Disaster in Japan
By: Patricia Smith
April 4, 2011
The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan
last month left that nation—and the world—with a host of troubling questions.
How is Japan, a global economic power whose economy was already
struggling, going to recover from a disaster of this magnitude? What's going
to happen to Japan's critically damaged nuclear power plants—and to the
nuclear power industry in general, especially in the United States, where
nuclear power seemed to be on the verge of a comeback? And is the rest of the
world, including the U.S., prepared for this kind of disaster?
The 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11 struck off the coast of
northeastern Japan. It caused a massive tsunami that slammed into the
Japanese coast, killing thousands and obliterating entire villages. The quake
was about 1,000 times stronger than the one that devastated Haiti last year and
about 32 times stronger than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
The combination of earthquake and tsunami crippled a string of nuclear
power plants, damaging their cooling systems and threatening catastrophic
meltdowns and the release of deadly amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan described the triple whammy—the earthquake,
tsunami, and nuclear calamity—as Japan's "worst crisis since World War II."
Economic Damage
The disaster further imperiled Japan's $5 trillion economy, which had
been struggling to climb out of a two-decade-long slump. In the last year,
Japan was overtaken by China as the world's second-largest economy, after
the United States.
Although Japan's industrial centers in the south and west seem to have
been spared the worst, the crisis at the damaged nuclear plants north of Tokyo
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threatened to significantly reduce the amount of electricity available, forcing
automakers like Toyota and Honda, as well as electronics giants like Sony, to
halt production. That could further slow down the Japanese economy.
The damage to the nuclear power plants will likely have long-term
effects on the country's ability to generate enough electricity to power its
high-tech economy. Japan is one of the world's top consumers of nuclear
energy. The country's 17 nuclear plants—with 55 reactors—provided about 30
percent of the country's electricity needs.
The Japanese are particularly sensitive about nuclear issues, having suffered
the only nuclear attacks in history when the United States dropped atomic
bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 to force the end of
World War II.
The loss of several reactors means that Japan will have to import more oil,
putting additional pressure on already-rising world prices and increasing the
likelihood of the return of $4-a-gallon gas in the U.S.
The disaster is likely to slow American efforts to increase the use of
nuclear power after decades of stagnation. In 1979, a partial meltdown at the
Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania made the American public
deeply suspicious of nuclear power. And in 1986, a much more serious
accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine (then part of the
Soviet Union) seemed to confirm everyone's worst fears: An explosion, fire,
and massive radiation leak killed 30 people and led to thousands of cancer
deaths in the decades that followed.
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Japanese Samurai
One of the key characters in the study of medieval Japan is the Samurai. On
the surface these noble warriors would appear to be full of contradictions. The
Samurai were brave and fierce warriors, yet also wrote poetry and engaged in
floral arranging.
They contracted themselves out to provide loyal service to the daimyo (DYmee-ohs), feudal landowner. The daimyo used the samurai to protect and
expand his land holdings. In return for their loyal service, the samurai would
be rewarded with land, status, and power. The samurai provided the
equivalent of a military and police force.
Samurai – Warrior class of ancient Japan
Samurai is the word for a Japanese warrior class and for a member of this
class. Samurai warriors have been glorified in numerous films, books, comic
series, TV shows and theater plays. The Samurai history is a source of
fascination for adults and children all over the world.
The Japanese samurai warriors came into existence in the 12th century when
two powerful Japanese clans fought bitter wars against each other. At that
time, the Japanese shogun, a military ruler, was formed by Minamoto
Yoritomo. Under the shogun the next hierarchy was the daimyo, local rulers
comparable to dukes in Europe. The Japanese samurai were the military
strength of a daimyo.
Bushido – Way of the Warrior
武士は食わねど高楊枝
"Even when he has not eaten, a samurai wields his toothpick (like a lord)."
(A samurai is required to behave properly regardless of his personal
circumstances.)
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The essence of the samurai code of bushido was total loyalty to the feudal
lord; a willingness to give their lives in the defense of their lord, his honor,
and their own; a strict regimen of martial training; and a sternly refined
etiquette that governed their actions and behavior in all things.
Seppuku
Seppuku was part of bushido. Hara-kiri means literally "stomach-cutting" and
was the practiced form of seppuku. When done outside a battle, it was
performed in a formal ceremony. Spectators attended the event. The act was a
painful one. The person doing hara-kiri had to slice up his abdomen. When
finished he stretched out his neck. An assistant was waiting behind him and
had to behead the suicide with one stroke of his sword.
Reasons for committing seppuku were connected to honor and disgrace. One
occasion for committing seppuku was the death of the lord. It was an
expression of grief at one's master's death and was the utmost form of loyalty
to the lord. Other reasons were punishment. Seppuku could also be a way of
showing a disagreement with one's master. A frequent reason for committing
hara-kiri was in a lost battle to avoid the disgrace of falling into the hands of
an enemy.
War
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled
much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families.
The chiefs were the descendents of Japan's imperial family. The wars were
usually about "land." Only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle
for control of that land eventually gave rise to the Samurai.
Battle
Fighting in battle was more than a job to a samurai – it was a way of life.
Before battle a samurai took a bath so he would smell good if he was killed.
He took awhile getting dressed. He would carefully examine his armor,
swords, bow, arrows, and helmet before putting them on.
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Ancient war tales go into detail about the "order of battle" that often followed
this pattern:
- meet at agreed upon place, date, time
- exchange messengers to officially announce declaration of war
- name & lineage announcing
- exchange of arrows
- pairing off into one-on-one battle
It is said that on the battlefield, samurai warriors would call out their years of
experience in order to find a worthy adversary to fight.
Weapons
Ancient warriors developed weapons, armor and a code during the ensuing
centuries that became the centerpiece for the Japanese Samurai. Early
weapons included bows, arrows and swords. Armor included a helmet that
protected head and neck, a breastplate that protected the chest, arm and
shoulder protectors, and a belly wrap. Later armor included protection for the
legs and thighs.
Though the katana (medium length curved sword) was definitely the symbol
of the warrior class, mounted warriors on horseback, with the bow and arrow
as their weapon of choice, were considered the elite warriors in early medieval
times.
In the late 16th century, it became common for the Samurai to wear two
swords. One was long; the other short. The long sword (katana) was more
than 24 inches. The short sword (shoto) was between 12 and 24 inches. The
Samurai often gave names to their swords and believed it was the "soul" of
their warriorship. The oldest swords were straight and had their early design
in Korea and China. The Samurai's desire for tougher, sharper swords for
battle gave rise to the curved blade we still have today.
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