Will Mighty Atom help Japan recover?

[dannavy85]

The continuing tragedy of Fukushima I think would present a serious dillema for Professor O (and his many names) regarding sending Astro.

For one...perminant irradiation.

But I don't think you could keep Astro locked in a room and tell him why he wouldn't be sent, he'd probably bust out and go against orders.

[AprilSeven]

Absolutely agree with you -- better odds than flying a bomb into the sun, and he did that (and SURVIVED too!)

It's a shame this plant wasn't equipped with robots, though, as (from what I've read) they could have done some of the things that had to be done by humans. Apparently quite a few nuclear power stations already have bots doing the deadliest work.

[Strange Wings]

Despite of me being in love with everything japanese I have to say that placing a 4-reactor nuclear power plant lacking any quake-absorbing basements at a sea shore (!) wasn't well considered at all.
And the use of plutonium fuel elements in reactor #3 is totally irresponsible too. There are even rumours going around that they were put in there on purpose; apparently by people who intend to harm the japanese infrastructure.

I wonder how the japanese population will handle their iconic character of atom-powered Astro after this nuclear disaster. I sincerely hope that they're not going to censor him for implying any endorsement towards atom power.

After the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WW2, Tezuka intented to display that nuclear power could be used for peaceful purposes, thus he created Astro as an atomic-powered robot using deuterium as energy fuel.
As I understood further, Astro's nuclear motor functions by "nuclear fusion" rather than "nuclear fission", which causes much less of radioactive waste to dispose.

[fafner]

Despite of me being in love with everything japanese I have to say that placing a 4-reactor nuclear power plant lacking any quake-absorbing basements at a sea shore (!) wasn't well considered at all.

Technically speaking, the earthquake didn't cause serious structural damages. What killed the plant was the tsunami that drowned the generators, which caused the cooling failure. They had constructed a sea wall that could handle 5 meters, they got more than 10 :d oh: What I personally find irresponsible (but it is always easy to say that after the fact) was that their generators were completely unprotected against water, to the point that they were unusable even after the water was gone.

[The Tawashi Bus Hat]

In case any of you want a way to help out Japan, iTunes currently has an album with music from several different artists you can buy ($10 American) and all proceeds go to Japan. The album has 38 sounds from artists like Lady Gaga, Queen, Shakira, and lots of others. So go to Walmart, get a $10 iTunes card and help Japan.


/shameless plug.

[Dr. Jerk]

There's now an English news report on that earlier earthquake fund campaign that featured the Phoenix.

http://tezukaosamu.net/en/news/?p=3245

[Strange Wings]

What I personally find irresponsible (but it is always easy to say that after the fact) was that their generators were completely unprotected against water, to the point that they were unusable even after the water was gone.

That's outrageous!

The majority of Japanese poplulation seems to stay quite calm towards those tragic events. It's also a reason why I respect these people so much. I think we could plenty learn from their attitude and their acceptance of inevitable natural disasters (obviously, Fukushima is another story, but we all might not know a fraction of the truth that happened there... and still happens).

All we can do is donate money to the country's benefit. Even if it's just a little, in the end it will cumulate and provide help to these poor people.
The iTunes-fund Tawashi Bus Hat pointed out seems to be a good way of donating too.

Te wo toriatte, konomama ikou..

[dannavy85]

The majority of Japanese poplulation seems to stay quite calm towards those tragic events. It's also a reason why I respect these people so much. I think we could plenty learn from their attitude and their acceptance of inevitable natural disasters

they have a phenominal resilliance. look at katrina and how people acted, from the so called "Leaders" of the state to the people who stayed in New Orleans and the 9th ward despite all the warnings.

[Wants_to_fly_with_Astro]

i think Astro can help Japan somehow. i mean, look what he did! i think more people should use him as a role model. i have great respect for that country. GO ASTRO!

[Dr. Jerk]

I'm sure everybody knows the image used for Dark Horse's volume 2 of Astro Boy, right? The one where he is waving the Japanese flag?

Well, it's been turned into a wallpaper. And it seems pretty obvious to me why.

http://tezukaosamu.net/jp/news/n_657.html