环球英语 1491 Japan in Recovery
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
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And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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In March of 2011, there was a major earthquake. The ocean floor near Japan shook. On land, buildings fell and people ran to safety. The earthquake also created a wave. It started far away in the ocean. But it moved quickly toward Japan. As it moved, it became larger and larger. It was a tsunami. Finally, the huge wave crashed onto the coast. It destroyed many buildings. In fact, it caused more damage than the earthquake. The tsunami and earthquake killed 10,000 people. And it destroyed thousands of homes.
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After the tsunami, people from around the world sent money and supplies to help the Japanese people. Organizations set up temporary shelters for victims to live in. And immediately, Japan began the difficult process of rebuilding its nation. Now it has been over one year since the tsunami. Japan has made a lot of progress. But it is still recovering. Today’s Spotlight is on Japan’s recovery from the 2011 tsunami.
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The tsunami flooded much of Japan’s north east coast. It caused great damage to many buildings. One of the damaged buildings was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This power plant experienced a partial meltdown. The power plant became too hot. The containers around the nuclear fuel broke. And this break released radioactive material into the environment. This situation was very serious.
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Many people were worried about the damage to the nuclear power plant. Nuclear power can be very dangerous if it is not contained. It can cause radiation sickness – which is very painful. Contact with radiation can also cause cancer.
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The radiation leak had major effects on Japan. Now, no one can live near the plant. Many families have had to move away from their homes. Yutaka Yoshioka lived in the area near the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant. He had to leave his home and his business. Six months after the tsunami, he still lived in a shelter near Tokyo. He lived there with many other victims of the tsunami. Yoshioka spoke with NPR about his life in the temporary shelter.
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“In the morning, I have a meal from a box. Then, I have a boxed meal for lunch, and another for dinner. Since I have no job, I am just being lazy. I lay around and watch television. I am so old. It is impossible to change my life to live like this.”
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Since this time, Japan has provided temporary or even permanent homes for many of the tsunami victims. The living situations for most victims are improving. However, the work is not yet done.
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Moving people away from the nuclear power plant has been a major process. However, there are still many more difficult issues for Japan to fix. Jacopo Buongiorno is an expert on nuclear energy. He teaches nuclear science and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He told the NPR news organization:
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“The most difficult problem for Japan is decontamination. They must clean the radiation out of the area where people used to live. They need to do this so that people can go back to their homes.”
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Many experts say it will take years to clean up the area. However, workers cannot wait years to fix the power plant. Every day people must work to clean and repair the power plant.
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There can be risks when working around radiation. So, to protect the workers, there are rules. For example, workers can only work for short periods of time. This protects their physical health. However, there is another risk - a mental risk. Most of the people working to repair the power plant are not nuclear workers. So they do not know the risks of working around radiation. This causes many of them to worry. Evelyn Bromet is a medical researcher. She says this is common after nuclear accidents. She told NPR:
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“The central public health issue is worry - worry about personal health, concerns about the future, and worry about the future health of children.”
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This kind of worry is a major mental health issue for Japan. However, worry is not the only mental health concern. Many Japanese people suffered mental trauma from the earthquake and tsunami. They were wounded emotionally and mentally. Providing care for victims of mental trauma remains important.
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Often, children can suffer the most from the mental trauma. It can be difficult for small children to express their thoughts and emotions about such major events. Ruiji Seito and Koyuti Rowlands are both six years old. They remember the day the earthquake happened. They told NPR:
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“We were not sleeping. We were playing something. The earthquake just came and we hid under the table. The food fell down from the table.”
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“Everybody stepped on my hair because my hair was long! Somebody even stepped on me!”
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Akiko Kobayashi is a teacher in Japan. She says that many of her students behave differently since the earthquake. She told NPR:
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“They are often fighting with people. They shout with really loud voices. I think they are worried and scared, so I feel very sad. When I think about the children and their future, I think it affects them a lot.”
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Kobayashi also noticed a change in her student’s art work. She told NPR:
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“Suddenly, they started to color faces black, clothes black, everything black. Not all the children, but some children. But it is getting better now.”
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Japan is recovering from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident of March 2011. Students are back in school. The Japanese government has provided houses and shelters for people who do not have them. And people are beginning to live normal lives again. However, their work is not done.
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The United Nations’ leader, Ban Ki-moon believes Japan has responded well to these terrible events. One year after the earthquake and tsunami, he gave a speech. In it, he spoke about his visit to Japan after the earthquake. His words express the spirit behind Japan’s recovery,
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“I will never forget the faces of the young Japanese I met. In a minute, the earthquake destroyed their homes. Some of their friends and parents were missing – or dead. The nuclear accident shook their sense of security. But nothing could defeat their spirit…When I met with the people of Fukushima…I heard their simple wish for the world: that no country or community should suffer what they had been through.”
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The writer and producer of this program was Dianna Anderson. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, “Japan in Recovery.”
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
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