[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by acjama

Now you're just supposing and applying it to everyone.

To everyone - no. Just to the large majority of those people who ran ASAP without giving notice, and those in completely unaffected areas who left on very short notice. That isn`t necessarily the majority of those who left - there were countless students ordered home, countless people who had no particular reason to remain in Japan, and numerous people who left with a little more planning and consideration.

But there were a LOT of people who ran like crazy without thinking about anything else. This has had negative effects on the opinion of and trust given to foreigners working and living in Japan.

As I work and live in Japan, but didn`t (and wouldn`t) run off and abandon responsibilities - I do not find this a pleasant thing. It falls in the same category as the countless English teachers who think it is cool to not pay their bills for a few months before leaving or the like before leaving because they can get away with it.

I don't know the reasons why they did not call in, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

Your example works, maybe, for Tokyo and Tohoku.
I am not talking so much about Tokyo and Tohoku - I have pointed out multiple times that the people I had direct contact and experience with were in *Osaka* and *Fukuoka*.
There were no train stoppages in Osaka or Fukuoka. I don`t even think Osaka felt anything other than the most minor of shaking, if at all. Companies might be understanding in Tokyo or Tohoku... But Osaka and Fukuoka experienced *nothing* - other than the airports being crowded with people on the way out.

I'm saying that if you want to punish people because of intent or because the damage caused, you are free to do so, but please do so consistently.

There are damages other than simple and straight clear financial ones.
I rolled my eyes at the panic and didn`t really give a crap about the people who were leaving at the time - other than that they were fueling the over the top panic in the western media.
Now that I can`t find any company willing to hire me for even a short term translation project (when before I had people contacting me on a regular basis) because they are worried about me leaving with no notice should another earthquake occur because that is what happened with their last translator... And the couple of jobs I have managed to snag have required pretty serious contracts with me handing over all my incomplete, in process work at the end of each day so they won`t "lose" it should I run...

Yeah, I care now. The drop in trust and the far lowered expectations of responsibility shown toward the pool of skilled foreign workers in Japan has directly affected my quality of living. If I weren`t freelance and were working long term somewhere, then I would have the chance to prove my individual worth. But that isn`t the case, so I have basically lost 75%~90% of my job for the time being.

But on the bottom line it all boils down to how the company distributes that vitality to foreigners. I see no Japanese company relying on a single foreign individual, no matter how "skillful" and "difficult to replace with a native" that foreigner is.

Smaller companies *do*. They can`t afford to have a team. Some of the companies I have worked for can`t afford to have someone dedicated at all, so were relying on me for translation, interpretation, and half the explanations and negotiations taking place in English. I am not exceptionally amazing in this area, so I can say pretty confidently that these are not isolated cases.
If I had just up and disappeared, they would have been totally screwed. It wouldn`t have been a matter of replacement - it would have been starting almost from scratch.

Anyway, you of all people should know that foreigners in Japan cannot be sure to receive disaster aid, unemployment benefits, compensation from disrupted income etc, no matter how much they pay taxes.

Actually, I can`t really comment on this one as everyone I know who has followed proper procedure and filed things in a correct and timely manner has had no trouble. I know of quite a few people who have received disaster aid this time around.

Also pressure from relatives abroad may have risen to unbearable levels (I actually had to "pull rank" and remind my family who is the physicist with radiation safety work experience before they calmed down).

I think this is a very important thing to note. Something that amazed me during some parts of this were people who watched only US or UK news or received their "news" from family... even when it was completely outrageous and in contrast to reality. The numerous reports of people dying in the streets of Tokyo, etc, being one of the most extreme examples.
But instead of people correcting family, and giving them the real situation, they left Japan - which only supported the level of news hysteria. At the time, this was the biggest frustration.
Having people in the US say to me "The news said that the entire Pacific side of Japan is completely destroyed and people are dying in the streets from the radiation!! OMG!!!"... Countering with "No, the devastation is only in a small area, and the radiation is only severe in part of that." And having them come back at me with "But they had a bunch of families on that ran from Osaka and that is even further away than you are! You are going to DIE if you don`t run now!! Maybe your tsunami hasn`t reached you yet!! Run run!!" "Seriously, we are not in danger here."... "Then why are people in Osaka and Fukuoka running? You`re being deceived by the Japanese government!!" ... ad infinitum

Leaving is understandable and timing of leaving (relating to giving notice or not) is subject to very unknown circumstances. I can't hate people just for those reasons.

Hate individuals I do not. Hate the attitude that it was totally okay to not give notice, that leaving wouldn`t hurt anyone, and that it didn`t matter at all - I do. Running from areas distant from the trouble, and making it even harder for people with truly valid reasons to leave the country is, really, selfishness. A distant acquaintance had their visa ending in the third week of March. They were travelling after having finished up their university course. Their family had to pay 900,000yen to get them a ticket home so they weren`t hit with an overstay because the planes were so incredibly packed. It was ridiculous.

I have absolutely no issue whatsoever with the people (even in Fukuoka) who gave proper notice, paid their bills, then waited for the airports to clear out a little before going.

No, wait, now that I think about it - there is a group which I do feel disgust for the individuals of.
Those who ran off with little to no notice, but who came back as soon as the western media bored of the non-stop sensationalism. Who wanted their jobs back and who asked for vacation pay, or even a raise because they decided to grace "dangerous" Japan with their presence, etc. I only know of a couple of these, but that they existed at all is pretty pathetic.