卫报：日本地震重创老年群体

据英国《卫报》3月18日报道，此次日本大地震和海啸对日本老年人群造成重创，由于缺少供热系统以及药品等物资，许多医院和疗养院已经证实有数十名老人去世。


在距离遭地震重创的福岛核电站10公里的医院中，日本自卫队士兵发现128名老年人被医务人员抛弃。大多数老人已经陷入昏迷状态，其中14人已经在地震发生后死亡。宫城县气仙沼市一家疗养院中，因为缺乏供热系统，该院已有11名老人死亡。这家疗养院的经营者称，幸存的老人感到孤独，并且承受着很大压力。而且疗养院中的煤油加热器所需燃料已经全部用光。

“医生无国界”日本分支负责人埃里克·夸尼斯说，在许多临时避难所中，许多老人正忍受着体温降低、脱水以及呼吸道疾病的折磨，但是这些地方的药品已经消耗光了。

尽管福岛核电站附近的老人被自卫队转移到一个体育馆中，但那里的条件并不好。一名政府官员说，“我们感觉非常无助，对这些老人的遭遇感到抱歉。这里没有活水、没有药品，只有一点点食物，我们无法为他们提供更好的照料。”


红十字会和红新月会国际联盟的帕特·富勒称，缺少民用燃油是最大挑战。几乎所有撤退中心都没有足够的燃油，只有少量汽油，导致许多食物无法食用被迫退回商店。许多地方爆发了胃流感，对于老人来说，很可能引发严重的并发症。

In Deference to Crisis, a New Obsession Sweeps Japan: Self-Restraint

TOKYO — Even in a country whose people are known for walking in lockstep, a national consensus on the proper code of behavior has emerged with startling speed. Consider post-tsunami Japan as the age of voluntary self-restraint, or jishuku, the antipode of the Japan of the “bubble” era that celebrated excess.

With hundreds of thousands of people displaced up north from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, anything with the barest hint of luxury invites condemnation. There were only general calls for conservation, but within days of the March 11 quake, Japanese of all stripes began turning off lights, elevators, heaters and even toilet seat warmers.

But self-restraint goes beyond the need to compensate for shortages of electricity brought on by the closing of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. At a time of collective mourning, jishuku also demands that self-restraint be practiced elsewhere. Candidates in next month’s local elections are hewing to the ethos by literally campaigning quietly for votes, instead of circling neighborhoods in their usual campaign trucks with blaring loudspeakers.

With aggressive sales tactics suddenly rendered unseemly, the giant Bic Camera electric appliance outlet in central Tokyo has dropped the decibels on its incessant in-store jingle, usually audible half a block away. At the high school baseball tournament in Osaka, bands put away their instruments; instead, cheering sections have been clapping by hitting plastic horns together.

There are also doubts about whether it is proper to partake in the seasonal pleasures that regulate much of Japanese life.

“At this time of the year, we’d usually be talking about going to see cherry blossoms,” Hiroshi Sekiguchi, one of the country’s best-known television personalities, said on his Sunday morning talk show.

In fact, cherry blossom viewing parties and fireworks festivals have been canceled. Graduations and commencements have been put off. Stores and restaurants have reduced their hours or closed. Cosmetics and karaoke are out; bottled water and Geiger counters are in.

It is as if much of a nation’s people have simultaneously hunkered down, all with barely a rule being passed or a penalty being assessed.

Via http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/world/asia/28tokyo.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss#h[]

Japan earthquake: 7.2 tremor shakes Tokyo buildings

An earthquake of 7.2 magnitude has struck off the coast of Japan, shaking buildings in the capital, Tokyo, and triggering a small tsunami.

The tremor was centred 168km (104 miles) from the east coast, north-east of Tokyo.

A 60cm (24in) tsunami reached the coastal town of Ofunato, with other towns reporting smaller waves shortly after the quake hit at 1145 (0245 GMT).

There are so far no reports of damage or injuries.

Japan is well-prepared for quakes which often hit the seismically active area.

An aftershock measuring 6.3 magnitude struck after the main quake, Japan's meteorological agency said, followed by a series of smaller aftershocks.

Some train services in the area were temporarily halted after the quake, but they were restarted shortly after noon.

Tohoku Electric Power said its Onagawa nuclear plant was operating normally after the quake and Tokyo Electric Power also said its power supplies were unaffected.

Japan earthquake: 7.2 tremor shakes Tokyo buildings

An earthquake of 7.2 magnitude has struck off the coast of Japan, shaking buildings in the capital, Tokyo, and triggering a small tsunami.

The tremor was centred 168km (104 miles) from the east coast, north-east of Tokyo.

A 60cm (24in) tsunami reached the coastal town of Ofunato, with other towns reporting smaller waves shortly after the quake hit at 1145 (0245 GMT).

There are so far no reports of damage or injuries.

Japan is well-prepared for quakes which often hit the seismically active area.

An aftershock measuring 6.3 magnitude struck after the main quake, Japan's meteorological agency said, followed by a series of smaller aftershocks.

Some train services in the area were temporarily halted after the quake, but they were restarted shortly after noon.

Tohoku Electric Power said its Onagawa nuclear plant was operating normally after the quake and Tokyo Electric Power also said its power supplies were unaffected.