“I’m back in Japan after a year away, and thus the blog is back too, after a long hiatus,” wrote Prof. Bayliss in late July. “My itinerary this time has me in Tokyo first, after which I will head back up north for another round of volunteer work plus interviews with a variety of people about their experiences on 3/11 and since, and their concerns (and hopes) for the future.” Here’s an excerpt from his first blog entry entitle, ‘Reactions to Fukushima, Part 1’: “I’ve arrived in Tokyo at a fascinating time. In previous posts, I’ve mentioned the concerns surrounding condition of Japan’s nuclear reactors, in particular their ability to withstand a disaster of the kind that hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Last summer and fall, the government ordered the shutting down all of Japan’s reactors, until their operators could prove compliance with “stress tests,” thus effectively taking Japan completely off nuclear power for the first time in decades. Although there were concerns over the criteria to be employed in determining compliance with the new government standards, in general this was a popular move with the Japanese people, especially as more and more information became known about the scope of radioactive contamination produced in the wake of the meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi, and the system of collusion – bordering on corruption – between the nuclear power industry and the government that created the loose safety standards that led to the “unforeseen” catastrophe.”

Read entire blog entries of his recent travels to Japan at: Where Does It All Go: An Aftermath Travelogue.

By: Prof. Jeff Bayliss

I promise to keep this short. I’ll have to, because it’s already late, and I intend to post this before I call it a night and set the clocks forward for the spring. But I won’t do that until sometime after 12:46am here, at the very earliest. That will be the exact moment, one year ago, when the quake that spawned the killer tsunami waves struck, and irrevocably altered life for so many people in northeastern Japan. 12:46am in Connecticut is 2:46pm in Japan. As of the morning of March 11th, 2012 in Japan, the figures from the disaster stood as follows: 15,854 confirmed dead, 3,155 still missing but officially presumed dead, and 343,935 dislocated and living in temporary housing facilities or other arrangements. In addition to these figures, it is necessary to bear in mind that these numbers represent whole communities along the coast of northeastern Japan; communities that are nowhere near making a recovery after a year. Some may never do so, especially in the areas closest to the failed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The disaster goes on. So much so, in fact, that it almost doesn’t seem to make sense to speak of an “anniversary” – although much has changed since. So, as I sit down to watch the NHK satellite feed tonight, as we press on toward 2:46pm in Japan, here are a few thoughts, by way of commemoration. Most of what I would like to say, though, concerns not how far things have come in a year, but how much further they have yet to go. This is not to be overly pessimistic. Reconstruction is happening, because the survivors won’t let it be otherwise. Still, in the very act of “reconstructing” one finds the ongoing toll of the disaster at every turn.

Read entire blog post HERE.

In the summer of 2011, Professor Jeff Bayliss traveled to Japan to assess the social, political, economic and cultural impact of the tsunami in Japan.

Here’s an excerpt from his blog: Where Does It All Go?: An Aftermath Travelogue:

“One thing that struck me repeatedly while I was in Tohoku was how the disaster seemed to still be going on for many of the people in the hisaichi, and in many different ways. I’m sure it seems odd to put it like that. The last waves have of course long since receded, and in most areas the chaotic clutter of debris has at least been cleared and placed in tremendous piles that represent the first big step in salvaging order from chaos. Even for the most dislocated of the survivors, the hinanjo shelters too are poised to become a thing of the past, meaning that they will be on their way to regaining their privacy and – with any luck – financial independence as well. And yet, the landscape in the hisaichi still looks like a bizarre moonscape in parts, with busted buildings and the naked foundations of now absent structures everywhere one looks. On the psychological level, too; survivors still seem to want to talk about the early days, whether to “outsiders” or among themselves, as if the things they experience are still replaying in their heads. Many do so in a way that suggests a sense of awe at what they witnessed, but otherwise they seem to have come to terms with it. Deep down, however, I doubt this is the case; they replay the events because they are still searching for something in them, some element of meaning, perhaps, that once found will allow them to relegate March 11th and its aftermath to the realm of memories that don’t have to constantly be recalled and relived – if that is possible for events of such enormity. For others, however, the need to recall and relive what they say is more like the curse we outsiders might expect it to be; they would rather forget, but can’t.”

For more insight and information, go HERE.