by S. G. Harsha

Created on: August 27, 2011   Last Updated: August 30, 2011

Japan is an island country with a long ancestry, rich cultural heritage, and home to approximately 130 million people – all on an island roughly the size of California or about times the size of the UK. In comparison, California’s population is around 37 million and the UK is around 59 million. Japan is very mountainous and only about 15% of Japan’s land is suitable for agriculture. These factors of size, population and usable land create a scenario where a natural or man-made disaster can have staggering consequences for the millions of residents of Japan. Here is an overview.

On March 11th, 2011 North-Eastern Japan was rocked by a devastating earthquake. The subsequent tsunami tore into the coast and washed away thousands of homes, and people. The devastation was further compounded by nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima prefecture Daiichi nuclear power plant. Over 80,000 people were evacuated from within a 20 kilometer range of the power plant. Farther out, from 20 to 30 kilometers, there is a voluntary evacuation zone.  

The initial affect of the disaster on the people of Japan was shortages of food, gasoline, and supplies. Gasoline was rationed out to commuters, where in order to buy gas in some areas, a customer needed to get a presale ticket and/or wait in long lines stretching a kilometer or more. Supermarket shelves were empty of dry foods including rice, noodles, and many other non-perishables. After a few months these shortages were filled and the supply was restored.

A week after the disaster, refugees began pouring out of Fukushima into the surrounding prefectures. Shelters for these people were filled to capacity as soon as they were erected. People claimed small squares of floor space about ten by ten feet on average per person inside these shelters. They use cardboard boxes to erect walls between them and their neighbors. Half a year after the disaster, many tens of thousands or more are still living in these shelters: unable to return home, or having no homes to return to. 

A month after the disaster, many private individuals and organizations began testing for radiation levels and posting the results online or in publications.  The overwhelming consensus was that the levels were not being properly recorded by Tokyo Electric Power and the government. It isn’t hard to understand the reason for this distrust of the authorities’ ability to inform the people. The Japanese government

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