The news media east/west
Posted by ampontan on Wednesday, July 6, 2011
TWO DAYS ago, two reporters for the Dow Jones Newswire in Tokyo filed a report on the statements of Fukuda Kazuo, the head of the Bank of Japan’s Sendai branch, at the bank’s branch managers’ meeting. The headline reads: BOJ Sendai Branch Head: Tohoku Recovery Pace Faster Than Expected.
It’s a brief article, and here’s most of it:
“The Bank of Japan’s Sendai branch head, Kazuo Fukuda, said Monday that reconstruction in areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is progressing at a pace faster than he had expected at the central bank’s previous branch managers meeting in April.
“(H)e now sees positive signs that infrastructure and facilities from inland to the coastal areas “are steadily being restored,” and there has also been “emergency demand” to meet the needs of households.”
The Nishinippon Shimbun ran an article on the same subject in their 5 July edition by Yoshitake Kazuhiko. He also offers a direct quote from Mr. Fukuda in the first paragraph. Here it is in English:
“Retail businesses and plants have begun to resume operation in some parts (of the region), but entire towns have been destroyed on the Sanriku coast. It is not possible to envision reconstruction. The removal of the rubble is the most important policy task.”
I feel sorry for those people interested in Japan who can read about the country only in the English-language media, and thereby think they know something about what is happening here.
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The music doesn’t start until the 1:25 mark, so move up the cursor manually.
Ken said
As someone who has been up to Tohoku to volunteer my time every weekend for a couple of months, I’d say the recovery is slow. I’d even say it’s disorganized. But, there are people up there putting in their time. But, Bill, I’d love to see you up there with me. Let me know when you can get up there with us.
I doubt you’ll make it up to help us. You don’t have what it takes.