The tremor off the north-east coast of Japan on Friday and the tsunami that swept inland are a disaster unparalleled in the nation’s postwar history. More than 10,000 people may have died. Millions lack water and electricity. Some 300,000 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters. A huge explosion has taken place at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility, another reactor is crippled, and two more have cooling problems.
There is no trite lesson to be drawn from such suffering. The only proper response for Japan’s friends is to stand ready to offer humanitarian assistance, and to observe with admiration the resilience of Japan’s citizens and the promptness of the authorities’ response to a disaster whose scale could not have been anticipated.
The immediate response is likely to be a rush to condemn nuclear power, amid fears over the safety of the Japanese plants. That would be not only premature but mistaken. All energy sources pose serious risks to global health. They need to be balanced against each other, and alongside the global need for energy. An instinctive opposition to nuclear power is ill-considered and unhelpful. The most pressing issue today is the Japanese rescue and reconstruction effort.
Amid natural catastrophes there is an inevitable human urge to seek instances of escape. One is the rescue of Hiromitsu Shinkawa, aged 60, from the roof of his home after it had been ripped off his house and swept out to sea. But hope, as Emily Dickinson wrote, is the thing with feathers. It can depart swiftly, and is hard to hold on to when considering scenes of devastation in the city of Sendai, with a population of more than two million.
The human cost dwarfs anything else, but the economic cost also threatens to be huge. Japan is an ageing society, with a national debt amounting to about 200 per cent of GDP. Its budget deficit stands at about 10 per cent of GDP. The economy is not in the healthiest state to bear the costs of reconstruction.
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The authorities have, though, transcended an institutional paralysis that has long been a worry for Japan’s allies. The worst postwar earthquake till now was in Kobe in 1995. More than 6,000 people lost their lives and the cost of reconstruction amounted to more than $100 billion. The Government then suffered strong public criticism for its dilatory response. No dispassionate observer could accuse Japan’s authorities in 2011 of similar laxity. About 10,000 military personnel were quickly mobilised, along with the fire service and coast guard. Relief efforts are being conducted by scores of ships and hundreds of aircraft.
In economic management, the Bank of Japan swiftly reassured financial markets that it would inject funds into the economy to maintain stability. The Government has funds available in the current budget for reconstruction costs from natural disasters. Opposition politicians have pledged to help the passage of economic legislation.
Policy decisiveness is needed by Japan’s people. It is also a prerequisite of using effectively the assistance offered by the country’s allies. William Hague was prompt to offer help in humanitarian aid, search and rescue teams or victim identification, as and when Japan’s Government requests it.
Japan is a society thrown together in hardship. Its policymakers are being tested in adversity. They have shown a decisiveness and humanity that will inspire and move Japan’s friends to act.