Ongoing effects

The continuing disaster, for there really is no other word for it, continues to dominate the news over here. It has been nearly a month since the earthquake but the effects, in so many different spheres of life, are still being felt. In the shops and supermarkets here in Muroran it is almost impossible to find yoghurt any more - although Hokkaido is the dairy capital of Japan, most of the actual food processing takes place down in Honshu, close to the big urban areas. Plastic bottled water is also running short, again because many of the manufacturing plants were badly damaged by the quake. Tokyo Disneyland, one of Japan's premier tourist attractions is still closed and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future as the continuing electricity blackouts mean the rides (which are undamaged) can't operate (you can read a longer article here). De Paper carried an interesting report on the dilemma currently facing school book publishers. The new school year begins next week and the already printed secondary school science textbooks have a chapter devoted to extolling the virtues of nuclear power and how wonderful everyone's lives are thanks to the miracle of the atom.

A tad controversial, I think you'll agree.

And there's half a million of textbooks ready to go into school bags and the publishers and the Ministry of Education don't know what to do. They can't pulp them and reissue a new textbook in time for the start of classes, but nor can they leave them unchanged and be accused of corrupting youthful minds. So, what to do? Suggestions, anyone?

Nor are we immune up here in Hokkaido. On the radio this morning I heard a report detailing how Hakodate, probably the island's most popular tourist destination, has seen a 60% decline in tourist numbers for March as compared to last year. Despite being far removed from everything down south, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korean airlines have all cancelled their scheduled flights to Hokkaido until further notice - this in response to pretty much across the board cancellations by intending visitors. Nor is there any sign of a respite - the situation in Fukushima looks likely to take months if not years to stabilize and until then foreign tourists are going to stay away, Japanese exports, particularly foodstuffs, will be banned and/or shunned and me and Cian will probably end up panhandling on the street corners of Muroran. Sort of like a radioactive, glow-in-the-dark version of Ireland.