies known to hide their shit under the carpet and you have a recipe for paranoia.
I hope you also go ranting against people wearing face masks during flue season or SARS outbreak... After SARS was not transmissible between human... So why take precautions....

or

WHY TEMPT THE FUCKING DEVIL...

[Isle of View]

I don't remember anybody being that bold even 20 years after Tchernobyl. Arguing the number of total death or the reason for the freakshow in local orphanage was common and already a bit pathetic. But jumping the shark to the whole 'radiation are safe' is creationist level derping...

Nobody said radiation was safe

However the fear of radiation seems to have a peculiar grip on the public imagination, probably due to a combination of bad b movies and environmental agendas.

. . .

The all-to-human inability to accurately assess relative risk combined with an appalling lack of basic numeracy.

People have no clue that they were exposed to more than an order of magnitude more radiation [due to cosmic rays] fleeing and flying back to Europe and the US than if they had spent the same time in Tokyo.

Radiation chart

[Coligny]

Screen Shot 2013-08-25 at 12.52.01 AM.jpg

Tokyo is sooo not average... (they don't say if it's average or 1 time or... or... or... but when I read too much warm and fuzzy... I check if i'm not talking to a used car salesman)

Yes, we know... only ignorants are worrying... The others are too busy twisting stats to make their point...

And the sources of the whole shebang sounds like a pot pourris from a Cracked.com article... can't criticize anything... can't trace anything either...

[Isle of View]

Screen Shot 2013-08-25 at 12.52.01 AM.jpg

Tokyo is sooo not average... (they don't say if it's average or 1 time or... or... or... but when I read too much warm and fuzzy... I check if i'm not talking to a used car salesman)

Yes, we know... only ignorants are worrying... The others are too busy twisting stats to make their point...

And the sources of the whole shebang sounds like a pot pourris from a Cracked.com article... can't criticize anything... can't trace anything either...

↑

Exhibit A.

[jingai]

I'm interested in moving to the Tohoku area, so if any fleeing gaijin leave behind a good job, let me know. I'd prefer non-profits, management, etc. if possible.

Any specialties?
Areas of expertise?

Oh yeah ... and why Tohoku? (serious, non-snarky question)

Why Tohoku? So I can be close enough to continue work on a documentary project about the rebuilding.

I have 12 years experience working with non-profits on energy and environmental issues and currently run an environmental non-profit. I really have no idea if there's anything where my skills directly apply, but am looking.

That said, I have no plow experience and radiation is my kryptonite.

[tokyoboy]

The all-to-human inability to accurately assess relative risk combined with an appalling lack of basic numeracy.

People have no clue that they were exposed to more than an order of magnitude more radiation [due to cosmic rays] fleeing and flying back to Europe and the US than if they had spent the same time in Tokyo.

You are overlooking the most vital point regarding the radiation:

External exposure = temporary.
Internal contamination = long term (continual exposure).

So, yes, while those who take a flight or have an x-ray are externally exposed it is temporary. However those who inhale or consume contaminant isotopes (strontium, cesium, iodine, plutonium, americium, uranium, etc, etc) are subject to having their bodies internally bombarded by the disintegrations continuously thus doing far greater damage.