Five days on

When news broke on Saturday that an earthquake had struck off the east coast of Japan, the impression I got was that some damage had been done but things would set themselves straight in a few days. Of course, as it transpired, this was not the case.

The full extent of the damage caused by the resulting tsunami that hit the north west coast of Honshu becomes clearer every day as the official death toll rises (as I write, it stands at over 4,000).

Further compounding the misery of the Japanese is the escalating situation at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, with fears that several reactors may have suffered partial fuel melt.

I live in Fukuoka, a prefecture roughly 1,000 km away from Fukushima. There has been talk of widespread stockpiling of food in anticipation of a nuclear crisis, but I never expected it as far away as this.

Of course, sights such as this are more indicative of public concern than any actual threat posed (and, admittedly, at this supermarket only a few shelves, originally containing instant noodles, were empty). It's certainly unsettling, though.