| English.news.cn 2011-07-05 09:12:11 |  Feedback  Print RSS  |
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| File photo taken on June 27, 2011 shows Japan's Reconstruction Minister Ryu Matsumoto speaking to the media at the residence of the prime minister in Tokyo, capital of Japan. (Xinhua/Kenichiro Seki) |
Editor: Zhang Xiang |
The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 is said to be the worst catastrophe that befell our country since the Jogan mega-tsunami in 869.
Towering breakwaters were destroyed by the March tsunami, reminding us that even our modern technology is powerless before the forces of nature. Science, too, proved incapable of taming nuclear power. The quake and tsunami knocked the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant out of control.
Compared with today, life in the Heian Period (794-1185) offered far fewer conveniences. But that did not stop people from composing poems and reveling in the beauty of the four seasons. World-famous literary masterpieces, such as "Genji Monogatari" (The Tale of Genji) and "Kokin Wakashu" (Collected Japanese poems of ancient and modern times), were written during that period.
Roughly a millennium later, we are now forced to take a good, hard look at our supposedly highly developed civilization.
A few days after the quake and tsunami, I saw bittersweet footage of small children in evacuation shelters, wrapped in blankets and happily playing video games. I should imagine the trauma suffered by survivors will become more apparent in the days ahead. To meet their mental health-care needs, I propose that our post-disaster reconstruction efforts be centered around artistic and cultural pursuits.
In order to catch up with the West and follow the trend for globalization, modern Japan turned to science and technology to control nature, and promoted centralization to grow into a military and economic power. But this has deprived society of humanity and left nature badly scarred. Our post-disaster reconstruction work must be designed to correct this sort of distorted "development."
The first task should be to revive regional communities. The Indonesian island of Bali attracts tourists for its terraced rice paddies. This leads me to believe that there is intrinsic value in certain traditional ways of life and work. Any village that has its distinctive personality and tradition, such as festivals that keep community ties intact, is the sort of hometown that even young people, who have left for the big cities, would always cherish and want to return to.
The French city of Nantes declined after its shipyards were shut down, but a cultural renaissance has since made it the No. 1 city French people want to live in. Nantes is famous for its highly affordable and successful classical music festivals. Scotland's Glasgow, too, has been energized by its striking modern architecture, and was designated to host a series of cultural events under the European Capital of Culture campaign in 1990.
Volunteer relief workers from around Japan are rushing to the communities devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake. I suggest that top artists in and outside the nation also gather in the region to engage in creative pursuits. They could participate in community planning and offer their ideas on how to let local history and culture, such as traditional festivals, define the personality of each community. There are enough showcases in Europe and the United States of artists participating in community revival activities and producing great results.
Takata Matsubara, a scenic pine forest in the city of Rikuzen-Takata in Iwate Prefecture, was devastated by the March tsunami. Out of some 70,000 pine trees there, only one survived. This lone pine tree has become a symbol of hope and encouragement not only for survivors, but also for people around the country.
Respecting culture is the same thing as seeking harmony with nature. Nature offers diverse renewable energy sources. Scandinavian countries rely on biomass for district heating that uses hot water being passed through underground pipes. We could follow their example, and apply our knowledge of science to undertakings that will free us from our current dependence on nuclear energy.
If we can adopt this sort of new lifestyle, our country will once again be able to live up to its "Japan as No. 1" reputation. And I believe we Japanese have the right mind-set and technology to pull it off.
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Seiichi Kondo is commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
While the governors of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures presented varied and detailed proposals April 23 for rebuilding in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato had none because he said he has been dealing with the crises at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The April 23 meeting in Tokyo was the second for the advisory panel tasked with compiling a rebuilding plan for Prime Minister Naoto Kan. It is seeking to compile a first set of proposals by late June.
At the meeting Sato said, "The nuclear accident is ongoing so I did not have time to put together a specific proposal."
Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai presented the most detailed proposal for rebuilding infrastructure and the local economy.
He proposed that transportation infrastructure also function as a levee to reduce damage from tsunami. He said when railways and roads are reconstructed along the coastline the foundations should have mound structures so it could also serve as a levee.
Murai got the idea from a road in Sendai built on a mound structure that reduced flood damage on the land side of the road after the March 11 quake and tsunami struck.
Pointing to a report that had estimated damages within Miyagi Prefecture by April 23 to about 2.2654 trillion yen ($27.7 billion), Murai said, "It is absolutely impossible for a prefecture to use only its capabilities to rebuild."
He presented other proposals that called for support from the central government, including nationalization of the local fishing industry so that facilities and boats could be rebuilt with central government funds.
Another proposal Murai made was also similar to an idea being considered by Kan.
Under the plan for the mountainous coast in northern Miyagi, homes, hospitals and government offices would be moved to higher ground while fishing facilities would be reconstructed along the coastline.
Murai also made proposals for ways to pay for the rebuilding process.
He suggested the establishment of a tax to deal with natural disasters and said "it should be a permanent, indirect tax covering the entire public and the entire nation to deal with disasters" wherever they may strike.
He also asked for the issuance of central government bonds for reconstruction as well as to allow each prefecture to establish a fund for rebuilding after natural disasters.
Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso had a much smaller list of proposals. Among the more immediate ones were to register Hiraizumi on UNESCO's World Heritage List to promote tourism as well as to construct a linear accelerator underground for physics experiments.
Tasso pointed to the differences between his more rural prefecture and such urban centers as Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture.
"(The stricken areas) already were at a disadvantage with a lower economic standard in terms of income, available jobs and the ratio of senior citizens," Tasso said.
Among many of the municipalities along the Iwate coast that were devastated, simply restoring various functions is about the most that can be done.
Tasso opposed the creation of a new tax to pay for rebuilding on the grounds it would further weaken the Japanese economy.
Others at the meeting said the issue of revenues should be dealt with after the rebuilding plan became more specific, but no government official made any specific mention of funding. For his part, Sato spent his time at the meeting explaining the situation among evacuees in Fukushima because of the nuclear accident as well as the negative publicity that has hurt local products and tourism.
After the meeting, Sato said, "We want to begin the rebuilding process as quickly as possible after (the nuclear accident) is settled as soon as possible."
According to Fukushima prefectural government officials, at least 84,000 residents have evacuated, well over half of all evacuees from the March 11 disasters.
With municipal governments near the Fukushima nuclear plant also forced to move elsewhere, some have faced difficulties determining the extent of damages as well as informing residents of what was happening.
Sato also told reporters after the April 23 meeting that many Fukushima residents would be inconvenienced with the designation last week by the central government of areas where evacuations would be carried out over the course of a month or so.
While central government officials stopped short of discussing revenues to pay for the rebuilding process, it was also unclear what government body would be in charge of actually implementing the rebuilding measures.
The Kan administration had put together a draft of a basic law for rebuilding that would have established a headquarters to be in charge of the process, which would be led by Kan and include all Cabinet ministers.
However, at an April 22 news conference, Kan indicated he wanted to table the proposal for a rebuilding headquarters and proposed establishing another body that would include representatives of the opposition parties.
Initial plans called for obtaining Cabinet approval of the basic law proposal on April 26, but that will be delayed, and the legislation will not likely be submitted to the Diet until after the series of national holidays in May.
While Kan hopes a rebuilding body that includes the opposition would help stabilize his government, the opposition parties have not warmed to the idea.
A staff member at the Prime Minister's Official Residence said the public would be critical of any delays in the rebuilding process due to an inability of the ruling and opposition parties to agree on what form the rebuilding body should take.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said on April 23 during a visit to Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, "What will be important is to do things quickly from the standpoint of disaster victims and evacuees. There should be no political confrontation at the national level and the nature of the (rebuilding) organization should not be used as a tool for political struggle."
