Quantum Diaries

Almost three weeks after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, daily life at IPMU is slowly returning to normality.

The first week after the earthquake, operations at IPMU were hampered by almost daily power cuts lasting for several hours. Luckily, the Kashiwa Campus has now been exempt from the rolling blackouts, and also the trains servicing the nearby stations are back to a regular schedule. While power conservation measures are still in effect (and will be for some time to come), they are at worst minor inconveniences. They mostly take the form of less lighting, less heating, less elevators and escalators running, and trains operating at a slightly reduced schedule. Compared to what the people in the disaster-hit areas are going through, Greater Tokyo is really well off and it would be inappropriate to complain.

Unfortunately, the international media have passed around a lot of misinformation and have been hard at work to create a lot of hysteria surrounding what they call the ongoing “nuclear disaster”. Consequently some IPMU members, mostly yielding to pressure from their families abroad, have left the country. Understandably, also many foreign visitors have canceled their trips to IPMU and seminar schedules have been swept clean.
From my point of view, the tone of international reporting about the problems at the Fukushima power plant has been regrettable, bordering on irresponsible, and has done a great disservice to everyone who is living in the region and is being affected by the events.
Given that Greater Tokyo has not suffered much damage in the quake and that the problems at Fukushima Daiichi have never given rise to health concerns for people in the Greater Tokyo region, it is high time for us to resume our daily life. Every day, our tea time attracts more people again and IPMU is working to restart a regular schedule of seminars and group meetings again. As scientists, we must stick to the facts and avoid succumbing to irrational fears.