Japanese officials say they have always handled disaster tolls this way, with painstakingly precise tallies rather than grand estimates that are honed later.
"We value each and every life," said Noriyuki Shikata, deputy Cabinet secretary for public relations. "Estimates are so rough. We don't take that approach."
I’m still waiting for the long, painful reckoning here at home.
This is going to spark a long and painful reckoning around the globe as the true magnitude of whats happened sinks in. Japan has an incredibly long road ahead of them even without the loss of most of their nuclear power generating capability. Just replacing their labor force is going to be a monumental task.
Very interesting. And heartbreaking.
My mother has a friend who is an 84 year old Japanese lady (but I swear she looks like she’s maybe 50...and she just hiked Moab). She was supposed to fly to Osaka this weekend to visit her family. Her niece just called her yesterday and told her to change her trip. She said, “We are fine here, but you would not have a good time. There is just so much sadness here.”