Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster!!!

[Iraira]

I'm going to add:
Mizuho Bank

Their ATM services are going in the freezer from 9pm or so tonight and will be down for the entire 3-day weekend. Get thee to an ATM.

[matsuki]

I'm going to add:
Mizuho Bank

...and any of the pachinko places wasting energy staying open during this energy crisis. I understand they are businesses but don't they have insurance for these kinds of situations?

[Pearse]

There is a Takepoo-like person (troll) on Facebook commenting on the crisis.

http://www.facebook.com/kazuhide?sk=wall

(Edit: Ooops. Just realized he's the fictional writer of a magazine's advice column. )

[IkemenTommy]

Their ATM services are going in the freezer from 9pm or so tonight and will be down for the entire 3-day weekend. Get thee to an ATM.

The ATMs has gone haywire since last night. You have to go to the actual bank with a photo ID to do any kind of transaction.

[Iraira]

The ATMs has gone haywire since last night. You have to go to the actual bank with a photo ID to do any kind of transaction.

I went into the Toranomon branch this morning, withdrew a bunch of cash directly from the ATM. There were a bunch of suits standing around kissing ass.

[IkemenTommy]

[Catoneinutica]

AML, I am not going to criticize your decision, but what will two weeks do for you? Do you think that the radiation will miraculously
disappear after two weeks. I have heard another group of foreigners saying the same thing, leave for a week or two, but what is the point. If you are going to leave, wouldn't it be better to head back and try starting over in your home country, or staying and making the best of it.
I'm staying, because I really don't think it is going to be as bad as everyone fears, and this has become my second home, and I can't just leave everybody who can't leave in the lurch. I was here for the good times and will be hear for the tough times.
Again, this is not a criticism of your decision, just my feeling.
CM

Very well put! Things are looking grim here through at least the end of Summer with the intermittent blackouts. So, two weeks? Meh.

-catone

-Long-term, I'm thinking, the trend is your friend, and that means: exit strategy. I'm really losing hope in Japan's ability to revitalize and wondering if things won't get worse before they get better - and no, not every country with lots of olde farts is decaying as profoundly as Japan; take Korea or Germany, for example. Olde fart-osity can be offset by productivity gains.

-Or the Chinese will fill the void and Japan will become their vassal state. If that happens, you'd better have greased the right Communist Party cadre's palm when the next Great Kanto Quake comes, as it's already overdue to.

-whose palm do I gotsta grease to get my official Blackout Exemption?

[Iraira]

I'm guessing Mizuho does not want to directly deal with FGs so they'll let a few slide..

I was wearing my "I'm pissed off about something" face, so maybe I intimidated the ATM into spitting out moolah. Gotta try that at some bank that I don't have an account at.

[Samurai_Jerk]

AML, I am not going to criticize your decision, but what will two weeks do for you? Do you think that the radiation will miraculously
disappear after two weeks. I have heard another group of foreigners saying the same thing, leave for a week or two, but what is the point. If you are going to leave, wouldn't it be better to head back and try starting over in your home country, or staying and making the best of it.
I'm staying, because I really don't think it is going to be as bad as everyone fears, and this has become my second home, and I can't just leave everybody who can't leave in the lurch. I was here for the good times and will be hear for the tough times.
Again, this is not a criticism of your decision, just my feeling.
CM

Most people I know are leaving because their companies are shut down, they can't get necessities like groceries and diapers, and family in other areas really want them to do so.

[Mulboyne]

Most people I know are leaving because their companies are shut down, they can't get necessities like groceries and diapers, and family in other areas really want them to do so.

SJ, are you finding other Japan expats where you are now?

[CrankyBastard]

Most people I know are leaving because their companies are shut down, they can't get necessities like groceries and diapers, and family in other areas really want them to do so.

Groceries and diapers!
Less food = less shit!
No matter how you want to say it, it adds up to being scared shitless.
I'm scared too, not so much for myself, hell I'm old and I've lived well.
Sorry for the youngsters having to make the decision to run or stay though.

CrankyBastard starting to mellow.

[Mulboyne]

I'll be heading back to Europe in a few days. I had planned to spend a couple of nights out with friends before taking off but a lot of them have gone. My Japanese friends from all parts west have gradually been bugging out to their hometowns while a lot of foreign friends are overseas.

It'll be interesting to see what bars and restaurants are open tonight. Some have closed because their owners aren't in Tokyo any more, while others have just decided not to open because they aren't expecting much trade.

[Samurai_Jerk]

SJ, are you finding other Japan expats where you are now?

Well, a ton of Korean have come back. A couple of buddies are in town but they had planned to be anyway. I heard from one of them that some of his coworkers had come to get away and on the plane I could hear people talking and a lot of them were fleeing Tokyo for Seoul or Bangkok since that was the final stop for that flight.

[matsuki]

About 80% of my FG friends have fled to their respective countries. Nearly all my J-friends are staying home or fleeing to their parent's homes outside Tokyo. Gonna be a boring weekend haha

[CrankyBastard]

I flew to Matsuyama and back yesterday.
The flight out was full of young mothers with their kids.
The conversations were all about having to leave their husbands in Tokyo.
The bars around here will probably start to fill up tonight.

The flight back to Haneda was almost empty.

[vitellus]

...and any of the pachinko places wasting energy staying open during this energy crisis. I understand they are businesses but don't they have insurance for these kinds of situations?

The ones in my area are closed as well as most game centers...

[Samurai_Jerk]

I flew to Matsuyama and back yesterday.
The flight out was full of young mothers with their kids.
The conversations were all about having to leave their husbands in Tokyo.
The bars around here will probably start to fill up tonight.

The flight back to Haneda was almost empty.

If I had a wife and kids, I'd definitely send them away.

Almost all of my FG and J friends have fled the country or headed to Western Japan. A lot of my favorite watering holes are closed or operating on limited menus too. I bet it's a good time to find a lonely scared girl who couldn't leave and needs some protecting.

I think whether or not people are leaving depends on their company. In my case my boss went back to his jikka a couple of days ago, the office is closed and the company is partially subsidizing travel.

[omae mona]

AML, I am not going to criticize your decision, but what will two weeks do for you? Do you think that the radiation will miraculously
disappear after two weeks.

What radiation? That is not a rhetorical or sarcastic question, by the way. I am really curious what radiation everybody thinks they are trying to get away from. I am not sure where AML lives though. Perhaps inside the 20km evacuation zone?

[vitellus]

Mrs. Bucky just mentioned to me that she had read that a few days ago TEPCO had asked the government if they could abandon Fukushima.

"Yup, we're done here. "

But the government told them to get their asses back in there and complete the job. .

Not an expert but I'm guessing that TEPCO's assessment was that in the worst case scenario a 20km area around the plant would be fucked for the next 50 years and that people in Japan could live with that (if not the people living inside that precise area). It can't be helped basically.

That's probably the correct assessment (at least according to what I've read from foreign nuclear experts), however the Japanese government was (rightly) worried about the Japanese and foreign public perception if they did nothing to stop a nuclear accident so that's why they are desperately trying to prevent the situation from worsening.

The problem is that people are interpreting these desperate measures to mean that something terrible will happen if they don't succeed.

[FG Lurker]

What radiation? That is not a rhetorical or sarcastic question, by the way. I am really curious what radiation everybody thinks they are trying to get away from. I am not sure where AML lives though. Perhaps inside the 20km evacuation zone?

My thoughts exactly.

It looks like power has been restored to the Fukushima Daiichi plants. Cooling won't restart until tomorrow (or a bit later, it's not clear), but it looks like a step in the right direction anyway.

[Osakadave]

Hey McTojo,

Now's the time to show your deep love of Japan.

Come on up here and do some volunteer work. You seem to have the time to enjoy the country, here's your chance to give a little back.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Yokohammer again.

[cstaylor]

What radiation? That is not a rhetorical or sarcastic question, by the way. I am really curious what radiation everybody thinks they are trying to get away from. I am not sure where AML lives though. Perhaps inside the 20km evacuation zone?

Disposal mistakes mostly, although radiation is a lot easier to track than BSE.

[Osakadave]

What radiation? That is not a rhetorical or sarcastic question, by the way. I am really curious what radiation everybody thinks they are trying to get away from. I am not sure where AML lives though. Perhaps inside the 20km evacuation zone?

If he's leaving from almost anywhere else to somewher beyond a couple of hours flying time, it's likely he'll be getting a higher dosage than he would just staying put.

[Osakadave]

There is a Takepoo-like person (troll) on Facebook commenting on the crisis.

http://www.facebook.com/kazuhide?sk=wall

(Edit: Ooops. Just realized he's the fictional writer of a magazine's advice column. )

LOL - "Ask Kazuhide" was one of the few good things to come out of the old Alien after they became the Japanzine.

[FG Lurker]

LOL - "Ask Kazuhide" was one of the few good things to come out of the old Alien after they became the Japanzine.

Holy fuck that shit is hilarious.

"I reary want to encorage the gaijin resident of Tokyo and Japan to stay here with us. It important to face the hard time together as friends and peaceful people and not panic this situation. Also, in the severe case of food is become gone and not enough, gaijin is make the tasty snack for starving Japanese."

and

"much people afraid the radiation, and afriad their life, in meanwhile of the stress, they smoking so many the box of Mild Sebun. Do you know what is inside this cigarette smoke? People are idiot. I prefer the Sebun Star Super Light."

[Samurai_Jerk]

"much people afraid the radiation, and afriad their life, in meanwhile of the stress, they smoking so many the box of Mild Sebun. Do you know what is inside this cigarette smoke? People are idiot. I prefer the Sebun Star Super Light."

No shit. If I was really concerned about my health, I'd lose 120 lbs, stop binge drinking and start using condoms. Not while I'm in Korea though.

[McTojo]

Hey McTojo,

Now's the time to show your deep love of Japan.

Come on up here and do some volunteer work. You seem to have the time to enjoy the country, here's your chance to give a little back.

I'm in touch with SUNUSA to see if I can go up there to help out. It's a real pain in the ass to get up that way as the main highway is closed off, and rail service is spotty. Any solutions?

[matsuki]

Okinawa still ignorant much?


"Please close this base ASAP, so that we can provide more electricity and
fuel to the north. Now I see that US military operation is so useless in the
real crisis.

I hope you never come back to Japan."

Ikuko Kunitsuka (she works on Yokosuka...WTF?)

Possibly this person:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ikuko-Kunitsuka/835503573

[Taro Toporific]

Their ATM services are going in the freezer from 9pm or so tonight and will be down for the entire 3-day weekend. Get thee to an ATM.

The ATM at Mizuho [color="Silver"](short for MIZUshobai HO)[/color] gave me money and updated my passbook at 10am today (in Tsuzuki-ku Yokyohama). That was a notice on the front door of the bank apologizing for yesterday's "disruption" blah, bah, blah.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Okinawa still ignorant much?


"Please close this base ASAP, so that we can provide more electricity and
fuel to the north. Now I see that US military operation is so useless in the
real crisis.

I hope you never come back to Japan."

Ikuko Kunitsuka (she works on Yokosuka...WTF?)

Possibly this person:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ikuko-Kunitsuka/835503573

First of all, what is your source? Second of all, don't start making connections between one person and a random person on FB just because they have the same name. You don't know what kind of trouble you might cause them.