On March 14, Japan has announced the start of cherry blossom season. It was record early, i.e., 12 days earlier than usual and 7 days earlier than last year. The picture below is of their buds I took in my neighborhood on the following day, March 15.
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| Cherry blossom buds in the neighborhood |
Cherry blossoms are beautiful, but they also remind me of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 and the subsequent nuclear plant explosions in Fukushima.
At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, I was working at office. I walked home as public transportation stopped and that was the beginning of everything. After watching the footage on TV of tsunami washing away so many people and houses, I learned that nuclear plants exploded. I considered leaving Tokyo to be further away from Fukushima, but decided to stay. I had nowhere to go.
A week or two weeks later, I saw this cherry tree in full bloom in front of the apartment where I live on my way to work. The pink was amazing, but at the same time, it was surreal, showing a stark contrast with the reality... Aftershocks, another explosion and radioactive air pollution.
Nine years have passed since then, and now for me, cherry blossoms are not only the symbol of the beginning of spring, but also a reminder of Fukushima. Seeing cherry trees in bloom every spring makes me realize how blessed I am to be able to live without worrying about air, water or any form of contamination...
But I was naive. The Fukushima disaster is far from over. The tanks for contaminated water at the plants will be full in 2022, so the water in them has to be released into the ocean, but only after contaminants in it are removed. How to remove such substances and after that, seek permission for the release from other countries, however, has still not been decided yet or even discussed.
Japan is now tackling the spread of COVID-19, but the Fukushima crisis is not past. It is still imminent. Japan shouldn't forget about it....
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マンションの前に一本だけ桜の木が植えられています。写真はその木に付いたつぼみです。ただ、私にとって桜の木は単に満開を待ち望むだけのものではありません。
2011年3月11日、会社から歩いて家に戻った私は、津波、そして原発が爆発する映像を見て言葉を失いました。東京から脱出することも考えましたが、それはできず、1～2週間後、結局また出社し始めた時にマンションの前で出会ったのが、その頃満開だったこの木です。そして思いました。「この桜も放射能に汚染されているんだ｡｡｡」と。以来、桜を見る度、日常の有り難さを感じると同時に「Fukushima」についても考えるようになりました。
ところがつい先日、あるニュースで、2022年に汚染水のタンクが一杯になってしまうことを知りました。放射性物質を除去し、海に廃棄しなければならないとのこと。でも方法はまだ決まっていないそうです。
コロナウィルスの問題で今世界中が揺れています。でも「Fukushima」もまだ終わってはいません。忘れてはいけないと思いました。
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