Nuclear fallout under wraps?

     As the saga continues to unfold in Japan in the wake of the the destructive tsunami that decimated the country last friday, questions are being raised about the flow of information from the government setcor to the public. When the initial explosion rocked the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear facilitiy, Japnaese officials claimed that they were uncertain whether the explosion had any type of lasting impact to the plant's stabilitiy and that everything would be evaluated and taken care of.
     Since then, the eyes of the world have been glued to endless coverage of the smoking and intermittently exploding Daiichi plant that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric have maintained they will eventually stabalize. Plumes of radioactive smoke continue to rise from the smoldering reactor as emergency volunteers from the plant frantically try to keep the fuel rods submerged in water to prevent a full blown nuclear meltdown. However, as media outlets outside of Japan paint a picture that grows more grim with each passing day, the government and Tokyo Electric continue to hold their stance that the problem is not as big as it seems.
      This has angered politicians and heads of state from around the world as they scramble for crucial information that they need to pass on to citizens of their own countries in regards to how to prepare for the fallout of the nuclear crisis unfolding. The United States has sent nuclear experts of their own who have broadened the cuation zone around the Japanese reactor to 50 miles, a stark contrast to the 12-mile evactuation zone that Japan has imposed.

     The criticisim of the handling of dissemination of information has deep rooted traditions in Japanese culture. Heavily entrenched in honor, the Japanese culture doesn't provide much room for dealing with or accepting defeat and failure. In the aftermath of the nuclear disaster, many have speculated not whether the Japanese are downplaying the extent of the damage, but how much. The criticism from abroad is nothing new for the Japanese, however, the unrest with the lack of information from its citizens is a new development.

The less-than-straight talk is rooted in a conflict-averse culture that avoids direct references to unpleasantness. Until recently, it was standard practice not to tell cancer patients about their diagnoses, ostensibly to protect them from distress. Even Emperor Hirohito, when he spoke to his subjects for the first time to mark Japan’s surrender in World War II, spoke circumspectly, asking Japanese to “endure the unendurable.” -The New York Times

      Ironically enough, Japan is ranked eleventh in the press freedom index while the United States is twentieth. However, the overwhelming notion across the globe is that the unfolding disaster is being dealt with in a very secretive manner which is scary to everyone, especially to those in the immediate fallout zone.To add to that, the Japanese government's communication with the company trying to save the reactor seems disjointed at best.  This skepticism and concern is what forced the U.S. to send in their own experts to reassess the situation to not only better inform the Japanese citizens, but the world as well.

     President Obama announced that the nuclear plume that reached the west coast of the United States today poses no immediate threat to the health of our citizens. However, as the situation at the Japanese nuclear facility continues to grow more dire, looking more and more like a complete meltdown is more imminent, information will be at a premium. The questions is, will the Japanese government be willing to disclose the truth if it comes at the cost of them losing face on the global stage.