Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

A Japanese politician making irresponsible comments is definitely not a rare sight, partly helping to explaining why many of them at the top level get kicked out so shortly after being elected . But the newest fiasco perhaps tops them all, especially considering that it is directly about the current national crisis. Mr. Ishihara, the Governor of Tokyo, recently remarked (and later retracted) that the Quake was a "heavenly punishment" for Japan. Never mind the superstitious nature of the comment completing unfitting with the rather "modern" image of Japanese democracy, or how absurd and unusual that such comment can come out of a right-wing ultra-nationalistic politician, the most hurting thing about the comment is perhaps that it is...actually true on some levels. Now, before you starting jumping to conclusions and call me a racist, let me explain why I think in such a fashion. A stroll in town at night shows why the emotional national unity the country displayed

The media is trying hard to not let any of us loosen up our nerves even one tiny bit. After reporting explosions at the Unit 1 and 3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant , it made sure to scare the people even more with news on the most recent explosion, this time at Unit 2. There is rumors (reported ones, unfortunately), that the radiation level, even here in Tokyo, is going to reach 25 times the normal level. Heeding the cautions about staying in Japan issued by various embassies, the foreigners are starting to put into practice their plans for departing the country for a short period of time . Even those with no plans (or tickets, most likely) to leave the country are prompted by the fearful news to head west toward Kansai and Kyushu areas. And with some (actually, most) companies reducing the number of workers temporarily to deal with the power cuts, the mass movement of people is officially under way. But as for myself, I am seriously feeling that my conscience would not allow

The 100th post of my blog could not have come at a more opportune and interesting time. In a tech-savvy Japan suddenly devoid of its extensive cellphone connections in much of the disaster struck areas and other parts of the network jammed by massive volumes of calls, the Internet once again proved itself to be the life-saving technological innovation putting in touch people in Japan with their worried friends and families both inside and outside the country. Yet, the power of the Internet would not have been so important at such times of disaster if its ability to allow for nearly instant social communications and sharing of information was not so well developed and utilized by large numbers of users. SNS, especially Facebook, by breaking down the dangerous anonymous nature of cyber-populace , has allowed us to easily and quickly identify our loved ones affected by the disaster. And then there is the consumer-generated media (CGM). Whether it be a simple status update on Facebook

The crowds of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau was perhaps the most chaotic scene I have witnessed in this otherwise calm and orderly atmosphere after the Quake . Thousands of foreigners, students and professionals alike, rushed to obtain the permits for reentering Japan before heading back their respective native countries. The noises of complaints about slow processing mixed with immigration personnel's unending apologies for inefficiently handling the "unprecedented crowds" (certainly no exaggeration there). Also heard among the crowds were frequent phone calls, those from faraway families checking on the conditions of the receivers of the calls, but more frequently, those in the endless queues for permits confirming their plane tickets back home. In all this noise and crowds, I, for the first time in the past few days, finally felt, physically rather than just mentally , that Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the disaster areas, is really going through something unusual an