Is it safe to live in Japan long term? (srs)

[matsuki]

Im down... i work in nishi-azabu and am in midtown for meetings frequently... when/where?

As long as you're bringin' your wifey's single friends!

[2triky]

Im down... i work in nishi-azabu and am in midtown for meetings frequently... when/where?

Make sure to bring your special air filtration unit with you.

[IparryU]

As long as you're bringin' your wifey's single friends!

i dont bring the gestapo with me... fuck that... not to mention all of her friends are... well... not on the pretty side.

bring them ice skates with you and lend 'em to coligny for his next video!

@2triky... American D size or Japanese C?

[matsuki]

i dont bring the gestapo with me... fuck that... not to mention all of her friends are... well... not on the pretty side.

Hmmm, maybe it's better that way (for you), less temptation.

bring them ice skates with you and lend 'em to coligny for his next video!

Good thing I have a spare set because I'm not sure I'll want em back after he's done with em

[Coligny]

Good thing I have a spare set because I'm not sure I'll want em back after he's done with em

Dood we thought she wuz a pro and believed her she could drink back everything after vomiting inside the shoes...

Producing for the fetishist German geriatric market seems to be getting the worst bizness plan evar...

[Mike Oxlong]

Have they been tested for contamination, and will having them raw give me a rash?

[legion]

Have they been tested for contamination, and will having them raw give me a rash?

I hope they went the whole hog and brewed them with decontaminated water from the reactors.

[rooboy]

To the Tassie OP - Japan aint a big place, it's a long place. Made up of 5 islands - Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa. Honshu is where the Fukushima action took place and even then it's kinda far from Tokyo.

Yeah, the effects of radiation have spread but as we're not trained in effectively assessing nuclear radiation risks we can't give a definite answer. Some posters here make wise points about the way the Japanese are minimising risks but the disaster is similar in some ways to Chernobyl. But a poster like Omae Mona is staying put in Tokyo with his family cause he's done his own research and thinks it's not a real issue for where he is.

Look at the geography of Japan and try for a location outside of Honshu. In fact if you look at the ocean currents and prevailing winds, Seattle and other places in the US received radiation so in theory you could be in danger there. You live in Tassie - no radiation fear there but the inbreds could be a danger. So could some of the moronic wing of the Green Party.

[Coligny]

Yeah, the effects of radiation have spread but as we're not trained in effectively assessing nuclear radiation risks we can't give a definite answer(1). Some posters here make wise points about the way the Japanese are minimising risks but the disaster is similar in some ways to Chernobyl(2). But a poster like Omae Mona is staying put(3) in Tokyo with his family cause he's done his own research and thinks it's not a real issue for where he is.

I see what you did there...

(1) Better safe than sorry
(2) And that cute how the denialist have switched away from "it's nothing like Tchernobyl". Sure, In USSR people in charge of the disaster were actually trying to do something to fix it instead of putting all effort to cover their ass and deny any wrongdoing or danger.
(3) Staying put is nothing like coming in...

[omae mona]

Sure, In USSR people in charge of the disaster were actually trying to do something to fix it instead of putting all effort to cover their ass and deny any wrongdoing or danger.

You have got to be joking. This is revisionist history up there with "we Japanese were just trying to console those poor ladies in Nanking".

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959026,00.html

The Soviet government's first reaction to the 1986 catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear plant was to hide it from the world. Only when confronted with irrefutable evidence did officials admit that one of the plant's reactors had exploded, releasing a radioactive cloud that spread over the country and across Europe.

But some Soviet politicians and scientists now claim that a cover-up is still going on. They charge that 1) the accident released at least 20 times more radiation than the government has admitted, 2) Communist officials failed to evacuate nearby towns and cities right away, although they knew of the danger,

(3) Staying put is nothing like coming in...

It is for me. I have the means and flexibility to be back in my country right away if I wanted to be. And if I were now in the same position I were in when I moved to Japan originally, and the only difference was that Fukushima took place 9 months ago, I would be making the same decision to move to Japan.

Here, see this nice post-panic article describing cancer risks. The effect of Fukushima is so negligible it's not remotely worth worrying about. The choice of a neighborhood, diet, smoking habits, etc., in your current country will have a much bigger impact on your lifetime cancer risk than moving to Japan. The scientists quoted in this article are all saying the same thing virtually all scientists have been saying since March, but everybody was ignoring them back then. And even now some people think science is not applicable to an emotional topic like radiation, and therefore call scientists "apologists".

[Coligny]

You have got to be joking. This is revisionist history up there with "we Japanese were just trying to console those poor ladies in Nanking".

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959026,00.html

You are as usual trying to divert the meaning of my comparison for the purpose of your own propaganda.

I said "Sure, In USSR people in charge of the disaster were actually trying to do something to fix it" to refer to Tchernobyl

and "instead of putting all effort to cover their ass and deny any wrongdoing or danger" to refer to Tepco.

In USSR, After few days of coverup (against 8 month and counting here) they went full glasnost going as far as inviting Hans Blix for inspecting the situation. And they worked ASAP to dig under the reactor in order to build a containement to avoid contamination of the water table.

Look at Tepco... their answer is basically... "maybe shit got melted, but we not sure how deep, and it certainly maybe stopped anyway... whatever /bleh..."

Here, see this nice post-panic article describing cancer risks. The effect of Fukushima is so negligible it's not remotely worth worrying about.

You should have read your link before posting it... Becuase when an article contain gems like :

"Several experts inside and outside Japan said that cancers caused by the massive amounts of radiation the plant emitted"


"That could mean thousands of cancers will slip under the radar in a study covering millions of people"

Go pretty much against all the rationalizing bullshit you are spewing...

And if I were now in the same position I were in when I moved to Japan originally, and the only difference was that Fukushima took place 9 months ago, I would be making the same decision to move to Japan.

You really think you are displaying any kind of intelligence with such statement ?

I wonder which is the sock puppet between Rooboy and you...

Lastly just to show how blindingly stupid your arguments are:

The effect of Fukushima is so negligible

1) it's only 8 month after let some time for the shit to hit the fan (for now all the case of acute myelocytic leukemia are like totally not linked to fukushima... at all we say... don't ask...)
2) It's not finished at all yet, so we don't even know for sure HOW MUCH shit will hit the fan...

It's not my problem when people need to lie to themselves in order to be able to sleep at night. But when you are opening your yapper to spread your delusion upon the rest of us, it become a public health issue. And don't expect me not to show up to ask you to STFU.

WE KNOW, in your little dreamland Fukushima was totally nothing and the radiation not released anyway are in fact good for your health. And remember, it's nothing like Tchernobyl... or at least it was... certainly not the 10 of last march anyway... In Tchernobyl all was written in Russian meanwhile Fukushima has all written in chinese... see... totally different problem...

Good god, I could play that all night long...

[omae mona]

You should have read your link before posting it... Becuase when an article contain gems like :

"Several experts inside and outside Japan said that cancers caused by the massive amounts of radiation the plant emitted"


"That could mean thousands of cancers will slip under the radar in a study covering millions of people"

Go pretty much against all the rationalizing bullshit you are spewing...

You are continuing to be thrown off by scary emotional words like "massive" and "radiation" and making the illogical and ridiculous leap to inferring it is not safe to live in Japan.  ]
You really think you are displaying any kind of intelligence with such statement ?
[/quote]

Coligny, at least half of your posts on this forum use the words "idiot" or "stupid" to refer to just about everybody besides yourself. We have all accepted that you are right, and all the rest of us pale in comparison to your mighty education and intellect. We are truly blessed to have you in our presence to straighten us out. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Coligny]

Coligny, at least half of your posts on this forum use the words "idiot" or "stupid" to refer to just about everybody besides yourself.

If you say so...

1- Now you might have a hard time demonstrating that statement, as I more than often include me in those terms... (and for the rest, well, have you seen the behaviour of the population of this planet lately)

2- I'v always been like that... when I see stoopid, I call stoopid... when I see bullshit rationalisation trying to pass as scientifical fact... I call bullshit.

Your statement "The additional cancer risk caused by moving to Japan is negligible" is pompous, baseless and way too early to make. Therefore fall totally in the "bullshit rationalisation". Or when said publicly in the health and safety hasard category. You are making scientific statement based on cherry picked rethoric. To which I oppose high level of uncertainty, incompetence, profit driven recklesness and (first world) standard procedure when facing public health safety.

Once again, at first people were cheering up by saying "it's not even as bad as Tchernobyl" now cheering up with "radiation are not even dangerous anyway". That's great, but should carry the same liability as if you were to say that drunk driving is perfectly fine and safe. The fact that DD can trigger immediate death versus long term disease should be totally irrelevant. Unless you're a business manager... then I can understand that anything beyond the 3 month quarterly results is totally out of your window of preparation.

And stop your pompous patronizing, considering me 'scared' maybe make you feel better as it transform your buttheadness into pretend 'courage'. But it's as desperately moronic as telling someone putting his seatbelt that he's 'scared' of accident... You don't understand the precaution principle... fine for you and unfortunate for your entourage... Don't expect praise for gloating so much and taking pride on your ignorance. Come back when you have worked in a field involving more than covers for TPS reports (playing chess here).

[matsuki]

[Catoneinutica]

My MD wife says it's impossible for Fukushima-related leukemia cases to already be developing. Then again, docs are fleeing in droves from the area. The truth lies between Coligny and OM's positions. Still quite bad.

[omae mona]

My MD wife says it's impossible for Fukushima-related leukemia cases to already be developing. Then again, docs are fleeing in droves from the area. The truth lies between Coligny and OM's positions. Still quite bad.

By "the area" you mean the Fukushima area, not all of Japan, right? Remember the OP's question was about Tokyo and Osaka.

[matsuki]

By "the area" you mean the Fukushima area, not all of Japan, right? Remember the OP's question was about Tokyo and Osaka.

Problem is even here in Tokyo, witht he J-Gov we have to worry about contaminated food/water and there's another "Big one" nearby looming in the near future...obviously we all aren't panic-mode enough to jump ship but the current situation here I can't exactly call "safe." Let's just call it "risky" and leave the level of risk up to individual interpretation.

[Greji]

Let's just call it "risky" and leave the level of risk up to individual interpretation.

Choko, you and Omae-chan aren't be told is that there is now no risk for Tokyo. All radioactive food, materials and trash are being trucked straight through to Nagoya and most of it is being dumped in the lot behind the Coligny Clinic. The rest in his neighbor's lot. So I guess he can worry if he must, but I'm to busy checking on closing times in Roppongi and chasing escaping lemurs to care....

[Catoneinutica]

By "the area" you mean the Fukushima area, not all of Japan, right? Remember the OP's question was about Tokyo and Osaka.

Hi OM. Yes, I meant Fukushima, particularly the eastern part, of course, and southern Miyagi. Going by the Hayakawa radiation dispersal map, and looking at the areas with relatively high concentrations, I'd be interested to know if there isn't also an exodus of doctors from northern Tochigi and Gunma, as well as Kashiwa and some other disparate hotspots.

To answer the OP, no, I don't think the rest of Japan is significantly more toxic. There have always been high levels of dioxin and heavy metals in the soil here, and the Fukushima radiation will probably end up being only an incremental addition to carcinogenic yogore that's already out there. And I suppose that's the logic of the powers-that-be: disperse the radiation around Japan, dilute it, and share the pain. In the end there might be a small marginal decline in Japanese life expectancies, but it'll be untraceable.

[omae mona]

Hi OM. Yes, I meant Fukushima, particularly the eastern part, of course, and southern Miyagi. Going by the Hayakawa radiation dispersal map, and looking at the areas with relatively high concentrations, I'd be interested to know if there isn't also an exodus of doctors from northern Tochigi and Gunma, as well as Kashiwa and some other disparate hotspots.

To answer the OP, no, I don't think the rest of Japan is significantly more toxic. There have always been high levels of dioxin and heavy metals in the soil here, and the Fukushima radiation will probably end up being only an incremental addition to carcinogenic yogore that's already out there. And I suppose that's the logic of the powers-that-be: disperse the radiation around Japan, dilute it, and share the pain. In the end there might be a small marginal decline in Japanese life expectancies, but it'll be untraceable.

Careful, Catone, that's exactly the point I was trying to make above (and I was simply summarizing the point of the Japan Times article). I got called pompous and an idiot for it. You are going to get on the shitlist of our resident genius if you don't watch it.

[Catoneinutica]

Careful, Catone, that's exactly the point I was trying to make above (and I was simply summarizing the point of the Japan Times article). I got called pompous and an idiot for it. You are going to get on the shitlist of our resident genius if you don't watch it.

Well, those French and Italians, they're quite voluble, you know.

[Coligny]

Careful, Catone, that's exactly the point I was trying to make above (and I was simply summarizing the point of the Japan Times article). I got called pompous and an idiot for it. You are going to get on the shitlist of our resident genius if you don't watch it.

People who live be the words "so fucked anyway that I little more won't count" are not the best advisor for topics related to safety.

Like having Kevorkian as a speaker in a conference aboot reanimation techniques...

[damn name]

I trust most reasonable people (including MD's ) would want to move from eastern Fukushima even if the plant hadn't been damaged. Old age may kill off the last of us before there are any signs of economic or agricultural recovery in the area.

We're not quite the clever species we think we are. Well, except for the boy genius...

[Coligny]

Well, except for the boy genius...

If someone living by the words "better safe than sorry" is enough for you to qualify him of being a pretentious "boy genius"... the problem might not come from where you think...

Like people who perform their oil change a double the recommended timespan, because they know better and the garagist just do this to make more money. Or those who wait for the rubber to fall appart before switching their wipers blade... or any other maintenance to be done on a schedule even if there is no obvious sign of decay... yet...

I'm not the one who think he's smarter than the other. I'm the one who play by the rules learned with pros. In their field of workplace health and safety. The "it'll be okay" folks are universal... boring... and set themselves to be expandables...

[omae mona]

People who live be the words "so fucked anyway that I little more won't count" are not the best advisor for topics related to safety.

I dunno, Coligny. You're entitled to your opinion but don't forget the OP was asking about the tradeoff between career and safety. If he were just looking for absolute safety, we'd be recommending he bury himself in a concrete underground bunker.

If somebody told me he was going to pass up on a desirable career move because his normal cancer risk of 40%, ("so fucked anyway") was going to increase to 40.001% ("a little more"), I would tell him he was stark raving mad. If that were logical behavior, it would also be logical to pass up a job where you have to commute to work by car, as the chances of dying from a traffic accident are orders of magnitude higher than risk of dying from Fukushima-induced cancer in Tokyo or Osaka. It would be logical never to enter a bar filled with cigarette smoke merely for the pleasure of having a beer, since that increases your cancer risk, too, especially for such little benefit.

Coligny, surely you don't actually believe the above. If you made career choices based on that kind of risk assessment, your career would be totally fucked by now. And there's only a 1 in 100,000 chance you'd actually be in any better health because of your choice.

Now, on the flip side, I am not sure the OP's particular career choice does justify the negligible risk (even of hopping on an airplane, which is pretty damn risky too between the high radiation and crash risk).

I'm not the one who think he's smarter than the other.

For a good dose of self reflection, why don't you use the FG forum search function and look for posts under your name with the words "stupid", "idiot", and "stoopid". I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the results. This doesn't even include your posts where you used different spelling or merely implied people were stupid.

[Coligny]

For a good dose of self reflection, why don't you use the FG forum search function and look for posts under your name with the words "stupid", "idiot", and "stoopid". I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the results. This doesn't even include your posts where you used different spelling or merely implied people were stupid.

You don't need to be smart or even consider yourself smart to see when something is stupid. Sometimes experience is enough... Not everything stupid you do can kill you... and when you survive it... see it again... that's usually ood karma to tell others... "hey, that's a stupid move, I know it, I barely survived last time I did it" I think it's Chuck Yeager that once said that you have to learn from others people mistakes because you won't be able to do them all and survive.

So yeah... i call stupid a lot... because there is a nearly unquantifiable amount of stupid happening these days... If you prefer looking somewhere else pluging your ears and singing lalalala everything is fine... good for you...

[Coligny]

If that were logical behavior, it would also be logical to pass up a job where you have to commute to work by car, as the chances of dying from a traffic accident are orders of magnitude higher than risk of dying from Fukushima-induced cancer in Tokyo or Osaka. .

You realise that most japanese company don't allow cummuting by motorbike for insurance and safety reason...

[Mike Oxlong]

Radioactive cesium found in Meiji baby formula

Radioactive cesium of up to 30.8 becquerels per kilogram has been found in baby formula manufactured and sold by Meiji Co., sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday, citing a sampling by the major food company.

While it is unclear how the isotope got into the powdered milk, retailed as ''Meiji Step,'' the company suspects a link with the radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami, they said.

Radioactive cesium has been found in baby formula for the first time since the disaster, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. The level of the isotope contained in the product remains below the government-set allowable limit of 200 becquerels per kilogram.

[matsuki]

You realise that most japanese company don't allow cummuting by motorbike for insurance and safety reason...

Very annoying and true....not just companies but schools, sports, etc. etc. as well! Forever children...

[Coligny]

Radioactive cesium found in Meiji baby formula

aboot that, do you have links to the japanese meiji communique listing the recalled lots ? would be nice if i could print it before tomorrow morning so we can drop precise warnings sheets to the pediatrics asap. (even if i are not popular at all there, Dr Zaius still regularily play tennis with me b.., ehm... julie)