Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Encyclopedia
The aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
included both a humanitarian crisis and massive economic impacts. The tsunami
created over 300,000 refugees in the Tōhoku region, and resulted in shortages of food, water, shelter, medicine and fuel for survivors. In response to the crisis, the Japanese government mobilized the Self-Defence Forces
, whilst many countries sent search and rescue teams to help search for survivors. Aid organizations both in Japan and worldwide also responded, with the Japanese Red Cross
reporting $1 billion in donations. The economic impact included both immediate problems, with industrial production suspended in many factories, and the longer term issue of the cost of rebuilding which has been estimated at ¥10 trillion ($122 billion).
A further serious impact of the tsunami was the critical damage done to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, resulting in severe radiation leaks and the prospect of a long-term health and environmental hazard in need of an expensive cleanup.
Fuel shortages hampered relief actions. In the first week after the earthquake, supplies of food, water, and medicine had been held up because of a fuel shortage and the weather condition. Food was limited for some unevacuated people, and as of late March, some were given one meal a day.
There is a need for temporary housing, as the Japanese government are trying to remove evacuees from large shelters, where there have been reports of poor sanitary conditions. As of late March, 8,800 temporary units were planned in Iwate, 10,000 in Miyagi, and 19,000 in Fukushima.
At the end of July 2011, the number of evacuees in Japan stood at 87,063. Of those, 12,905 were residing in public shelters and 19,918 were staying in inns or hotels. Forty-six thousand and eighty-one units of temporary housing, about 88 percent of the number planned, had been erected. Evacuees had moved into 73 percent of the temporary housing available.
and issues concerning other nuclear facilities in Japan on March 11, 2011, a nuclear emergency was declared. This was the first time a nuclear emergency had been declared in Japan, and 140,000 residents within 20 km (12 mi) of the plant were evacuated. Explosions and a fire have resulted in dangerous levels of radiation
, sparking a stock market collapse and panic-buying in supermarkets. The UK, France and some other countries advised their nationals to consider leaving Tokyo, in response to fears of spreading nuclear contamination. The accidents have drawn attention to ongoing concerns over Japanese nuclear seismic design standards and caused other governments to re-evaluate their nuclear programs. As of April 2011, water is still being poured into the damaged reactors to cool melting fuel rods. John Price, a former member of the Safety Policy Unit at the UK's National Nuclear Corporation, has said that it "might be 100 years before melting fuel rods can be safely removed from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant".
Problems in stabilizing the Fukushima I plant have hardened attitudes to nuclear power
. As of June 2011, "more than 80 percent of Japanese now say they are anti-nuclear
and distrust government information on radiation
". The ongoing Fukushima crisis may spell the end of nuclear power in Japan, as "citizen opposition grows and local authorities refuse permission to restart reactors that have undergone safety checks". Local authorities are skeptical that sufficient safety measures have been taken and are reticent to give their permission – now required by law – to bring suspended nuclear reactors back online.
The northern Tōhoku region, which was most affected, accounts for about 8% of the country's gross domestic product, with factories that manufacture products such as cars and beer, as well as energy infrastructure. It includes the northern Miyagi prefecture, where Sendai is located, about 300 km (186.4 mi) northeast of Tokyo. The Miyagi area includes manufacturing and industrial zones with chemical and electronics plants. It is estimated that Miyagi accounts for 1.7% of Japan's gross domestic product.
An estimated 23,600 hectares of farmland, mostly rice paddies, were damaged by the tsunami. Salt left in the soil by the seawater could adversely affect rice crops for years. The affected area accounts for as much as 3-4% of Japan's rice production.
An estimated 90% of the 29,000 fishing boats in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures were rendered unusable by the tsunami. Miyagi Prefecture's fishing industry was almost completely destroyed. Twelve thousand of 13,000 registered fishing boats in the prefecture were destroyed or damaged. Four hundred forty fishermen were killed or missing. The damage to the prefecture's fishing industry is estimated at ¥400 billion (US$5 billion).
The earthquake and tsunami have had significant immediate impacts on businesses such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda
, which completely suspended auto production until 14 March. Nippon Steel Corporation also suspended production, Toyo Tire & Rubber Company
and Sumitomo Rubber Industries
shuttered their tire and rubber production lines, while GS Yuasa closed its automotive battery production. This was expected to hinder supply availability for automakers.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toshiba
, East Japan Railway Company
and Shin-Etsu Chemical
were suggested as the most vulnerable companies as a result of the earthquake. Sony
also suspended production at all its six plants in the area, while Fuji Heavy Industries
discontinued production at most of its factories in the Gunma and the Tochigi Prefecture
s. Other factories suspending operations include Kirin Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline
, Nestlé
and Toyota amid power cuts. The factory shutdowns, power cuts and the consequent presumed impact on consumer confidence could hurt the national GDP for several months, although economist Michael Boskin
predicts "only minimal impact on the Japanese economy overall." Following threats of further nuclear leaks, Blackstone Group LP, Continental AG
and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
(BMW) were said to be moving their staff outside Japan. Toyota plans to recommence hybrid production, including the Prius, Lexus HS
, and Lexus CT
, on March 28. Honda has said that their two Japanese factories will remain closed until April 3. On 24 March, Nissan said it may move some engine production to the United States due to earthquake damage in Japan. Also on 24 March, IHS Inc.
automobile analyst Paul Newton predicted U.S. plants could experience parts shortages by mid-April, and that automobile production worldwide could drop by 30%. Toyota expected some shutdowns in North America but these would be temporary since many needed parts were shipped prior to the earthquake.
Chief economist for Japan at Credit Suisse, Hiromichi Shirakawa, said in a note to clients that the estimated economic loss may be around $171–183 billion just to the region which was hit by the quake and tsunami. On 14 March, the Bank of Japan
, in an attempt to maintain market stability, injected 15 trillion yen into the money markets to assure financial stability amid a plunge in stocks and surge in credit risk. After it set up an emergency task force to ensure liquidity in the aftermath of the disaster, governor Masaaki Shirakawa
and the bank's board also enlarged a programme to buy government bonds to exchange-traded funds to the tune of 10 trillion yen. The BOJ chief told reporters cash injections will continue as needed. However, following the further nuclear leaks, its actions were read by the market as insufficient despite 8 trillion yen being pumped into the market. On 15 March, the Topix
index fell again marking a two-day plunge not seen since 1987 as Japan's default risk surged after Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned of further leaks from the damaged nuclear power plant. Commodities were also significantly lower. Residents of Tokyo were also reported to have gone on a panic shopping spree as daily necessities were sought after and gasoline was stocked up with the increasing risk of nuclear radiation leaks.
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yukio Edano
has said that Japan's government will convene on 13 March to gauge the economic effects of the catastrophe. He also told NHK Television that about 200 billion yen that was remaining from the budget for the concurrent fiscal year that would end on 31 March would be used to fund the immediate recovery efforts. Additional measures could also hurt Japan's public debt (which is already the highest in the world). This additional spending could hurt demand for government bonds.
Silicon wafer production has been suspended at factories owned by Shin-Etsu Chemical
and MEMC Electronic Materials
, which together account for 25% of the global silicon wafer production. The suspension is expected to drastically impact semiconductor production, which is contingent on wafer availability.
Some economic analysts consider that, ultimately, the catastrophe will improve Japan's economy, with increased job availability during restoration efforts. An analyst at JPMorgan Chase, citing the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area
and the Southern California 1994 Northridge earthquake, noted that natural disasters "do eventually boost output." An analyst at Société Générale
anticipated that Japan's economy will decline in March but will revive powerfully in subsequent months. After the Kobe earthquake
, industrial output dropped 2.6%, but increased by 2.2% the next month, and 1% the following month. Japan's economy then accelerated substantially through the next two years, at more than its former rate. Others are of the opinion that the catastrophe will harm the economy. Some analysts have argued that those who predict that the reconstruction effort could help Japan's economy have fallen prey to the broken window fallacy. On 24 March, an executive of Bank of Japan's Osaka
branch said he expected "a big decline in production, [leading to] an adjustment in the economy initially with exports and inventories falling and imports rising... Demand created by reconstruction projects will emerge after that." The government said that reconstruction in the ongoing year could raise GDP by 5 trillion yen to 7.75 trillion yen.
By the end of June 2011, 209 companies in Japan had been forced into bankruptcy by the disaster, 30 of which were based in Iwate, Miyagi, or Fukushima prefectures. The companies left behind ¥101.1 billion in liabilities.
By the end of July 2011, 47 percent of the 22.63 million tons of debris in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures had been removed. By 11 July 2011, 73.7% of farming businesses affected by the quake and tsunami in eight prefectures had resumed operations while 35.5% of fishing entities had returned to business, according to the Japanese agricultural ministry. The ministry excluded Fukushima from the results because of the ongoing nuclear crisis.
stock market index saw its futures slide 5% in after-market trading. The Bank of Japan
said that they would do their utmost to ensure financial market stability. On Tuesday, 15 March, news of rising radiation levels caused the Nikkei to drop over 1,000 points or 10.6% (16% for the week).
Other stock markets around the world were also affected; the German DAX
lost 1.2% within minutes. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 1.8%, while South Korea's Kospi index slumped by 1.3%. By the end of trading on the day of the earthquake, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index had dropped by 1.8%. Major U.S. stock market indexes rose between 0.5% and 0.7%. Oil prices also dropped as a result of the closure of Japanese refineries, despite the ongoing violence in Libya and expected demonstrations in Saudi Arabia
. US crude
dropped as low as US$99.01 from $100.08 by lunchtime, with Brent Crude
falling $2.62 to $112.81. In Hong Kong, Financial Secretary John Tsang
warned investors to "take extra care" as the earthquake may have a short term impact on local stock markets.
The share prices of the biggest reinsurance
companies Munich Re
and Swiss Reinsurance Company fell following the earthquake on speculation that they may face losses "somewhere in the $10 billion range" even after certain costs were absorbed by Japan's primary insurers and the government.
The Japanese yen
soared against most major currencies following the earthquake, and reached a post-World War II high of 76.25 yen to the US dollar on speculation that Japanese investors would repatriate assets to pay for rebuilding. Since Japan relies heavily on exports, the strong yen could dampen its economy further. The financial markets' instability prompted the G7 to meet on 17 March, resulting in an agreement on joint forex intervention
to sell yen against the dollar; it was the first such move since 2000.
Peter Bradford, a former member of the United States' Nuclear Regulatory Commission
, said that the impact on the nuclear power plant was "obviously a significant setback for the so-called nuclear renaissance
. The image of a nuclear power plant blowing up before your eyes on a television screen is a first."
announced the government has mobilized the Japan Self-Defense Forces
in various earthquake disaster zones. He asked the Japanese public to act calmly and tune into various media for updated information. He also reported numerous nuclear power plants have automatically shut down to prevent damage and radiation leaks. He also set up emergency headquarters in his office to coordinate the government's response.
Evacuation shelters faced a shortage of potable water, food, blankets and bathroom facilities, as the government arranged these necessities to be delivered to where they were needed from various areas of Japan and abroad. Dropping temperatures, due to the disruption in electrical and gas lines, caused further problems at shelters. , 336,521 people in Japan had been displaced from their homes and were residing elsewhere, including in 2,367 shelters.
A Japanese urban search and rescue
team sent to New Zealand following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake was recalled. As of 27 March 2011, Japan's National Police Agency
reported that 14 of its officers had died in the line of duty in the disaster and a further 16 were missing.
The government in Japan committed to cleaning up the damage from the disaster, an effort forecast to cost a total of ¥1 trillion.
On April 14, 2011, the government set up an advisory panel of intellectual figures named the chaired by Makoto Iokibe, President of the National Defense Academy of Japan
. The Council submitted the first set of recommendations to the government for the third supplementary budget for full-fledged reconstruction measures on June 25. The government struggled to produce a plan for the clean up of the 2.8 million tons of debris in Fukushima Prefecture, as much of it is radioactive.
, but also to laws that encourage honesty, a strong police presence, and three main clans of Yakuza
gangs patrolling their territories. A reporter for the Canadian The Globe and Mail
wrote, "As one catastrophe piled on top of another, a very Japanese deference to authority emerged, as well as a national desire to see civility prevail, no matter the circumstances."
Some people devastated by the quake began, however, to question the government's effort in providing food, clothing, electricity, heat, and phone service. Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yukio Edano
later said, "In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and provided it faster."
Some ten days after the quake, reports did begin to emerge of incidents of looting
and theft in quake and tsunami-hit areas. By 20 March 2011, 250 thefts, with ¥4.9 million in merchandise stolen from stores and ¥5.8 million in cash, were reported to the Miyagi Prefectural Police. Witnesses reported thieves stealing cash and bank books from smashed houses, looting goods from stores, and siphoning gas from abandoned or damaged vehicles. Around ¥40 million was reportedly stolen from a bank in Kesennuma, Miyagi.
Between 11 March and the end of June 2011, a total of ¥684.4 million was stolen from ATMs and convenience stores in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. Of the money stolen, ¥477 million from 34 ATM thefts took place in Fukushima Prefecture, 80% of that within the 20-km evacuation zone around the Daiichi nuclear plant. The number of thefts from homes and stores during the same time period in those three prefectures stood at 1,233, about 1.5 times the number from the same period in 2010. Of them, 194 were in the nuclear evacuation zone, 19-times the number from 2010. The rumors which had spread immediately after the quake of rampant rapes by armed gangs proved to be false, as reports of sexual assaults actually fell 35.7 percent to 81 cases. Only one sexual assault was reported occurring in one of the evacuee centers. Throughout Japan, there were 51 reported cases of scams or frauds related to the disaster, with losses amounting to around ¥12.6 million.
Even though there are no regulations imposed by the Japan government for conservation, many people are practicing self-restraint by conserving resources and cancelling celebrations – Attributed by the experts as a way of coping with the traumatising scale of losses and the spreading fear of radioactive fallout.
The government raised the level 7
severity of the nuclear accident after the Japanese unified regional elections, 2011
.
Various non-government organizations, including Peace Boat
, have assisted in cleaning up the disaster area since the quake.
, as a label for the non-Japanese who fled Japan in the wake of the disaster.
9,720 dependents of United States military and government civilian employees in Japan fled the country, mainly to the United States. The United States spent $11.7 million on chartered aircraft to fly the dependents out of the country.
Foreign residents in Japan were among the displaced, and lived in shelters or in their prior residences with severely diminished quality of living.
editor Ōno Toshiaki (大野敏明) mentioned that there hadn't been any riots after the quake and tsunami due to the two qualities of Japanese people: their confidence of patiently waiting for their satisfactions and their trust for reliefs that are given by an individual of higher authority - in this case the existence of the Emperor.
The former Japanese participant of Korean Broadcasting System Global Talk Show Sagawa Junko (佐川純子) criticized the Japanese government for "intentionally ignoring the Japanese citizens during the tsunami and the nuclear crisis" through her personal homepage on March 17th, 2011.
, and the United States; it also requested, via its space agency JAXA, the activation of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters
, allowing diverse satellite imagery of affected regions to be readily shared with rescue and aid organizations.
The EU has also been more than ready to offer its support to them: "An earthquake powerful enough to make the world wobble on its axis, a massive tsunami, an emergency in nuclear power stations. Any one of these would be a tragedy. Thousands of people have died and this has turned this tragedy into a catastrophe," said Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council. Twenty Member States
have offered assistance through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
was the first foreign leader to visit the earthquake site
The Fukushima incident brought the issue of nuclear power to the fore internationally, causing an anti-nuclear demonstration of 50,000 people in Stuttgart
and the cancellation of a pro-nuclear press conference in the United Kingdom.
While stepping-up monitoring of radiation levels on its own shores in face of the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, China, a major supporter in the relief operations in Japan in spite of its own current earthquake crisis
, had officially begun evacuating its citizens from those worst-hit areas in Japan on 15 March 2011. France had also officially begun evacuation of its nationals from the worst-hit areas, dispatching airliners to assist in the evacuation on 16 March 2011. Also responding to potential danger of radiation exposure, the government of Austria
had relocated its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka some 250 mi (402.3 km) away. The U.S. Embassy in Japan had advised evacuation of all American nationals to outside a 50 mi (80.5 km) radius from the Fukushima power plant on 16 March 2011, which is a far greater distance than the 12.4 mile (20km) evacuation zone the Japanese government had already recommended for all inhabitants of the affected region, but later increased to 18.6 miles (30km) on 25 March 2011.
In many countries, both government and private aid campaigns have been organized to offer money and support to the victims and general populace of Japan. Social buying sites have launched on-line campaigns in which several million dollars were raised for relief organizations working in Japan.
As of 3 April 2011, the Japanese Red Cross
had received over $1 billion in donations in response to the disaster, and dispatched more than 200 emergency relief teams to the disaster zone. However it received criticism from some quarters for not yet having dispensed any cash aid to survivors.
The American Red Cross
said that it had received $120 million in donations from the US public. The Singapore Red Cross and Japan Association said that, as of 31 March 2011, residents of Singapore had donated S$
3.15 million for disaster relief.
As of May 2011, contributors in South Korea had donated ₩56 billion (US$51 million) to various organizations for the disaster relief effort. By May 2011 the people of Taiwan had donated or pledged 5.9 billion Taiwan dollars (¥16.7 billion).
Operation Tomodachi
, which means Friend in Japanese, was the United States military operation to provide assistance and humanitarian aid to Japan. Twenty-thousand US military personnel, including 19 naval vessels and 120 aircraft, were mobilized to provide assistance or move supplies to the disaster area. The US aid efforts were conducted under the direction of Japanese government or military authorities. The Yomiuri Shimbun
reported that the "coordinated relief activities at the disaster sites are expected to deepen the Japan-U.S. alliance."
, the International Committee of the Red Cross
, American Red Cross
, Google Person Finder, websites of the Australian Embassy, US Department of State, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
, and the Honshu Quake wiki operated by the CrisisCommons
volunteer community.
were scheduled to take place from 21–27 March at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium
in Tokyo but the International Skating Union
decided on 14 March to postpone the event, after the German team announced that it would follow recommendations not to travel to Japan.
After Japanese officials announced it would not be possible to host the event in the country, it was moved to late April in Moscow
, Russia
. The 2011 ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating
, scheduled for Yokohama
on April 14–17, was postponed until the following year.
The Japanese Olympic Committee denied reports that it had abandoned plans to bid for the 2020 Olympics and said it was still under consideration. In April 2011, Japanese Olympic officials stated they were undecided whether to run but said hosting international sports events was important to helping the country rebuild. In July 2011, Tokyo put forth its bid
to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Following the deadline for bidding, the IOC confirmed that Tokyo was one of the six cities that had entered a bid.
The 2011 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
, originally scheduled for 24 April, was moved to 2 October.
The September 18 INDYCAR race at Motegi, Japan, the Indy Japan Final, was moved from the Superspeedway to the Road Course because of damage to the Superspeedway (1.549 mile oval) to the 2.93 mile road course, and reduced from 300 miles to 300km.
The 2011 Asia League Ice Hockey finals between the Tōhoku Free Blades and Anyang Halla were to begin on 11 March but the five games were canceled. , no rescheduled dates were announced.
The Japanese national football team canceled their friendly match with Montenegro
scheduled for March 25 in Shizuoka
. They were also scheduled to play New Zealand in Tokyo on March 29, although the Japan Football Association
tried to relocate the match to Osaka
, much further away from the affected area. "We hope to play New Zealand, which like Japan has also suffered damage from a big earthquake," Japan FA president Junji Ogura said in a statement. In the end, the "All Whites" canceled their plans to play the Japanese due to safety concerns.
Owing to power restrictions, the 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season featured a regular season restriction; no inning may start three hours and thirty minutes after the first pitch has been thrown in the game. Furthermore, if a power outage occurs during the game, the game ends.
The ITF
tennis tournament, Japan Future 1, was to take place on Nishitama District, Tokyo from 14–20 March and was cancelled after the qualifying round was completed. The series of four ITF Men’s Circuit Futures tournaments in and around Tokyo, commencing the week of the 14th March 2011 has been cancelled.
Due to uncertainty over the nuclear situation, the International Federation of Gymnastics
was considering moving the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
, however they went ahead as planned.
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
included both a humanitarian crisis and massive economic impacts. The tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
created over 300,000 refugees in the Tōhoku region, and resulted in shortages of food, water, shelter, medicine and fuel for survivors. In response to the crisis, the Japanese government mobilized the Self-Defence Forces
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
, whilst many countries sent search and rescue teams to help search for survivors. Aid organizations both in Japan and worldwide also responded, with the Japanese Red Cross
Japanese Red Cross
The ' is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross.The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with Empress as Honorary President and other royal family members as vice-presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47...
reporting $1 billion in donations. The economic impact included both immediate problems, with industrial production suspended in many factories, and the longer term issue of the cost of rebuilding which has been estimated at ¥10 trillion ($122 billion).
A further serious impact of the tsunami was the critical damage done to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, resulting in severe radiation leaks and the prospect of a long-term health and environmental hazard in need of an expensive cleanup.
Humanitarian crisis
The earthquake caused a large number of displaced people. The number of the evacuees has once passed 300,000. Some earthquake survivors died in the shelters or in the process of evacuation. Many shelters struggle to feed evacuees and are not medically sufficiently equipped.Fuel shortages hampered relief actions. In the first week after the earthquake, supplies of food, water, and medicine had been held up because of a fuel shortage and the weather condition. Food was limited for some unevacuated people, and as of late March, some were given one meal a day.
There is a need for temporary housing, as the Japanese government are trying to remove evacuees from large shelters, where there have been reports of poor sanitary conditions. As of late March, 8,800 temporary units were planned in Iwate, 10,000 in Miyagi, and 19,000 in Fukushima.
At the end of July 2011, the number of evacuees in Japan stood at 87,063. Of those, 12,905 were residing in public shelters and 19,918 were staying in inns or hotels. Forty-six thousand and eighty-one units of temporary housing, about 88 percent of the number planned, had been erected. Evacuees had moved into 73 percent of the temporary housing available.
Nuclear accidents
Following the earthquake, tsunami, and failure of cooling systems at Fukushima I Nuclear Power PlantFukushima I Nuclear Power Plant
The , also known as Fukushima Dai-ichi , is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. First commissioned in 1971, the plant consists of six boiling water reactors...
and issues concerning other nuclear facilities in Japan on March 11, 2011, a nuclear emergency was declared. This was the first time a nuclear emergency had been declared in Japan, and 140,000 residents within 20 km (12 mi) of the plant were evacuated. Explosions and a fire have resulted in dangerous levels of radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
, sparking a stock market collapse and panic-buying in supermarkets. The UK, France and some other countries advised their nationals to consider leaving Tokyo, in response to fears of spreading nuclear contamination. The accidents have drawn attention to ongoing concerns over Japanese nuclear seismic design standards and caused other governments to re-evaluate their nuclear programs. As of April 2011, water is still being poured into the damaged reactors to cool melting fuel rods. John Price, a former member of the Safety Policy Unit at the UK's National Nuclear Corporation, has said that it "might be 100 years before melting fuel rods can be safely removed from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant".
Problems in stabilizing the Fukushima I plant have hardened attitudes to nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
. As of June 2011, "more than 80 percent of Japanese now say they are anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
and distrust government information on radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
". The ongoing Fukushima crisis may spell the end of nuclear power in Japan, as "citizen opposition grows and local authorities refuse permission to restart reactors that have undergone safety checks". Local authorities are skeptical that sufficient safety measures have been taken and are reticent to give their permission – now required by law – to bring suspended nuclear reactors back online.
Japan
Following the earthquake some analysts were predicting that the total recovery costs could reach ¥10 trillion ($122 billion), however by April 12 2011 the Japanese government estimated that the cost of just the direct material damage could exceed ¥25 trillion ($300 billion). Japan's real gross domestic product contracted 3.7% for the quarter of January to March 2011.The northern Tōhoku region, which was most affected, accounts for about 8% of the country's gross domestic product, with factories that manufacture products such as cars and beer, as well as energy infrastructure. It includes the northern Miyagi prefecture, where Sendai is located, about 300 km (186.4 mi) northeast of Tokyo. The Miyagi area includes manufacturing and industrial zones with chemical and electronics plants. It is estimated that Miyagi accounts for 1.7% of Japan's gross domestic product.
An estimated 23,600 hectares of farmland, mostly rice paddies, were damaged by the tsunami. Salt left in the soil by the seawater could adversely affect rice crops for years. The affected area accounts for as much as 3-4% of Japan's rice production.
An estimated 90% of the 29,000 fishing boats in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures were rendered unusable by the tsunami. Miyagi Prefecture's fishing industry was almost completely destroyed. Twelve thousand of 13,000 registered fishing boats in the prefecture were destroyed or damaged. Four hundred forty fishermen were killed or missing. The damage to the prefecture's fishing industry is estimated at ¥400 billion (US$5 billion).
The earthquake and tsunami have had significant immediate impacts on businesses such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, which completely suspended auto production until 14 March. Nippon Steel Corporation also suspended production, Toyo Tire & Rubber Company
Toyo Tire & Rubber Company
is a tire company based in Japan.-History:The company started in 1945. In 1966, the company expanded to the United States as Toyo Tire Corporation...
and Sumitomo Rubber Industries
Sumitomo Rubber Industries
is a tire and rubber company based in Japan. It is part of the Sumitomo Group.The company traces its origins to 1909, when the Sumitomo Group made an investment in Dunlop Japan, the newly formed Japanese subsidiary of the British company Dunlop Rubber...
shuttered their tire and rubber production lines, while GS Yuasa closed its automotive battery production. This was expected to hinder supply availability for automakers.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
, East Japan Railway Company
East Japan Railway Company
is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
and Shin-Etsu Chemical
Shin-Etsu Chemical
is the largest chemical company in Japan, ranked No. 9 in Forbes Global 2000 for chemical sector. Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon and photomask substrates....
were suggested as the most vulnerable companies as a result of the earthquake. Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
also suspended production at all its six plants in the area, while Fuji Heavy Industries
Fuji Heavy Industries
, or FHI, is a Japanese transportation conglomerate most known for being the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles. It traces its roots to the Nakajima Aircraft Company, a leading supplier of airplanes to the Japanese government during World War II...
discontinued production at most of its factories in the Gunma and the Tochigi Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...
s. Other factories suspending operations include Kirin Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
, Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
and Toyota amid power cuts. The factory shutdowns, power cuts and the consequent presumed impact on consumer confidence could hurt the national GDP for several months, although economist Michael Boskin
Michael Boskin
Michael Jay Boskin is the T. M. Friedman Professor of Economics and senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He also is Chief Executive Officer and President of Boskin & Co., an economic consulting company.Boskin holds B.A. with highest honors, M.A., and Ph.D...
predicts "only minimal impact on the Japanese economy overall." Following threats of further nuclear leaks, Blackstone Group LP, Continental AG
Continental AG
Continental AG, internally often called Conti for short, is a worldwide leading German manufacturer of tires, brake systems, vehicle stability control systems, engine injection systems, tachographs and other parts for the automotive and transport industries. The company is based in Hanover, Germany...
and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
(BMW) were said to be moving their staff outside Japan. Toyota plans to recommence hybrid production, including the Prius, Lexus HS
Lexus HS
The Lexus HS is a dedicated hybrid vehicle introduced by Lexus as a new entry-level luxury compact sedan in 2009. It is classified as a compact under Japanese regulations concerning vehicle exterior dimensions and engine displacement...
, and Lexus CT
Lexus CT
The Lexus CT 200h is a hybrid electric automobile introduced by Lexus and is an entry-level luxury hatchback. It made its debut at the March 2010 Geneva Auto Show, six months after the unveiling of the LF-Ch concept car; it is primarily targeted at the European market but will be sold worldwide and...
, on March 28. Honda has said that their two Japanese factories will remain closed until April 3. On 24 March, Nissan said it may move some engine production to the United States due to earthquake damage in Japan. Also on 24 March, IHS Inc.
IHS Inc.
IHS Inc. is a publicly traded business information services company based in Douglas County, Colorado, United States.IHS serves international clients in five major areas: energy, product lifecycle, environment, security and TMT . IHS provides industry data, technical documents, custom software...
automobile analyst Paul Newton predicted U.S. plants could experience parts shortages by mid-April, and that automobile production worldwide could drop by 30%. Toyota expected some shutdowns in North America but these would be temporary since many needed parts were shipped prior to the earthquake.
Chief economist for Japan at Credit Suisse, Hiromichi Shirakawa, said in a note to clients that the estimated economic loss may be around $171–183 billion just to the region which was hit by the quake and tsunami. On 14 March, the Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan
is the central bank of Japan. The Bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chuo, Tokyo.-History:Like most modern Japanese institutions, the Bank of Japan was founded after the Meiji Restoration...
, in an attempt to maintain market stability, injected 15 trillion yen into the money markets to assure financial stability amid a plunge in stocks and surge in credit risk. After it set up an emergency task force to ensure liquidity in the aftermath of the disaster, governor Masaaki Shirakawa
Masaaki Shirakawa
is a Japanese economist, central banker and the 30th Governor of the Bank of Japan . He is also a Director and Vice-Chairman of the Bank for International Settlements .-Early life:...
and the bank's board also enlarged a programme to buy government bonds to exchange-traded funds to the tune of 10 trillion yen. The BOJ chief told reporters cash injections will continue as needed. However, following the further nuclear leaks, its actions were read by the market as insufficient despite 8 trillion yen being pumped into the market. On 15 March, the Topix
TOPIX
Tokyo stock Price IndeX, commonly known as TOPIX, along with the Nikkei 225, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan, tracking all domestic companies of the exchange's First Section. It is calculated and published by the TSE...
index fell again marking a two-day plunge not seen since 1987 as Japan's default risk surged after Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned of further leaks from the damaged nuclear power plant. Commodities were also significantly lower. Residents of Tokyo were also reported to have gone on a panic shopping spree as daily necessities were sought after and gasoline was stocked up with the increasing risk of nuclear radiation leaks.
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Chief Cabinet Secretary
__notoc__The of Japan is a Minister of State who is responsible for directing the Cabinet Secretariat. The main function of Chief Cabinet Secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch...
Yukio Edano
Yukio Edano
is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. He was the Chief Cabinet Secretary in the Kan government. On September 12, 2011, he was named as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry...
has said that Japan's government will convene on 13 March to gauge the economic effects of the catastrophe. He also told NHK Television that about 200 billion yen that was remaining from the budget for the concurrent fiscal year that would end on 31 March would be used to fund the immediate recovery efforts. Additional measures could also hurt Japan's public debt (which is already the highest in the world). This additional spending could hurt demand for government bonds.
Silicon wafer production has been suspended at factories owned by Shin-Etsu Chemical
Shin-Etsu Chemical
is the largest chemical company in Japan, ranked No. 9 in Forbes Global 2000 for chemical sector. Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon and photomask substrates....
and MEMC Electronic Materials
MEMC Electronic Materials
MEMC Electronic Materials is a United States manufacturer of silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry. The company's stock is part of the S&P 500 stock index. Originally established in 1959 as the Monsanto Electronic Materials Company, a business unit of Monsanto Company, the company is...
, which together account for 25% of the global silicon wafer production. The suspension is expected to drastically impact semiconductor production, which is contingent on wafer availability.
Some economic analysts consider that, ultimately, the catastrophe will improve Japan's economy, with increased job availability during restoration efforts. An analyst at JPMorgan Chase, citing the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and the Southern California 1994 Northridge earthquake, noted that natural disasters "do eventually boost output." An analyst at Société Générale
Société Générale
Société Générale S.A. is a large European Bank and a major Financial Services company that has a substantial global presence. Its registered office is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, while its head office is in the Tours Société Générale in the business district of La...
anticipated that Japan's economy will decline in March but will revive powerfully in subsequent months. After the Kobe earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...
, industrial output dropped 2.6%, but increased by 2.2% the next month, and 1% the following month. Japan's economy then accelerated substantially through the next two years, at more than its former rate. Others are of the opinion that the catastrophe will harm the economy. Some analysts have argued that those who predict that the reconstruction effort could help Japan's economy have fallen prey to the broken window fallacy. On 24 March, an executive of Bank of Japan's Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
branch said he expected "a big decline in production, [leading to] an adjustment in the economy initially with exports and inventories falling and imports rising... Demand created by reconstruction projects will emerge after that." The government said that reconstruction in the ongoing year could raise GDP by 5 trillion yen to 7.75 trillion yen.
By the end of June 2011, 209 companies in Japan had been forced into bankruptcy by the disaster, 30 of which were based in Iwate, Miyagi, or Fukushima prefectures. The companies left behind ¥101.1 billion in liabilities.
By the end of July 2011, 47 percent of the 22.63 million tons of debris in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures had been removed. By 11 July 2011, 73.7% of farming businesses affected by the quake and tsunami in eight prefectures had resumed operations while 35.5% of fishing entities had returned to business, according to the Japanese agricultural ministry. The ministry excluded Fukushima from the results because of the ongoing nuclear crisis.
Global financial impact
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Japan's NikkeiNikkei 225
The , more commonly called the Nikkei, the Nikkei index, or the Nikkei Stock Average , is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange . It has been calculated daily by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper since 1950. It is a price-weighted average , and the components are reviewed once a year...
stock market index saw its futures slide 5% in after-market trading. The Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan
is the central bank of Japan. The Bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chuo, Tokyo.-History:Like most modern Japanese institutions, the Bank of Japan was founded after the Meiji Restoration...
said that they would do their utmost to ensure financial market stability. On Tuesday, 15 March, news of rising radiation levels caused the Nikkei to drop over 1,000 points or 10.6% (16% for the week).
Other stock markets around the world were also affected; the German DAX
DAX
The DAX is a blue chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Prices are taken from the electronic Xetra trading system...
lost 1.2% within minutes. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 1.8%, while South Korea's Kospi index slumped by 1.3%. By the end of trading on the day of the earthquake, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index had dropped by 1.8%. Major U.S. stock market indexes rose between 0.5% and 0.7%. Oil prices also dropped as a result of the closure of Japanese refineries, despite the ongoing violence in Libya and expected demonstrations in Saudi Arabia
2011 Saudi Arabian protests
The 2011 Saudi Arabian protests have been influenced by the Arab Spring that started with the 2011 Tunisian revolution. One of the main online organisers of a planned 11 March "Day of Rage", Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad , was alleged to have been killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, by which time...
. US crude
West Texas Intermediate
West Texas Intermediate , also known as Texas light sweet, is a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing. It is a light and sweet crude oil...
dropped as low as US$99.01 from $100.08 by lunchtime, with Brent Crude
Brent Crude
Brent Crude is the biggest of the many major classifications of crude oil consisting of Brent Crude, Brent Sweet Light Crude, Oseberg, Ekofisk, and Forties . Brent Crude is sourced from the North Sea. The Brent Crude oil marker is also known as Brent Blend, London Brent and Brent petroleum...
falling $2.62 to $112.81. In Hong Kong, Financial Secretary John Tsang
John Tsang
John Tsang Chun-wah , GBM, JP, is the current Financial Secretary of Hong Kong. His responsibility is to assist the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in overseeing policy formulation and implementation in financial, monetary, economic, trade and employment matters. He exercises control over the...
warned investors to "take extra care" as the earthquake may have a short term impact on local stock markets.
The share prices of the biggest reinsurance
Reinsurance
Reinsurance is insurance that is purchased by an insurance company from another insurance company as a means of risk management...
companies Munich Re
Munich Re
Munich Re Group is a reinsurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world’s leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Munich Re subsidiary, is the Group’s primary insurance arm....
and Swiss Reinsurance Company fell following the earthquake on speculation that they may face losses "somewhere in the $10 billion range" even after certain costs were absorbed by Japan's primary insurers and the government.
The Japanese yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
soared against most major currencies following the earthquake, and reached a post-World War II high of 76.25 yen to the US dollar on speculation that Japanese investors would repatriate assets to pay for rebuilding. Since Japan relies heavily on exports, the strong yen could dampen its economy further. The financial markets' instability prompted the G7 to meet on 17 March, resulting in an agreement on joint forex intervention
Economic interventionism
Economic interventionism is an action taken by a government in a market economy or market-oriented mixed economy, beyond the basic regulation of fraud and enforcement of contracts, in an effort to affect its own economy...
to sell yen against the dollar; it was the first such move since 2000.
Peter Bradford, a former member of the United States' Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
, said that the impact on the nuclear power plant was "obviously a significant setback for the so-called nuclear renaissance
Nuclear renaissance
Since about 2001 the term nuclear renaissance has been used to refer to a possible nuclear power industry revival, driven by rising fossil fuel prices and new concerns about meeting greenhouse gas emission limits. At the same time, various barriers to a nuclear renaissance have been identified...
. The image of a nuclear power plant blowing up before your eyes on a television screen is a first."
Government
Prime Minister Naoto KanNaoto Kan
is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
announced the government has mobilized the Japan Self-Defense Forces
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
in various earthquake disaster zones. He asked the Japanese public to act calmly and tune into various media for updated information. He also reported numerous nuclear power plants have automatically shut down to prevent damage and radiation leaks. He also set up emergency headquarters in his office to coordinate the government's response.
Evacuation shelters faced a shortage of potable water, food, blankets and bathroom facilities, as the government arranged these necessities to be delivered to where they were needed from various areas of Japan and abroad. Dropping temperatures, due to the disruption in electrical and gas lines, caused further problems at shelters. , 336,521 people in Japan had been displaced from their homes and were residing elsewhere, including in 2,367 shelters.
A Japanese urban search and rescue
Urban search and rescue
Urban search and rescue involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces due to natural disasters, structural collapse, transportation accidents, mines and collapsed trenches.USAR teams in different countries may be organised in a...
team sent to New Zealand following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake was recalled. As of 27 March 2011, Japan's National Police Agency
National Police Agency (Japan)
The is an agency administered by the National Public Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office in the cabinet of Japan, and is the central coordinating agency of the Japanese police system....
reported that 14 of its officers had died in the line of duty in the disaster and a further 16 were missing.
The government in Japan committed to cleaning up the damage from the disaster, an effort forecast to cost a total of ¥1 trillion.
On April 14, 2011, the government set up an advisory panel of intellectual figures named the chaired by Makoto Iokibe, President of the National Defense Academy of Japan
National Defense Academy of Japan
, abbreviated is a four-year university-level military academy aimed to educate and train students who will be officers in three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces...
. The Council submitted the first set of recommendations to the government for the third supplementary budget for full-fledged reconstruction measures on June 25. The government struggled to produce a plan for the clean up of the 2.8 million tons of debris in Fukushima Prefecture, as much of it is radioactive.
Citizens
There was a notable lack of disorder immediately following the earthquake, and this was attributed not only to Japanese forbearance, an attitude sometimes referred to as gamanGaman (term)
is a Japanese term of Zen Buddhist origin which means "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity". The term is generally translated as "perseverance" or "patience"...
, but also to laws that encourage honesty, a strong police presence, and three main clans of Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
gangs patrolling their territories. A reporter for the Canadian The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
wrote, "As one catastrophe piled on top of another, a very Japanese deference to authority emerged, as well as a national desire to see civility prevail, no matter the circumstances."
Some people devastated by the quake began, however, to question the government's effort in providing food, clothing, electricity, heat, and phone service. Chief Cabinet Secretary
Chief Cabinet Secretary
__notoc__The of Japan is a Minister of State who is responsible for directing the Cabinet Secretariat. The main function of Chief Cabinet Secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch...
Yukio Edano
Yukio Edano
is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. He was the Chief Cabinet Secretary in the Kan government. On September 12, 2011, he was named as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry...
later said, "In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and provided it faster."
Some ten days after the quake, reports did begin to emerge of incidents of looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
and theft in quake and tsunami-hit areas. By 20 March 2011, 250 thefts, with ¥4.9 million in merchandise stolen from stores and ¥5.8 million in cash, were reported to the Miyagi Prefectural Police. Witnesses reported thieves stealing cash and bank books from smashed houses, looting goods from stores, and siphoning gas from abandoned or damaged vehicles. Around ¥40 million was reportedly stolen from a bank in Kesennuma, Miyagi.
Between 11 March and the end of June 2011, a total of ¥684.4 million was stolen from ATMs and convenience stores in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. Of the money stolen, ¥477 million from 34 ATM thefts took place in Fukushima Prefecture, 80% of that within the 20-km evacuation zone around the Daiichi nuclear plant. The number of thefts from homes and stores during the same time period in those three prefectures stood at 1,233, about 1.5 times the number from the same period in 2010. Of them, 194 were in the nuclear evacuation zone, 19-times the number from 2010. The rumors which had spread immediately after the quake of rampant rapes by armed gangs proved to be false, as reports of sexual assaults actually fell 35.7 percent to 81 cases. Only one sexual assault was reported occurring in one of the evacuee centers. Throughout Japan, there were 51 reported cases of scams or frauds related to the disaster, with losses amounting to around ¥12.6 million.
Even though there are no regulations imposed by the Japan government for conservation, many people are practicing self-restraint by conserving resources and cancelling celebrations – Attributed by the experts as a way of coping with the traumatising scale of losses and the spreading fear of radioactive fallout.
The government raised the level 7
International Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to enable prompt communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents....
severity of the nuclear accident after the Japanese unified regional elections, 2011
Japanese unified regional elections, 2011
The 17th unified regional elections in Japan took place in April 2011. In the first phase on April 10, 2011 13 governors, 41 prefectural parliaments as well as five mayors and 15 councils in cities designated by government ordinance were elected...
.
Various non-government organizations, including Peace Boat
Peace Boat
is a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development. "Peace Boat" may also refer to one of the...
, have assisted in cleaning up the disaster area since the quake.
Non-citizen residents of Japan
Approximately 531,000 non-Japanese residing in Japan departed the country after the quake and tsunami. Foreigners living in Japan and the English-language media in Japan coined the term "flyjin" (or fly-jin), a play on the Japanese word gaijinGaijin
is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". This word is a short form of gaikokujin , which literally means "person from outside of the country". The word is composed of two kanji: , meaning "outside"; and , meaning "person". Thus, the word technically means "outsider"...
, as a label for the non-Japanese who fled Japan in the wake of the disaster.
9,720 dependents of United States military and government civilian employees in Japan fled the country, mainly to the United States. The United States spent $11.7 million on chartered aircraft to fly the dependents out of the country.
Foreign residents in Japan were among the displaced, and lived in shelters or in their prior residences with severely diminished quality of living.
Media
Sankei ShimbunSankei Shimbun
is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the . It has the sixth highest circulation for a newspaper in Japan, and is considered as one of the five "national" newspapers...
editor Ōno Toshiaki (大野敏明) mentioned that there hadn't been any riots after the quake and tsunami due to the two qualities of Japanese people: their confidence of patiently waiting for their satisfactions and their trust for reliefs that are given by an individual of higher authority - in this case the existence of the Emperor.
The former Japanese participant of Korean Broadcasting System Global Talk Show Sagawa Junko (佐川純子) criticized the Japanese government for "intentionally ignoring the Japanese citizens during the tsunami and the nuclear crisis" through her personal homepage on March 17th, 2011.
International response
Request for assistance
Japan specifically requested teams from Australia, New Zealand, South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and the United States; it also requested, via its space agency JAXA, the activation of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters
International Charter on Space and Major Disasters
The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters is a charter which provides for the charitable retasked acquisition of and transmission of space satellite data to relief organizations in the event of major disasters...
, allowing diverse satellite imagery of affected regions to be readily shared with rescue and aid organizations.
World involvement
Japan received messages of condolence and offers of assistance from a range of international leaders. According to Japan's foreign ministry On 19 March 2011, 128 countries and 33 international organizations had offered assistance to Japan.The EU has also been more than ready to offer its support to them: "An earthquake powerful enough to make the world wobble on its axis, a massive tsunami, an emergency in nuclear power stations. Any one of these would be a tragedy. Thousands of people have died and this has turned this tragedy into a catastrophe," said Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council. Twenty Member States
Member State of the European Union
A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
have offered assistance through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
was the first foreign leader to visit the earthquake site
The Fukushima incident brought the issue of nuclear power to the fore internationally, causing an anti-nuclear demonstration of 50,000 people in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and the cancellation of a pro-nuclear press conference in the United Kingdom.
While stepping-up monitoring of radiation levels on its own shores in face of the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, China, a major supporter in the relief operations in Japan in spite of its own current earthquake crisis
2011 Yunnan earthquake
The 2011 Yunnan earthquake was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred on 10 March 2011 at 12:58 CST, with its epicenter in Yingjiang County, Yunnan, People's Republic of China, near the Burmese border. A total of 26 people died and 313 were injured with 133 in serious condition...
, had officially begun evacuating its citizens from those worst-hit areas in Japan on 15 March 2011. France had also officially begun evacuation of its nationals from the worst-hit areas, dispatching airliners to assist in the evacuation on 16 March 2011. Also responding to potential danger of radiation exposure, the government of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
had relocated its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka some 250 mi (402.3 km) away. The U.S. Embassy in Japan had advised evacuation of all American nationals to outside a 50 mi (80.5 km) radius from the Fukushima power plant on 16 March 2011, which is a far greater distance than the 12.4 mile (20km) evacuation zone the Japanese government had already recommended for all inhabitants of the affected region, but later increased to 18.6 miles (30km) on 25 March 2011.
In many countries, both government and private aid campaigns have been organized to offer money and support to the victims and general populace of Japan. Social buying sites have launched on-line campaigns in which several million dollars were raised for relief organizations working in Japan.
As of 3 April 2011, the Japanese Red Cross
Japanese Red Cross
The ' is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross.The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with Empress as Honorary President and other royal family members as vice-presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47...
had received over $1 billion in donations in response to the disaster, and dispatched more than 200 emergency relief teams to the disaster zone. However it received criticism from some quarters for not yet having dispensed any cash aid to survivors.
The American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
said that it had received $120 million in donations from the US public. The Singapore Red Cross and Japan Association said that, as of 31 March 2011, residents of Singapore had donated S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
3.15 million for disaster relief.
As of May 2011, contributors in South Korea had donated ₩56 billion (US$51 million) to various organizations for the disaster relief effort. By May 2011 the people of Taiwan had donated or pledged 5.9 billion Taiwan dollars (¥16.7 billion).
Operation Tomodachi
Operation Tomodachi
is a United States Armed Forces assistance operation to support Japan in disaster relief following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. As of March 22, 2011, twenty U.S. naval ships, 140 aircraft, and 19,703 Marines and Sailors were involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief...
, which means Friend in Japanese, was the United States military operation to provide assistance and humanitarian aid to Japan. Twenty-thousand US military personnel, including 19 naval vessels and 120 aircraft, were mobilized to provide assistance or move supplies to the disaster area. The US aid efforts were conducted under the direction of Japanese government or military authorities. The Yomiuri Shimbun
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun...
reported that the "coordinated relief activities at the disaster sites are expected to deepen the Japan-U.S. alliance."
Information and support
Among several resources offered to help find earthquake survivors and obtain information about people in Japan are: Disaster Message Board Web171 operated by Nippon Telegraph and TelephoneNippon Telegraph and Telephone
, commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked the 31st in Fortune Global 500, NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Asia, and the second-largest in the world in terms of revenue....
, the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
, Google Person Finder, websites of the Australian Embassy, US Department of State, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, and the Honshu Quake wiki operated by the CrisisCommons
Crisis camp
A crisis camp is a BarCamp gathering of IT professionals, software developers, and computer programmers to aid in the relief efforts of a major crisis such as those caused by earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes...
volunteer community.
Sports
The 2011 World Figure Skating Championships2011 World Figure Skating Championships
The 2011 World Figure Skating Championships are the World Figure Skating Championships for the 2010–2011 season. They are an annual figure skating competition in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion....
were scheduled to take place from 21–27 March at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Yoyogi National Gymnasium
is an arena in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan which is famous for its suspension roof design.It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming and diving events in the 1964 Summer Olympics. A separate annex was used for the basketball competition at those same games...
in Tokyo but the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
decided on 14 March to postpone the event, after the German team announced that it would follow recommendations not to travel to Japan.
After Japanese officials announced it would not be possible to host the event in the country, it was moved to late April in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The 2011 ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating
ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating
The ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating is a figure skating team competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. The World Team Trophy was held for the first time in Tokyo, Japan from April 16 to 19, 2009. Traditionally, the competitive skating season had concluded with the World...
, scheduled for Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
on April 14–17, was postponed until the following year.
The Japanese Olympic Committee denied reports that it had abandoned plans to bid for the 2020 Olympics and said it was still under consideration. In April 2011, Japanese Olympic officials stated they were undecided whether to run but said hosting international sports events was important to helping the country rebuild. In July 2011, Tokyo put forth its bid
Tokyo bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics
Tokyo 2020 is a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics launched by the city of Tokyo and the Japanese Olympic Committee. The IOC will announce the official candidate cities on May 23, 2012. The winning bid will be announced on September 7, 2013 at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires...
to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Following the deadline for bidding, the IOC confirmed that Tokyo was one of the six cities that had entered a bid.
The 2011 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
The Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.-Multiple winners :-Multiple winners :-By year:...
, originally scheduled for 24 April, was moved to 2 October.
The September 18 INDYCAR race at Motegi, Japan, the Indy Japan Final, was moved from the Superspeedway to the Road Course because of damage to the Superspeedway (1.549 mile oval) to the 2.93 mile road course, and reduced from 300 miles to 300km.
The 2011 Asia League Ice Hockey finals between the Tōhoku Free Blades and Anyang Halla were to begin on 11 March but the five games were canceled. , no rescheduled dates were announced.
The Japanese national football team canceled their friendly match with Montenegro
Montenegro national football team
The Montenegro national football team represents Montenegro in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro...
scheduled for March 25 in Shizuoka
Shizuoka, Shizuoka
is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture's second-largest city in terms of both population and area. It became one of Japan's 19 "designated cities" in 2005.-Geography:...
. They were also scheduled to play New Zealand in Tokyo on March 29, although the Japan Football Association
Japan Football Association
The Japan Football Association, sometimes known as the Japan Soccer Association , is the governing body responsible for the administration of association football in Japan. It is responsible for the national team as well as club competitions....
tried to relocate the match to Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, much further away from the affected area. "We hope to play New Zealand, which like Japan has also suffered damage from a big earthquake," Japan FA president Junji Ogura said in a statement. In the end, the "All Whites" canceled their plans to play the Japanese due to safety concerns.
Owing to power restrictions, the 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season featured a regular season restriction; no inning may start three hours and thirty minutes after the first pitch has been thrown in the game. Furthermore, if a power outage occurs during the game, the game ends.
The ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
tennis tournament, Japan Future 1, was to take place on Nishitama District, Tokyo from 14–20 March and was cancelled after the qualifying round was completed. The series of four ITF Men’s Circuit Futures tournaments in and around Tokyo, commencing the week of the 14th March 2011 has been cancelled.
Due to uncertainty over the nuclear situation, the International Federation of Gymnastics
Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique or International Federation of Gymnastics is the governing body of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881 in Liège, Belgium, making it the oldest international sport organisation...
was considering moving the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Tokyo, Japan, from October 7–16, 2011 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.Due to uncertainty over the nuclear situation following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the International Federation of Gymnastics revealed it was...
, however they went ahead as planned.