| Mikiso Iwasa was 16 years old when the atomic bomb struck Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. He was in the backyard of his house, a little less than a mile away from ground zero. He was smashed onto the ground by the force of the bomb. Mr. Iwasa escaped, but the effects of radiation caught up with him later: He suffered from skin cancer twice as well as prostate cancer. He lost his hair. His nose and gumsbled. He developed rashes all over his body. For the only country ever to have experienced the atomic bomb and the horrific effects of concentrated radiation exposure, the nuclear crisis escalating in Japan has had a crippling effect on the nation's collective psyche. Panic and confusion swept through Japan on Tuesday after a fresh explosion at one reactor and a fire at another at a damaged plant in Fukushima. In Tokyo, 150 miles away, people lined up waiting for bullet train tickets to Osaka, Kyoto, Kyushu -- anywhere to get as far away as possible from the northeastern coast of Japan. The crisis comes on the heels of last year's 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in which the U.S. -- in a poignant move -- for the first time sent a representative to attend the annual memorial. In a country famed for stoicism, there is a quiet, mounting sense of anger toward Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the nuclear-power plant. Mr. Iwasa, now 82 years old, accuses the government of playing down the risks. 'They're saying there was a leakage, but that it won't affect the human body. They're just fooling us.' Even for a generation that didn't experience World War II -- two-thirds of the country's people were born after 1945 -- Tuesday's events were enough to send young people scurrying for cover. Reina Kudo, 19, a college student in Tokyo, said her parents have been imploring with her to come home to Kansai. 'Now I really want to go home,' said Ms. Kudo, at bustling Tokyo Station. Japan's confidence had already been on a decline during a decade of economic malaise. More recent blows have exacerbated this sense of despair: China this year eclipsed Japan as the world's second-biggest economy; political infighting has resulted in five prime ministers in as many years; a record proportion of college graduates can't find full-time jobs. The devastation from the earthquake and the tsunami, and rising nuclear fears are now deepening the gloom as businesses close plants, foreign nationals leave and rescue efforts have only just begun in earnest. Despite the latest setbacks, some say the Japanese will persevere, as always. This catastrophe is 'showing the resilience of the Japanese people,' says Jon Tanaka, a real-estate investor in Japan. 'This is not so palpable to the outside world until you see it.' |
Associated Press日本郡山市受到地震和海啸引发的核危机影响，图为一名被撤离者接受核辐射检查。
1945年8月6日广岛原子弹爆炸时，岩佐干三(Mikiso Iwasa)只有16岁。当时，他正在自家后院里，距离原子弹爆炸的地方不到一英里远。他被爆炸巨大的冲击力掀翻在地上。
相关报导在10年的经济困境中，日本的自信已经在下滑。最近更多的打击加重了这种绝望感：今年中国超越日本成为世界第二大经济体，政治内斗使几年里换了五位首相，找不到全职工作的大学毕业生达到有史以来最高比例。
地震和海啸带来的破坏，以及不断加剧的核担忧如今开始加重低迷的局面，企业关闭厂房，外国人纷纷离开，救援工作才刚刚真正开始。
尽管面临这些挫折，一些人说，日本人将一如既往地坚持下去。日本一位房地产投资者田中(Jon Tanaka)说，这场灾难显示出日本人民的复原能力，只有亲眼看到，外人才会体会到。
