Hey Burro -
As you're probably aware, I'm in Okinawa, about 1000 miles away from the actual disaster area. So my assessment is more "feet in the sand" than "boots on the ground". Still, I've been following the nightly news here and can tell you that the nuclear crisis and recovery in the northeast is still the dominant, ongoing news story.
Your question is not too irreverent. In fact, just a couple weeks ago was Japan's annual "Golden Week" (a string of consecutive holidays resulting in almost everyone in the country having the same week off every year). The Ministry of Finance urged its citizens to go out and take a vacation just like every year, because that was the best thing they could do to help the recovery. This is where Japanese conformity shows itself to be a real virtue. People hit the roads in droves and filled the local hotels and inns. It was actually good to see traffic jams on the news. So, yeah, there is definitely a conscious effort to try and get back to life as usual.
The quake and tsunami stricken areas are still a shambles, but there have been lots of heart-warming news stories about them. There are volunteer buses that take volunteers from all over the country to Tohoku (northeast), where they help people put their homes back together. There was a story of the first marriage in the disaster area - a couple all decked out and standing atop heaps of rubble with the ocean at their back. I watched a show that detailed how all the metal was being scavenged and recycled, and uprooted trees and lumber from homes was being turned to pulp for paper and particle board. There's definitely a focus on getting things back to normal.
The biggest concern now is this other power plant being shut down in Hamaoka, and the energy crisis that is going to result. Okinawa, however, has their own power company (fossil fuels, not nuclear) so my electric bill won't go up. But I don't know how the lights will stay on in Tokyo.
Thanks for checking in - I'm always excited to talk about Japan!
Sensei,
I hope this does not come off as too irreverent, I've been meaning to ask for a few days, but can you please give us a boots on the ground assessment?
I haven't seen anything on the news about the state of nuclear affairs over there?
Maybe no news is good news? What, is everybody back to massaging and milking the Kobe beef on the sterile plain and eating Fukashima fish and rice?
How goes it?
Folks got enough underwear and shelter now? How normal is it over there?
Sorry I don't have a better answer
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