23/04 Foreign journalists criticize government's response to crisis

BY TAKASHI OSHIMA STAFF WRITER

Christoph NeidhartKyung LahLi MiaoYoon Jong-koo

While the Japanese government has been struggling to combat sometimes sensational media coverage of the Fukushima nuclear accident abroad, foreign correspondents covering the story are critical of the Japanese authorities' handling of the disaster.

CNN correspondent Kyung Lah, from the United States, said many in the foreign media had been inspired by the Japanese people's fortitude in the aftermath of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.

"I think across the board all foreign correspondents have been incredibly surprised at the strength of Japanese culture. Even though all of the structures in the tsunami region may have been destroyed, the culture and social mores and the way the Japanese conduct themselves is intact," Lah said.

"In the evacuation centers, there is desire to be strong together," she said.

But she contrasted this with the impression left by aspects of the government's response.

"It's a slower reaction than the international community expected," Lah said.

She said Toyota Motor Corp.'s reaction to recalls in the United States had triggered similar criticism and suggested that cultural differences between Japan and the United States and Europe might be creating friction.

Christoph Neidhart, correspondent of the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, said: "I do not think the current Japanese government is dishonest. I do not think they are lying. But I think they were overwhelmed by data. They have tried to be honest. But I am not sure if they have done enough thinking."

Neidhart said the impression of tardiness in the Japanese authorities' reaction might have resulted from difficulty in understanding exactly who was in charge of the situation.

He also said the apparent lack of a public debate on the issues facing the country was making it difficult for some foreign observers to understand.

Organizations surrounding the government--including the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC)--all appeared to be advocates of nuclear power, and he said contrary voices had been drowned out.

In Germany, he said, opponents as well as supporters of nuclear power generation would have been expressing their opinions, and the media would be reflecting both points of view.

Yoon Jong-koo, correspondent from the South Korean newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo, said South Korea's presidential system would have provided more decisive central control.

"If we faced the same situation in South Korea, the president would have exerted stronger leadership and made decisions more quickly," he said.

He had been surprised by the apparent inability of Prime Minister Naoto Kan to exert strong control over TEPCO and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF).

The dispatch of SDF personnel to the Fukushima plant to cool the nuclear reactors had taken too long, he said. If concern for the safety of SDF members caused that delay, that would have been unthinkable in South Korea.

He said the Japanese media had also appeared to rein in its criticism of the authorities.

"In South Korea, the public and the media would criticize the government and the operator (of the nuclear power plant) more strongly," he said.

Like other foreign journalists, however, he was deeply impressed by the Japanese people's conduct.

Despite concerns about water supplies, no shops had raised their bottled water prices and customers had respected rules restricting the amounts they could buy.

"I was impressed. I thought, 'This is Japan,' " he said.

The Japanese government has held daily news conferences for the foreign media since March 13. Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), and other senior government officials have been fielding questions from the correspondents through interpreters.

Senior members of the government have also made themselves available. Between late March and April 21, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano conducted interviews with 11 media organizations from the United States, Britain and China.

Part of that effort has been to try to combat sensationalist reporting of the situation at the stricken Fukushima plant, which the government fears might lead to the imposition of import restrictions on Japanese food and other products.

Japanese embassies and other government offices overseas have been active in correcting and issuing responses to dozens of inaccurate articles.

But Li Miao, correspondent of Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite Television Co., said structural issues with the government's information effort might be stopping it from getting its message out.

She said it was strange that TEPCO, NISA and the chief Cabinet secretary were all holding separate daily news conferences.

"Why don't they offer information collectively? Honestly speaking, I don't know whether the prime minister's office can be controlling all of them."

She said news that radioactive materials had been released into the sea at Fukushima had been widely reported in Hong Kong, but the Japanese government seemed not to appreciate the international dimension to the story.

"If the Japanese government wants to decrease damage from groundless rumors, it should disclose all of the information it has acquired and offer sufficient explanations," she said.

She also expressed admiration for normal people's response. Immediately after the quake, she said, she had seen people in an orderly line at a public telephone booth. Nobody was trying to jump the line. "That was impressive," she said.