One year anniversary of 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

[kndy]

For those in Japan right now, are there a lot of discussion of specials to commemorate the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake? The reason why I ask is because I can ask our video rental store owners to request for it. Curious if there are commercials airing right now in Japan for them.

[greg]

I wish I could say. I don't have a TV, and at this rate, I probably won't own one until sometime in June or so. It would be nice to see a collected documentary of news footage and such. Last year, I was watching NHK's live streaming over the Net because the bloodthirsty, ridiculous American news media only cared about exaggerating radiation risks once the Fukushima power plant became a disaster, and trying to depict Tokyo as a ghost town.

Before I moved to Japan, a few months back I caught a no-nonsense documentary on cable TV, but I cannot remember which channel it was on (Discovery, Weather, History, Science, or whichever). They only mentioned the Fukushima incident at the very end of the documentary, so I appreciated that they defined the scope of the show to just the earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

[kndy]

Thanks BikeLover. So, far I watched the film "Pray for Japan" which was directed by Stu Levy (who founded Tokyo Pop). The movie is absolutely awesome and It screens in Japan first and in the US on March 14th at 7:00 p.m. at select theaters nationwide. This film focuses on the rebuilding process and the spirit of the Japanese people, especially the volunteers of various ethnicities helping out. Awesome film!

Another that I watched is the TLC special which aired yesterday. This one interviews the people who videotaped the footage that was shown on Japanese news and found on YouTube but the difference is that they show the people actually running and being hit by the tsunami. Most news footage didn't show that, but this one did. Of course, they cut right after waves touch on person. Another is the guy who got caught in traffic and happened to have his camera on. He was in the area delivering pharmaceutical equipment but from the video that I watched, it focus on him being caught in traffic and his vehicle floating in water. The newer footage actually shows people holding on to debris a few yards from his vehicle but he mentions that those people were later swept away.

[kndy]

kndy.

For weeks after the 3/11 incident the news was nothing other than that and similar footage.
Never mind the food, etc shortages due to panic-buying, scheduled power-outages, etc, etc.

Most of the footage is from the Tsunami itself, very little footage overseas of the quake and how my son had to wear his emergency hood to/from school every day, etc.

The footages shown overseas are from the direct disaster area but it hit the whole country in a big way with companies as far away as Osaka having to shut down, etc as their suppliers were gone.

Japan will keep going as they did after the 1995 quake(was dating my wife when we got the news in South Africa).

I hear you. The moment the earthquake hit, I was on the phone with a contact for Pony Canyon during the time of the earthquake and when she felt it, I noticed Kamisami Kong of Metropolis Magazine posting from Tokyo and then a few minutes later, photos of fires around Tokyo.



This was my setup pretty much on March 11th... I was watching Fuji TV, NHK (on my iPad), TBS and TV Asahi on Ustream as users (followed by the Japanese news stations) were streaming the video on Japanese news a half hour after the earthquake and the tsunami.

I never watched any of the American news broadcasts until the day after. But I was communicating with Daniel Kahl (who was very ticked off about the American coverage) and a few other Japanese entertainers on Twitter and was working on articles on social media reactions of the earthquake and tsunami.

The CNN and American media footage was actually frustrating for me, especially during the coverage of the nuclear plants and seeing the American reaction.

But hopefully I can catch some of the news today.

[greg]

The CNN and American media footage was actually frustrating for me, especially during the coverage of the nuclear plants and seeing the American reaction.

Oh gosh, this is can be a totally different topic of its own. I share your frustration. The American media is incredibly bloodthirsty, and only shows news from other countries when lots of people are getting killed. Once the nuclear reactor became a problem, that is ALL they focused on. Japanese news showed people getting rescued and featured eyewitnesses recanting their experiences, but meanwhile the American media was so overly-focused on the nuclear meltdown. They have their anti-nuke agenda and their pipe dream is to have the #1 economy on earth fueled by solar power and windmills. Well, that isn't going to happen. That nuclear power plant should have been mothballed long ago. It was made to withstand something like an 8.5 magnitude, and it held its ground with an even stronger earthquake. What did it in was the tsunami.