Live Q&As

I was with two friends  and we stuck together til we made it back to Tokyo.  There were other people but I assume some were locals and so we did not see them after we left the train.  It was about 2-3 hours before we went to the school.  The leaders at the school were teachers of the school...I think they were trained to help (and the school was designated to be a evacuation center). But in the room some people sort of took the lead getting food to everyone and making sure everyone was taken care of.

One thing to clarify is I was not at the places that you are seeing on tv. While we had experienced quite a shock, there were no buildings collapsed, etc.  A few shops had false ceilings that had collapsed but it was not like what you are seeing on tv.  People were not crying/screaming...it was more a sense of helplessness as we could not leave the city...and also for me I knew it would be a longish ordeal before I got back where I wanted to be....it took 6 hours today to travel what normally is 45 minutes.

I was able to "borrow" an unsecured wifi connection. BUT it was hard to use cell phones...the system was overloaded...it took me hours to get a text message to my wife...and the same for her.  So no the infrastructure is not that good...it is not bad just not what it may have seemed when I first wrote...several of the business men had computers and flashdrives which got them wireless.

We were on the Tsukuba Express.  It had not left so we were sitting on it in the station. I did not really see any safety precautions other than the emergency lighting that came on...and then the staff were there keeping people from reentering the station.  That is not to say there weren't precautions in effect.  Today we heard that they were checking tracks (by walking along them--I am sure they had equipment as well)...so even in Tokyo things were slow as far as transportation goes...and the train we were on to go back to Tokyo moved at 25 kilometers a lot slower than it normally does.  It was not the Tsukuba Express. We took a bus and then a taxi to get to a station that had trains running...and it was crowded...like the movies show....

We went out to eat this evening and things seem to be getting back to normal in Tokyo.  Though there are little things...for example, a movie theatre canceled several of its last showings and we were going to go to a musical today and it was canceled (possibly the rest of its run because of damage in the theatre--this is speculation on my part..the run is canceled but the reason is not clear).  And another performance tomorrow has been canceled (Bluemen).  I also heard another colleague was stuck on the bullet train for 9 hours yesterday. I think people are in shock at the magnitude of the disaster.  There is concern about the nuclear reactor.  The Japanese news is all about the earthquake (which is not surprising)...Today's public transportation was like a normal business day as far as crowdedness...

I think so.  As I mentioned earlier, I was out of the loop and did not know how bad the earthquake was.  But there is good information out there...this is a minor example, but at the school where we stayed, we were told what the transportation situation was this morning...what was not running and what was....however, initially there was little information coming from the Train Staff (understandably)...today there were more announcements about trains.

Great question but a tough one.  I don't know...I think it is very positive that Japan is accepting international help...I think a lot of things will take place...restore electricity and water...provide shelter and food....but there are entire towns that are just gone....I don't know how anyone recovers from that...Hopefully there will be some counseling services available...Japan has some experience from the Kobe Earthquake in 1995 so that will help.

I don't think the average individual is very prepared for radiation. On the other hand many are prepared for earthquakes with water, flashlights, food, all in kits ready to take with them as needed.

I am in Tokyo now and just catching up on the news (hard as that may be to understand) as I was out of touch for 24 hours.  I know a friend based in Tokyo went to her family home near Kobe because of the uncertainty around the nuclear reactor.  Just heard on the news that authorities are prepared to hand out iodine tablets.  Also, Kobe is about three hours from Tokyo by the bullet train.

Unfortunately, I am relative uninformed about the dangers. Tomorrow I will go back to Osaka which is several 100 kilometers away.  I probably will not consider leaving the country though friends have offered to let me stay with them.  This is home so I doubt that lots of people (expats) will leave given what we know now.  But we all will be following this closely.