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International recovery efforts continue in Japan. On Monday, April 2, the number of confirmed
fatalities had risen to over 12,000, with more than 15,000 still missing in six prefectures
after the mega-earthquake and tsunami on March 11. In a three-day joint recovery mission,
the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF), US military, and other rescue personnel had recovered
78 bodies by the end of the intensive searching along tsunami-ravaged coastal areas in the
northeast.
With more than 45,700 buildings completely destroyed in the initial disaster, many communities
were reduced to mud-covered debris, with some areas covered in salt water lakes formed by
the tsunami. As over 161,000 people remain in temporary shelters, these and other unfavorable
conditions are causing public health concerns to grow. At a hospital in the badly affected
Ishinomaki city of Miyagi Prefecture, most patients became ill in evacuation centers,
some of which still lack running water, electricity and adequate heat. Despite receiving supplies,
volunteers running the centers say they are still shorthanded in personnel. In an attempt
to better meet residents’ needs, the town office of the hard-hit Minamisanriku is relocating
1,100 people to other municipalities of Miyagi Prefecture in a collective evacuation. As
of Saturday, over 168,000 households were still without electricity, and 220,000 did
not have running water. Auto sales in Japan have also plummeted after the disaster forced
automakers to close factories due to lack of parts and power outages. Data from Japan's
Auto Dealer Association reveals a 37% plunge in new vehicle sales for March compared to
last year, which is the largest drop in March sales since record-keeping began in 1968.
The international community has continued extending a helping hand, with Japan’s foreign
ministry stating that 134 countries and 39 organizations had offered aid. On Saturday,
a tanker arrived carrying 20,000 tons of much-needed fuel donated by the Chinese government to
assist in disaster relief. The United States, France, and Germany have also offered to send
remote-controlled robots to help regain control at the damaged nuclear plant, entering its
fourth week of attempting to contain radiation contamination. On Saturday, workers continued
scrambling to plug a leak discovered in a maintenance pit near reactor No. 2, from which
highly irradiated water was flowing into the ocean. Iodine-131 at levels 4,385 times higher
than normal and cesium-137 at levels 527 times the standard had been found in seawater earlier
in the week. On Sunday, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that the bodies
of two workers, ages 21 and 24, who had been missing since the twin disasters were found
in the turbine building of reactor No. 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported that mushrooms from Iwaki
in Fukushima Prefecture had been found to contain radioactive iodine and cesium at levels
above the legal limit. Radioactive cesium has a half-life of 30 years, and in the case
of the historic 1986 Chernobyl disaster, German boars 1,500 kilometers from the accident site
have been recently found with cesium-137 levels thousands of times beyond normal. While a
floating tanker is being towed to the Japanese facility to store contaminated seawater, the
power plant continues releasing dangerous amounts of radiation. According to Japanese
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, it could be several months before the radioactive particles
are stopped from seeping out of the facility.
China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine reported
that 10 radioactive contamination cases had been detected among incoming passengers, planes,
vessels, and containers since March 16, with traces of atmospheric radiation from Japan
that had been detected across all Chinese provinces except northwest Qinghai. Meanwhile
in Germany, over 10,000 participated in anti-nuclear energy demonstrations in the cities of Bremen,
Essen, and Regensburg, demanding that officials shut down all of the nation’s 17 nuclear
power plants.
Our thankfulness, all the Japanese and international officials, military personnel, heroic nuclear
plant workers and other individuals assisting during these difficult times. We pray for
the protection of the people of Japan as humanity joins in benevolent efforts to foster a more
uplifted, balanced ecosphere�