[Sangetsu]

The evacuation around Fukushima took place early this morning, so people who were within 3 kilometers are already gone. Evacuation orders to a 10km radius were issued earlier in the day. Not many people live near the plant as it is, so even in a worst-case scenario there would be few casualties.

I wouldn't want to be the one who has to pump in the boric acid, and if things have reached such a point it's probably futile anyway. The reactor is 40 years old, and given the level of quality of Japanese construction and materials at the time (the era when Japanese goods and steel were considered cheap junk), I doubt the containment system will be sufficient. The plant is built at the edge of the sea, so and outer containment system will be difficult to construct, and aftershocks continue to shake the area.

Another Chernobyl is unlikely, the Fukushima reactor is smaller, and is probably not capable of producing such a disaster. Still, if it melts down it's not going to be fun.

Japan cannot afford this tragedy, not with economic growth declining, a national debt more than 200% of GDP, and a stagnation in national spirit. People have been crying for change, perhaps this disaster will be the spark that ignites it.

Japan has always been good at recovering from the worst of disasters, but the disaster is more widespread than that caused by the earthquake, hopefully the momentum to rebuild will extend to the other troubles as well.