Japanese resilience helps mammoth rebuilding job
THE toll from the quake and tsunami will be tragically high
NO nation can insulate itself from nature's fury, and certainly not from one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history. But Japan was as close to being well prepared for such catastrophe as any nation could be in a region deeply vulnerable to seismological instability. As the toll from Friday's earthquake and tsunami is counted, the Japanese people have set about the recovery operation with a resilience, technical expertise and a capacity for organisation that have served them well for generations. Confronted with wastelands of debris, they are off to a good start with their recovery efforts, earning them the international community's respect as well as a willingness to assist. It says something important about human nature that one of impoverished Afghanistan's most violent provinces, Kandahar, is sending $50,000 in aid. Australia has sent search and rescue teams and stands ready to help in any way possible. And as the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant 250km northeast of Tokyo unfolds, Japan and the rest of the world will learn important lessons about better protecting such installations from future catastrophes.
However sturdy Japan's contingency plans, it was impossible to prevent whole towns in the north being obliterated by the brunt of the quake and the tsunami, leaving 400,000 people displaced. With 10,000 people still accounted for in the small port town of Minamisanriku alone, it will take weeks or months to determine the final number of victims. Horrific as it is, the loss of life would have been far greater if not for sound warning systems and engineering. In Tokyo, with 13 million people, where modern buildings have been engineered to withstand earthquakes, skyscrapers swayed like palm trees but most, remarkably, sustained limited damage.
Three years ago, the Japanese completed the world's most sophisticated early-warning system for earthquakes, which was credited with giving industrial, energy and transport operators vital time to shut down on Friday. It also alerted residents through the media and mobile networks that a quake was imminent. Such resources need to be replicated in earthquake zones across the world, given the stark contrasts between Japan's proactive planning and the lack of preparedness in Haiti, where 200,000 people died as a result of the quake in January last year and Sichuan, China, where 70,000 perished in 2008. Search and rescue efforts remained the priority yesterday, but officials also concentrated on containing damage at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, evacuating surrounding areas and treating those admitted to hospital with suspected radiation poisoning. The problem arose from electricity blackouts causing the cooling systems of the plant's reactors to malfunction. Much needs to be learned about how to prevent such problems in the wake of future disasters. Other nations, prudently, are reviewing their facilities, but the fact that seawater was used to cool reactors suggests that technically it should not be beyond the capability of scientists to devise better safeguards.
Three years ago, the Japanese completed the world's most sophisticated early-warning system for earthquakes, which was credited with giving industrial, energy and transport operators vital time to shut down on Friday. It also alerted residents through the media and mobile networks that a quake was imminent. Such resources need to be replicated in earthquake zones across the world, given the stark contrasts between Japan's proactive planning and the lack of preparedness in Haiti, where 200,000 people died as a result of the quake in January last year and Sichuan, China, where 70,000 perished in 2008. Search and rescue efforts remained the priority yesterday, but officials also concentrated on containing damage at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, evacuating surrounding areas and treating those admitted to hospital with suspected radiation poisoning. The problem arose from electricity blackouts causing the cooling systems of the plant's reactors to malfunction. Much needs to be learned about how to prevent such problems in the wake of future disasters. Other nations, prudently, are reviewing their facilities, but the fact that seawater was used to cool reactors suggests that technically it should not be beyond the capability of scientists to devise better safeguards.
The gradual return to relative normality in parts of Japan after just three days is a reflection of the strength of character of the nation's people. Their characteristic good manners, civic mindedness and restraint remained largely intact on Friday under frightening circumstances, with few obvious signs of panic in circumstances that would jolt the nerves of any human being. Outsiders might find it extraordinary that Tokyo residents even waited patiently for the green light to cross roads that were empty of cars and tried to hold back goods on supermarket shelves as the earthquake struck, but it reflects a selfless and pragmatic society. Within hours of the quake, staff trapped in city offices were being handed bowls of noodles and water. The Japanese people's stoicism, gentle discipline, respect for authority and concern for their elders will be important as the rebuilding process picks up pace. The people will also need to be patient as the Japanese economy struggles with the fallout from the disaster, especially in the northern Tohoku region directly affected, which is an important manufacturing area producing about 8 per cent of GDP. Despite being the world's third-largest economy and a major industrial power, growth in Japan has averaged a flat 0.55 per cent for the past 30 years. In the short term, such stagnation will be reinforced by factory shutdowns, power cuts, transport disruptions and the impact on consumer confidence. Over time, reconstruction should restimulate the economy but will be a major challenge for the national government, which is mired in debt, with a credit rating downgraded in January to AA minus. Demand for Australian imports could be reduced in the short term but is likely to rebound during the recovery.
In an age when fatalism is in danger of becoming fashionable, the worst response to natural disaster is to succumb to the belief that our species is the plaything of malevolent forces beyond its control. The death toll in Japan is already tragically high, and likely to rise much further, and structural damage is appalling, but we take comfort that many more deaths were avoided because of prudent risk management, good governance and technology. While we bow in awe at the powerful natural forces that have forged our planet over billions of years, we also stand in respect for the resilience of the human spirit.
The gradual return to relative normality in parts of Japan after just three days is a reflection of the strength of character of the nation's people. Their characteristic good manners, civic mindedness and restraint remained largely intact on Friday under frightening circumstances, with few obvious signs of panic in circumstances that would jolt the nerves of any human being. Outsiders might find it extraordinary that Tokyo residents even waited patiently for the green light to cross roads that were empty of cars and tried to hold back goods on supermarket shelves as the earthquake struck, but it reflects a selfless and pragmatic society. Within hours of the quake, staff trapped in city offices were being handed bowls of noodles and water. The Japanese people's stoicism, gentle discipline, respect for authority and concern for their elders will be important as the rebuilding process picks up pace. The people will also need to be patient as the Japanese economy struggles with the fallout from the disaster, especially in the northern Tohoku region directly affected, which is an important manufacturing area producing about 8 per cent of GDP. Despite being the world's third-largest economy and a major industrial power, growth in Japan has averaged a flat 0.55 per cent for the past 30 years. In the short term, such stagnation will be reinforced by factory shutdowns, power cuts, transport disruptions and the impact on consumer confidence. Over time, reconstruction should restimulate the economy but will be a major challenge for the national government, which is mired in debt, with a credit rating downgraded in January to AA minus. Demand for Australian imports could be reduced in the short term but is likely to rebound during the recovery.
In an age when fatalism is in danger of becoming fashionable, the worst response to natural disaster is to succumb to the belief that our species is the plaything of malevolent forces beyond its control. The death toll in Japan is already tragically high, and likely to rise much further, and structural damage is appalling, but we take comfort that many more deaths were avoided because of prudent risk management, good governance and technology. While we bow in awe at the powerful natural forces that have forged our planet over billions of years, we also stand in respect for the resilience of the human spirit.
