Sendai - A Year Later

A friend from L.A. recently asked me how Tokyo was one year after the earthquake and tsunami.  I reflected for a moment, my emotions gathering together like a hurricane collecting force and debris.  Any question regarding that event stirs up emotions hard to suppress: fear, gratitude, love, understanding.

Fear - remembering the sheer terror, thinking it was the end, seeing Ranger shaking uncontrollably; realizing I was too. Utter, retched, helplessness.

Fear it might happen again.

Gratitude - we survived and nothing was damaged.

Love for Russell, Ranger, all our family and friends who cared so much.

Love for the Japanese people who went out of their way to help, with humbling grace.

The revelation in understanding the difference between an "us" society; not a "me" society.

Understanding what's truly important, not material possessions, but the ones you love.

In Tokyo a year later, buildings are still standing, people are working, aftershocks are still occurring. Energy conservation is over; the lights are all back on. The city is bereft 33,000 foreigners who never returned to the country after they fled from the earthquake and aftermath.  In Tokyo there is no destruction, no shelters for those who lost their homes. Those shelters begin 150 miles away.  More than 330,000 people are still living in temporary accommodations.   Sure a few expats worry about where the food in the super market comes from.  CNN and BBC are still over-dramatizing the effects on Tokyo but under-dramatizing the need in the areas hardest hit like Miyagi prefecture where 10,000 were missing after the tsunami.  But mostly, people are remembering.  There is a looming sense of pathos and yearning over the city.  There are still over 3,000 people who have never been found.  Debris washes up on foreign shores.  The Japanese mourn for the 15,800+ people who were lost and those yet to be found.  But they persevere.   They help each other.

While Russell and I were doing the Kyoto Walkathon, i.e., seeing 25 sights in 36 hours, our friend Nancy, was surveying the tsunami damage one year later.  The Tokyo American Club had arranged a tour, (read: trip to secure donations) for members of the U.S./Asia Business Summit.  Unfortunately not enough members of the summit cared to attend so the tour was opened up to Tokyo American Club members, (read: hopefully rich expats or representatives of rich corporations).

I had lunch with Nancy after her trip, tears filling our eyes as she recounted all she had seen and heard.
I asked her to submit a guest post.  Below is what she sent me including a couple of sobering pictures.

I thought I would cry a lot when I went to Sendai.  I didn’t, but I did find myself thinking about how awful it must have been there.  What touched me most was seeing a wooden horse lying in the rubble.  This was probably a child’s toy or a family chachki.   I also found several dishes and a record still intact.  It made me want to pick them up and find the people that they belonged to and give them back. From where I was standing, those that were at ground level didn’t stand a chance of survival.  Even people on the roofs of their homes would likely have been swept away by the waves.  Those who made it to higher ground or in concrete buildings on the low levels survived.  I sat next to a man on the bus who had been to Sendai several times to volunteer.  He said the hardest part was finding personal items.  I saw pictures that they passed around of the boxes of photos that volunteers collected  hoping to reunite them with their owners.  They were brought to shelters so survivors could look through them hoping to find photos of their loved ones.  Buildings are still being torn down. Red zeros are seen on buildings indicating no bodies have been found inside.  Red cr’s are spray painted on buildings that have been condemned and await demolition.  Buildings ripped off their foundations remain sitting atop debris and wedged between other buildings.  A department store with first floor lights hanging by wires from the ceiling has no walls on the first floor. Debris is sorted in to recyclables and burnable piles.  Heavy equipment still remains everywhere working constantly to disassemble buildings.  We visited a sake brewery where the owner gave us a tour.  He was lucky as his buildings are on higher ground.  The water level came up just to his residence.  Walking up the hill to the brewery, you could see where doors, siding and tiles had been replaced on some of the homes.   They were flooded on the first floor but were able to remain in their homes while they repaired the first floor.  The brewery owner told us he lost 80% of his customers who were local restaurants and bars demolished by the Tsunami.  The majority of the boats washed ashore have been disassembled or repaired and put back into service.  A 3 ½ ton fishing boat still remains sitting in the middle of what once was a residential street.   All of the homes around it have been torn down but the city will keep the boat where it is as a reminder of the Tsunami. I was surprised by how cold it was.  I visited on March 3rd, eight days before the Tsunami struck the year before.   It was 18 degrees when we left our hotel that morning and in the 30s for the high.  Many died from hypothermia and complications due to injuries even if they did survive the Tsunami.    We watched home videos on the bus ride and could see it snowing on many.  You could hear the pain in people’s voices and hear them crying as they watched all of their possessions vanish before their eyes.  One video showed people up above a parking lot and as the water rose, the cars started to float away.  A pine tree forest was completely destroyed except for one lone tree that still remains.   The tree has become a symbol of hope and will be pictured on a comemmerative coin with proceeds going to the Tsunami relief fund.  Unfortunately, the tree is dying slowly due to the salt water.  Piles of cars still remain and mud and standing water are still covering the land near the ocean. We weren’t allowed off the bus in this section of town, closer to the water, as it is still unsafe.  Workers and volunteers wear special steel reinforced boots so a nail won’t go through their foot.  Special gloves for picking up glass are mandatory.  A lot of work remains and donations are waning now that it has been over a year.  Becoming a volunteer is costly, and isn’t easy, because of the clothing requirements, i.e. steel toed boots, special gloves, etc.  The best way to help the recovery effort now is through donations.   Thanks Nancy.  Thanks Japan.

False Impressions

I had lunch the other day with a young Japanese woman I met at the Asakusa Fireworks Spectacular back in August.  You may recall Russell and I were miraculously ambushed by a nice Japanese man who invited us to sit with his family and friends and enjoy the show.  She was one of his son's friends.

A couple of months ago she contacted me and asked me if I would mind sharing some travel recommendations as she is going to Los Angeles in the Spring to study English for five weeks.  I was delighted.  Instead of just sending her an email; I suggested lunch.  She agreed.

Our first lunch was sweet yet complicated, like trying to get cotton candy off your fingers.  She was really nice but her English was limited and my Japanese is, well, nonexistent.  She kept apologizing for not speaking English well.  I should be the one apologizing.  I don't speak Japanese at all!

Our conversation was stilted but interesting.  She works for a rental car company. She lives in Yokohama with her family.  I felt bad that she traveled all this way just to have lunch with me.  But then she explained her boyfriend lives in Tokyo.  Ok, maybe not too bad then.   No, she didn't invite him to come with her to L.A..  She wants to do this on her own.  Wow - independent woman.  She's very excited about going to L.A..  I wanted to ask her how old she is.  She looks about 22 but in Japan that could mean she's really 32.  They're always ten years older than you think they are.

We ended that first lunch with a promise I would send her all the suggestions we discussed on email.  For a few minutes I experienced just a flicker of what Russell must live through every day, albeit on a much more serious level.  It takes a lot of energy and concentration to converse with someone who doesn't speak your language. You really have to pay attention to every single word in order to attempt to understand what they're trying to say.   In America one could also observe body language to aid in the deciphering but I've found the Japanese do not exude as much body language as Americans.  They don't gesticulate as frequently and their facial expressions are much more reserved, except when they smile, which they do a lot.  They have a great sense of humor.

I was exhausted at the end of our lunch.  I can only imagine how she felt.  It must be even harder to continuously translate back and forth.  First you have to determine what you want to say.  Then translate it to the other person's language, then listen for their response, translate it back into your language and then do it all over again to respond.  Wow.  I didn't do any translating except how to split the check.

I spent a couple hours writing an email outlining my suggestions for where she should go in L.A..  She is really interested in shopping.  I found this ironic, considering Tokyo has the best shopping in the world.  She is going to be shocked when she discovers how inexpensive L.A. is compared to Tokyo.  She made it clear she was on a budget so I had to be careful of the suggestions I made.  A lot of the less expensive places I would recommend like The Gap or H&M,  have locations in Tokyo, so it was challenging to come up with fashionable, inexpensive places.  I don't think Fred Segal would qualify.  My main recommendation was Express.

I concentrated more on shopping locations so she could get a flavor of what SoCal has to offer.  Imagine if you just got off the airplane and went to downtown L.A..  You would be seriously disappointed and wonder what all the hype is about.  I confess, Los Angeles can be quite ugly if you don't know where to go.  So I tried to develop a thoughtful itinerary citing such places as 3rd Street Promenade Santa Monica, Beverly Center, Melrose/3rd and the Grove, Montana Street and of course, Rodeo Drive.  No trip to L.A. would be complete without a drive down Sunset to Hollywood and Vine.  And I pointed out the best places, on a budget, to get a great hamburger and Mexican food: In and Out, The Apple Pan, Border Grill.  You know, the usual suspects.

After I pushed "send" I realized she would have a hard time translating everything I said.  So I suggested we have lunch again.

The second lunch was far more meaningful.  After I answered questions she had about my email, we covered the gamut of subjects from Christmas, aka religion, to politics.  I was literally winded afterwards and amazed.  I had gotten so much insight from our discussion.

The conversation led with Christmas and how the Japanese celebrate it, or not.  I asked if her family celebrated Christmas.  She explained that Christmas is not a religious holiday but a lot of her friends did exchange gifts.  She confirmed the story about Japanese men and Christmas, i.e., if you get asked out it means you're expected to put out.  I stifled my urge to ask her if she and her boyfriend had Christmas plans.

Christmas unfolded into a conversation about how sad the Japanese people are this season due to the tsunami and all the people who died or are still missing.  She said the people are filled with overwhelming sadness and a deep desire to help others overcome the tragedy.  That pretty much sums up the Japanese culture "desire to help others."

She went on to say the event weakened the Japanese's trust of the government in regards to what they were told regarding the nuclear incident.  I found that interesting.  Even now reports about tainted food and dairy products are making the Japanese people anxious and wary.  It occurred to me how unwary I am about these things.  In ex-pat circles the women mention their concerns frequently, archly refusing to buy products from non-international stores for fear of radiation.  All my research on the subject indicates you would have to eat radiation tainted food in large quantities for years before it might have a negative affect on adults.  Kids are another story, they weigh a lot less, and so I understand their concern.  Hmmm. Maybe I should rethink my nonchalance if the Japanese are worried.

I pointed out how impressed I was with the progress Japan had made in the cleanup of the disaster sites. Recently an email had circulated with pictures of the disaster areas after impact, three and six months later.

http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/2011/09/japan-marks-6-months-since-ear.html

The results were amazing, especially when compared to Hurricane Katrina.  They're still trying to clean that mess up and that was six years ago.  Plus I pointed out that if this disaster had occurred in America it would be a lot different.  I touted Katrina again citing the heinous crimes committed against survivors in the Superdome.  Women were raped, the few possessions people had left were stolen by other survivors, evacuated houses and stores were looted.  This would never happen in Japan.  This sparked disbelief and her eyes opened widely.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

In contrast, I told her about a story I heard regarding one of the tsunami shelters in which the members would not partake of food or water if there wasn't enough for everyone.

She mentioned she had watched a lot of the Katrina television coverage and based on this she had the impression that Americans and therefore, America, is a poor country.  Wow.  And everyone in California looks like the cast of the O.C. I thought.  Yikes!  But reflecting upon it for a moment I could totally see how people in other countries could get this impression.  The realization made me shudder.

I explained that Katrina had taken place in Louisiana, which in comparison to other states like California and New York, is less well off.  Furthermore I elucidated that flooding generally occurs in low places.  Since typically in America more affluent people live on higher ground and flooding occurs in low places, more under-privileged people were affected.

If this catastrophe had happened in Southern California or Connecticut she would have formed a significantly different impression.  I hope.

Since we were on the subject of catastrophe she asked me what the whole Occupy Wall Street movement was about.  I clucked silently.  If only my good friend Conrad could see me now.  Since I abhor the news, (it's always negative), he would get a kick out of this inquiry.  I made a mental note to Google the subject when I got home.

I explained the best I could, trying to cite both sides of the story.  Basically I told her people are protesting the government because they feel the current economic situation in America is unfair and the fault of big business and the government.  They want the government to do something about it.

"Why are they mad?" she asked.  I told her they're mad because a lot of people are losing their jobs and therefore going bankrupt and losing their homes.  "That's the government's fault?" she said.

Depends on how you look at it.  There are two sides to every story.  On one hand the government and big business, (e.g. the financial institutions and finance companies), are to blame because they approved home loans that should never have been approved.  The credit card companies made it easy for people to live beyond their means, allowing them credit lines far above their ability to pay.  Meanwhile the financial system, i.e., the stock market and investors, rewards companies for profitability and growth.  The minute one of those measurements threatens to weaken, companies lay off employees while paying their leadership, who mismanaged the company to begin with, millions of dollars in compensation.

I explained that something like 5% of the population in America has 80% of the wealth.  And within that 5%, 1% has 90% of the wealth.   Actually according to the Occupy Movement the number is more like 1% and 99%.  Those that "have" being the 1% and then everyone else being the 99%.

"Oh!" She said, nodding.

However, on the other hand, in my opinion, I don't think people should live beyond their means either.  Having grown up in foster homes and worked for literally everything I have, I have a very different perspective than a lot of Americans.  I think people need to be responsible for themselves.  People shouldn't spend more than they make or leverage themselves so far that they lose everything if the economy takes a dip and then expect the government to pay for them.  That's not fair either.

America was founded on the belief that if you work hard you can achieve whatever you want.  I am living testimony to the American dream I said.   But today it seems a lot of Americans think the government owes them, not the other way around.  It's sad, especially in contrast to what I have seen about the Japanese people.

But it's complicated.  There is fault on both sides.  Do I think big business should be made more accountable to their employees?  Absolutely.  I worked for MCI Worldcom and watched Bernie Ebbers and Scott Sullivan screw everyone.  They're still rich and most everyone who worked at MCI was unemployed.  Do I think the government should tax the rich more so they can cover loans made by people who should never have qualified to begin with?  It's tricky.  Is it right for the government to bail out the financial institutions and automotive companies but not its citizens?  Hard questions I'm not qualified to answer, except perhaps, anecdotically.

Apparently there is no recourse anymore for irresponsibility.  Government bails out the big institutions for fear of losing jobs and therefore votes.  People purposely max out their credit cards and plead bankruptcy (sometimes multiple times) but continue to get loans for cars and more credit cards after the dust settles.  What has happened to our country?

I asked her if there was similar thinking in Japan.  She told me in Japan people help each other but are responsible for themselves.  Hmmm.

I suggested she watch the movie "Margin Call" which I felt was an excellent portrayal literally and figuratively of the financial crisis in America.

It was almost a cathartic conversation I mused afterwards.  I couldn't have that conversation with an American without fear of an altercation or strong judgement. Generally I don't get involved in political conversations, especially at my age.  I find that my contemporaries are unwilling to entertain a different opinion than their own. Sadly.  I'm willing to be educated and change my mind but I find most people are just emotional about their opinions and seldom have the knowledge to back them up.

I walked away with a full stomach and head spinning from too much caffeine and insight.  Dazed by the impressions she had painted, like a spirograph of neon flashing lights.

I saw a cartoon in High School once about the world from the perspective of high above.  From that perspective it seemed Earth is inhabited by just cars.  It was too far away to see the people.  The cars and trucks and even farming equipment moved purposely about each day, going to and from places from sun up to sun down.  That film always made me wonder what aliens would think looking down on our civilization.

I guess today I got a glimpse.