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Japan has raised the emergency at the Fukushima nuclear plant to level seven
- the highest on the international scale of nuclear accidents. Here, residents
across Japan reflect on the revised threat.
This whole thing has been a nightmare - the quakes have not stopped the
entire time.
Marc: "I'd be lying if I said I had complete faith in what the authorities are
telling us"
The latest big ones - at 7.1 and 6.6 - were big enough to cause their own
aftershocks and set off a new series of quakes in quick succession.
The very fact that they have put this accident on the same level as Chernobyl
- even if it was a different kind of incident - adds to the stress level.
And I'd be lying if I said I had complete faith in what the authorities are
telling us. We are given little pieces of information that we have to patch
together ourselves.
My fiancée and I have only recently returned to this area. After the initial
explosion we moved another 60km (37 miles) away from the plant.
People are trying to get back to normal here. The city hall is off-limits
because of quake damage, but they have moved the board of education to an
evacuation centre, complete with desks and computers.
There are no longer queues for petrol. More food shops are opening up. But
the main department store is closed because of damage, and there are less
people on the streets.
Eng Seng Tan, university administrator, Tokyo
The Japanese people are trying not to show their nervousness despite the
warning about the nuclear threat level and several aftershocks on the same
day. Physically they are used to the jolts, but mentally they are stressed-out.
I'm starting to lose my nerve a little following the latest news about the
nuclear plant.
I'm from Singapore and have lived here for 10 years. Since the disaster, I had
chosen to believe Japanese media reports and had no plan whatsoever to leave
the city.
I wasn't concerned about the radiation level until a couple of weeks ago. The
media had given the impression that everything was fine unless you lived within
the exclusion zone.
I'm losing trust in what the media and the authorities are telling us.
I have a feeling that the authorities are keeping information back from us.
Some of my colleagues have expressed similar fears. Some are stocking up on
water and not allowing their kids to drink from the tap despite government
advice.
I've just come back from a major supermarket. There were long queues and
bottled mineral water was sold-out, despite the rule of one litre per
household. I managed to get two small bottles of sparkling water.
I hear that many foreigners have left Japan. I can understand their fear but
I hope that people around the world remember that most of the cities and
towns in Japan are safe.
I'm a 56-year-old businessman living in Hiroshima. I have lived here more than
50 years and my current house is only 200m away from where the atom bomb
fell.
Despite that nuclear attack many people here live long lives, into their eighties
and nineties.
The government has said that although the threat is high, the situation with
the Fukushima plant is quite different to the Chernobyl situation.
Life is fairly normal here in Hiroshima. We were not affected by the quake
and are a long way from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
Of course people worry about their family. One of my sons is living and
studying in Tokyo. But he's not worried about the situation there and won't be
leaving the city.
Ayako: "What we want is the truth about what is really going on"
I don't understand why our government needed to raise the nuclear threat
level up to seven at this time.
People in Japan have been exhausted since the 11 March quake - but we are
trying to live our lives in a normal way. What we want is the truth, the truth
about what is really going on.
I heard one official on TV saying we need to be ready for the possibility that
things may take a turn for the worse. Well, it's difficult to know what we
should be prepared for when they keep changing the information they give us.
I have also been following international media, and I feel there is more
information presented in the world media than in our own press.
Things are relatively normal here in Gunma, but there have been a lot of
aftershocks. They have been occurring every 15 to 30 minutes since Monday -
it's pretty scary.
We may be some 200km (120 miles) from Fukushima but the nuclear incident
is worrying. The problem with radiation is that it is invisible, so you don't know
where it is.
RESIDENTES DE JAPÓN EN UNA ELEVADA AMENAZA NUCLEAR
Todo esto ha sido una pesadilla - los temblores no han parado todo el tiempo.
Marc: "Estaría mintiendo si dijera que tenía una fe total en lo que las
autoridades nos están diciendo"
El hecho mismo de que han puesto este accidente en el mismo nivel que el de
Chernóbil - incluso si se trataba de un tipo de incidente - se suma al nivel de
estrés.
Estoy empezando a perder mis nervios un poco después de las últimas noticias
acerca de la planta nuclear.
Soy de México y he vivido aquí durante 10 años. Desde el desastre, que había
elegido a creer los informes de los medios de comunicación japoneses y no
tenía plan alguno para salir de la ciudad.
He oído decir que muchos extranjeros han dejado Japón. Puedo entender el
miedo, pero espero que la gente de todo el mundo recuerde que la mayoría de
las ciudades y pueblos en Japón son seguros.
A pesar de que un ataque nuclear a muchas personas aquí viven largas vidas, en
sus ochenta y noventa.
Ayako: "Lo que queremos es la verdad sobre lo que realmente está pasando"
No entiendo por qué nuestro gobierno necesita para elevar el nivel de amenaza
nuclear hasta a siete en este momento.
Las cosas son relativamente normal aquí en Gunma, pero ha habido una gran
cantidad de réplicas. Ellos han estado ocurriendo cada 15 a 30 minutos desde
el lunes - es bastante aterrador.
Podemos ser unos 200 km (120 millas) de Fukushima, pero el accidente nuclear
es preocupante. El problema de la radiación es que es invisible, por lo que no sé
dónde está.