A few years ago I was privileged enough to be invited on an all expenses paid trip to Japan. It was a scheme set up by the Japanese government to apologise for forcing my granddad to work on a railway project during the war that ultimately put Network Rail to shame.
Despite initially being apprehensive about visiting a country where I would be 3 feet taller than the rest of the population, and being expected to eat all my meals before they were cooked, I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed my experience and have always said I would go back to the country in a heartbeat if given the chance.
Still to this day I marvel at the place; the entirely different culture, the history, the temples, the technology, the humility of the average citizen. Even the raw fish was nice.
Of course Japan is also known for its earthquakes. In most places, they build their houses out of cardboard so when an earthquake hits, they simply topple over with minimal damage.
Sadly, when an earthquake happens under the sea, there is little that can be done about preventing the inevitable Tsunami. The devastation to the affected areas was very sad indeed. If the damage caused by the water wasn’t bad enough, they now have the prospect of their third Nuclear disaster. All they need now is for Godzilla to emerge from the water.
With such huge advances in media coverage and global communication, a lot of the drama was caught live on TV. Is this a good thing? Is there anything we can learn from this?
This is the subject of this month’s Soapbox discussion so get on your Soapbox and have your say!
