The Fukushima that has been my home for the past 6 months is an altogether different place from the Fukushima that is so erroneously represented by the mass media. Fukushima faces an uphill battle of restoration and recovery, both structurally and psychologically: there is no denying it. There is much work to be done. But as I realized on my recent visit to the Iwaki coast – the resilient people of this beautiful prefecture, even in some of the hardest hit areas, are not easily dispirited. Nowhere was this more evident than in the tiny fishing village of Hisanohama. Few houses, and even fewer people, remain in Hisanohama – about 30km south of Fukushima’s infamous Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The town was leveled by the tsunami, and many of its inhabitants sought refuge in other places. A survey of the waterfront – the skeletal foundations of what were once the houses and businesses of a thriving seaside community – left me at a loss for words. The devastation seemed insurmountable. ‘How do you pick up the pieces from ruins like these?’ I thought. And while that question was never answered, I was equally at a loss for words when I saw it being done. Less than a kilometer from the ruins of the immediate waterfront is a small, temporary shopping center. Tiny make-shift stalls sold everything from local produce, to local seafood and local sake. We were greeted with bright smiles, hot coffee, and a sense of enduring optimism. I never knew such a thing could exist – such generosity and kindness from a people who, so recently, had been dealt such an unfair hand. If only good news were in such high demand as bad; or if scientific truths were as dramatically appealing as nonsense written be the grossly misinformed – Fukushima would boast a different reputation today. Any journalist intent on writing of Fukushima’s recent misfortunes, and the subsequent difficulties that it has faced, would benefit from a ‘study tour’ of their own. They would have no choice but to realize the same thing that I did. |  |
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