Economy After the Quake

A chart below shows the transition of Japan's Nikkei Stock Price from March 10th to 16th.

As you can see, the market dropped about 1,500 Yen (15%) in the last 4 days.

The earthquake affected not only Japaese economy, but also the world economy.

These below are the market transitions of N.Y. Dow and Shanghai.
Both recorded a big drop of shares.

Get the story back to the Japanese economy, the economy actually recorded the highest GDP grow rate, 3.9%, among G7 on March 10th.
Therefore, it was a big news for us on that day, but we all didn't know what would happen the next day...

Although some analysts mentioned that the recovery from a long depression since Lehman Shock was only for a short term, it is true that Japanese economy was on the right track.

However, the devastating earthquake changed literally everything.
The infrastructure was destroyed and the society is filled with confusions.

I know that the consumption is a good conduct to contribute to the society, especially in this situation.  However, I even think that I don't want to get back my life I used to have when I think of the victims.

I think I now can understand how people in US felt after 9.11.
I don't force myself to pretend to be normal now, but I wish I can be sometime in the future.


I wrote only the dark side of the Japanese economy, but there is also a good news on that.
You can know from the chart in the top, and stock prices of Nikkei stopped dropping and showed a rise today.
People estimate that the economy will grow again in the long term. This is because the construction industry will get active and also domestic demand will push the economy up eventually.

I hope I can post more good news which is able to encourage us than the bad news.

What Is Happening With Nuclear Plants

You might already know that we are in fear of radiation from nuclear plants in Fukushima.
People watched lots of news about the situation of plants, but it is not easy to understand how the system of plants are working.  Even people in Japan don't actually grasp the image of it much.
So, I collected a lot of information, and try to tell you briefly.


When the first huge earthquake hit northern Japan, two plants were working in Fukushima.
Plant No.1 had  6 active nuclear facilities and Plant No.2 had 4 active facilities.
Those plants were forced to stop the system automatically by the huge quake.

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I add a necessary information to help you understand the whole image of the explanation here.
Nuclear fuels generate over 2,700℃ Celsius heat in a 5-layer container and cannot stop its reaction suddenly.  So, it takes a lot of time to make the fuels inactive.
Water is continuously put in the container and it is cooled down.  Once the water doesn't cover the container, the container itself is melted down and huge amount of radiation is out as a result.
--

So, two plants stopped working but the nuclear fuels still were active and generates lots of heat.
In a regular situation, the container in which nuclear fuels have a reaction is cooled down by lots of water and it is regulated automatically with electricity.

Substations were all fallen down and stopped the supply of the electricity to the plants in that area because of the huge quake.
Although cadmium and boronic acid which inactivate neutrons were stored, the engineers couldn't drop those chemical elements in the containers because of the loss of electricity.

However, the plants still had two backups for this situation.
(1) The main backup was two controllers called diesel generators.
People considered 7m tsunamis when they built the plants, but it's estimated that 14m tsunami hit the plants.  Therefore, the electrical system of two diesel generators were lost the control by water.

(2) The other backup was a storage battery.  However, the electricity worked only for the first 7 hours.

Engineers at TEPCO had put water to the container by a large pump after the storage battery run out,
However, the pump got broken and the engineers decided to put seawater into the container which means to wreck the whole facilities.

Also, you know that there were explosions at the nuclear plants.
The explosions were not directly caused from nuclear fuels.  Water is continuously put in the container, and water react with Zirconium of container and generates hydrogen.
The generated hydrogen is oxidated and get back to oxygen in a situation which can use electricity.
However, the electricity is off in the facility and they cannot generate that reaction.
Therefore, they let hydrogen out.  As a result, the hydrogen accumulated outside of the container and exploded.
So, the officials say those explosions don't affect the container and nuclear fuels.

I wrote a lot to explain the system of nuclear plants and what they have hundled with.


Although there were some problems in TEPCO's estimation, all people in Japan really appreciate their effort now.  Workers there have done their best with the fear of radiation exposure.

My father had worked for TEPCO for 40 years and he retired last year.
I called him last night and he said he is also really worried about the workers there.  He is not sure, but some of them might be his coworkers.

I really wish the situation doesn't get worse than now, and nobody is harmed by this.

Another Big Quake in Shizuoka

Another big quake hit Japan again only an hour ago.
I made a map focused on the quakes on Google Maps, and you can check it out below.

  
<Large Image with an explanation can be seen at Earthquake Map>

One of the unique features of this disaster is the earthquake is not generated only in one place.
The main quake area is very broad and which is 400km (250 mile) wide in Tohoku.
People have experienced the shocks over 100 times near those epicenters. Some of my friends in Tokyo told me that it's not easy to get a good sleep because of frequent quakes.

In addition to Tohoku area, there are big quakes in northern Nagano, which I put as a small blue square on the map. The first big one was recorded magnitude 6.2. The experts in geology said that plates are different in both Tohoku and Nagano areas.
We have no idea what is going on in the movement of the plate underground and some say they influence each other.


And now, we have another fear.
A big quake hit Shizuoka. The supply of electricity was shut down near Shizuoka.
I dropped a pin on the map to grasp the location.
As you see from this map, Shizuoka is also apart from Tohoku area.
Although we don't have enough data on the quake in Shizuoka at this point, this is not ordinary at all.
Anyways, I think this is a very rare case that we have earthquakes in this broad area.


Also, I embedded a video clip which helps you understand the quake sites from March 11th to 14th.

Support From All Around the World

Total 102 countries and 14 international organizations have offered support for Japan so far.
Even in the first day of the quake, so many countries reacted quickly and publicly announced their support.
I made a list of the countries which declared to support Japan, though it doesn't cover all of them.
(I used the website of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to make this.)

*Asia and Oceania*
India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Korea, China, Nepar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Timor, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Laos, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, ASEAN

*North America*
United States, Canada, Mexico

*South America*
Argentina，Brazil，Uruguay, Bolivia,　Chile,　Colombia, Ecuador，El Salvador，Cuba，Colombia，Surinam，Nicaragua，Panama，Paraguay，Venezuela，Peru，Honduras

*Europe*
Iceland，Ireland，Azerbaijan，Armenia，Italy，Ukraine，Uzbekistan，UK，Estonia，Austria，Netherlands，Kazakhstan，Greece，Kirgiz，Georgia，Kosovo，Switzerland，Sweeden，Spain，Slovakia，Slovenia，Serbia，Tajikistan，Czech，Denmark，Germany，Turkmenistan，Norway，Hungary，Finland，France，Bulgaria，Belgium，Poland，Lithuania，Romania，Luxembourg，Russia，EU

*Middle East*
UAE，Israel, Iraq，Iran，Oman，Qatar，Kuwait，Turkey，Jordan

*Africa*
Djibouti，Tunisia，South Africa，Morocco

*International Organization*
ICRC, IOM, ITU, OCHA, UNHCR, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, WFP


As you see the above, almost all countries we know already promised to give support for us.
I felt very happy by making sure that the world care for us while I listed the countries.

13 countries sent rescue teams, and the people from some of the countries were already arrived in Japan.
They started working at stricken areas with feeling fears of aftershocks and radiation.

We Japanese are all thankful for those who came to help the victims from other countries.


I think many of you are reading this blog from US.
So, we're all relieved when the president Obama announced the support for Japan soon after the terrible earthquake hit Japan. Moreover, US Navy dispatched navy vessels to Tohoku area and Ronald Reagan which is the strongest already arrived at the area. It costs over a million dollars to run Ronald Reagan for one day, but US government willingly sent it to Japan.

Also, I have some friends in Tufts University who studied as exchange students at Kanazawa University which I go to, and guys at Tufts are now raising the charity.
Their blog is here: "Tufts Supports Japan"
I was really glad to hear such a movement done by my friends.


Of course not only US, but also many other countries are supporting Japan.

German Government already sent over 40 troops to Japan. The president of the country visited Japanese Embassy in Berlin and left a comment "Japan is not alone. The world supports Japan."

New Zealand Government sent nearly 50 troops and the officials said that people want to help Japan because Japan gave a lot of support for New Zealand when the country experienced earthquake the last month.

Taiwan decides to give US$3.5 million to Japan.

I could realize again that we are really helped by people all over the world.


Lastly, I put a statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued on the day we experienced the first quake below.
We've been very encouraged by his strong statement.

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The world is shocked and saddened by the images coming from Japan this morning.

On behalf of the United Nations, I want to express my deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the Japanese people and Government, most especially those who lost family and friends in the earthquake and subsequent tsunamis.

Japan is one of the most generous and strongest benefactors, coming to the assistance of those in need the world over.

In that spirit, the United Nations stands by the people of Japan and we will do anything and everything we can at this very difficult time.

We will be watching closely as the aftershocks are felt across the Pacific and South-East Asia throughout the day.

I sincerely hope that under the leadership of Prime Minister Kan Naoto and the full support and solidarity of the international community, the Japanese people and Government will be able to overcome this difficult time as soon as possible.

日本政府と国民に心から哀悼の意を表します。日本がこの重大な試練を乗り越えられると確信しています。 [Translated from Japanese: To the Japanese people, I offer my sympathy and heartfelt condolences. With greatest respect and my best wishes, I know that they will overcome this terrible tragedy.]
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What's the right things to do?

What's the right things to do for people in Japan?
In this situation, it's hard for us to run the economic activities like we had before the quake. When we consider the victims, we unconsciously feel like we should restrain the consumption. However, we know that it's not necessarily right because it doesn't stimulate the economy itself.
In addition, some argues that we can feel we are recovering from this disorder by getting back the life we had or even by pretending we have the normal life.

I am in Kanazawa which is located about 600km away from the epicenter.
Fortunately, the quake we felt was really small and we didn't get any trouble here.
When the first quake hit the northern part, I was working in a lab. I sensed a small shock and checked Twitter, and I could realize that a huge quake hit northern part of Japan by watching the news on Ustream.

It is sad but it is also true that there is a big difference in their lives between the areas which got damaged by the earthquake or at least experienced the quake and the areas which didn't directly experience.
No stores are closed, people enjoy the conversation with their friends outside, and there are commuters in the morning like nothing happened here in Kanazawa.
It is great that we spend the days as usual and thank the peaceful society we have.

However, I feel a little strange to be in such a world. This is because I unconsciously control myself by feeling sorry for those who are suffered.

I think this feeling applies to some of you.
If you have close friends living in Japan or a relation to Japan, you can think this situation more seriously.

Actually, this is why I keep posting entries on this blog.
I hope the effort I've worked on will bring a good result, which is to let people to know more about this terrible disaster through yourself.

Thanks,

very thankful for your concern

Personally, I was really glad that many of my friends care about me and sent lots of heartwarming messages.
Soon after the earthquake, I got email, international calls, and lots of comments on facebook.
Although I couldn't contact my mom the first 4 hours after the huge quake.

I talked with my friend in California on Skype just a couple of hours ago, and he prayed for me and also for Japan.
I was very moved by that he is not a resident of Japan, but he gives a sincere sympathy for us.
I am really happy to have such a nice friend.


Actually, I never thought such a big disaster hit Japan.
It doesn't seem the world we see now is the real, and it's something like a scene in a movie.
Over 10m Tsunamis swallowed the lives of thousands of people. Villages are under the water and destroyed by fire. A gas tank exploded. Electricity is cut off even in Tokyo area and results in the confusion. People are still feared of frequent aftershocks and next big tsunamis. There are so many people who lost their family, lovers, and properties.

This is not the country I've lived.
I watch the news all the time, but it hurts me every minute, especially when the officials tell us the information of dead people.

I now want to be a part of the power to help people and this country from bottom of my heart.
In the talks with my friend in California, I promised two things.
The first is that we will overcome this bad situation and Japan will rise up again.
The second is that I will take him to northern Japan and travel together after we recover from this.


I could recognize the power of people in this tragedy in Japan.
All concerns from my friends were very helpful for me as I already mentioned.
Also, I heard lots of strong messages from other countries.
UN announced a declaration which promises to do the greatest possible effort with saying that Japan has contributed the world for a long time and this is the time the world has to return Japan's contribution.

I'm glad if you keep your attention in Japan.

Present state of nuclear plants in Fukushima

Now, what we are worried about the most is the state of nuclear plants.

There are 2 plants and total 10 facilities in Fukushima, and 3 of 10 facilities have lost controls in water system because electricity was cut off after the huge quakes.
Experts explained that the nuclear rods are over 1000 degree Celsius and need to keep cooled down by water.
So, now what the engineers do at plants is pouring seawater to the nuclear rods.
However, the pace of pouring water doesn't catch up with the speed of evaporation. As a result, the heated vapor generates hydrogen. When the density of hydrogen rises up, it easily exploses without fire.

Parts of two facilities were exploded because of the increased hydrogen.
However, the officials say it doesn't have a serious damage to the facilities themselves.


Although I briefly explained the current state of nuclear plants, you can get more information at Nikkei which is the English version of the most reliable press in Japan.


Actually, my dad worked for the power company (TEPCO) and retired last year. I called him to get more information on this, but he wasn't even sure what is going on with the nuclear plants.

I watch the news very carefully, and read tweets by an expert in nuclear power at University of Tokyo.
I'll try to grasp what's really going on.