[ RadSafe ] Fwd: [New post] Japan's shock as Manga art depicts the reality of Fukushima radiation and health

[Roger Helbig]

Yet another purveyor of less than the truth about Fukushima.

Roger Helbig

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From: nuclear-news <comment-reply at wordpress.com>
Date: Fri, May 9, 2014 at 1:31 AM
Subject: [New post] Japan’s shock as Manga art depicts the reality of
Fukushima radiation and health
To: rwhelbig at gmail.com


Christina MacPherson posted: "Japanese Manga Stirs Up Fukushima
Nuclear Controversy
http://kotaku.com/japanese-manga-stirs-up-fukushima-nuclear-controversy-1573381718
(Manga pictures on original article) 8 May 14 A famous Japanese food
manga takes on the “truth about Fukushima.” The "
Respond to this post by replying above this line

New post on nuclear-news

Japan’s shock as Manga art depicts the reality of Fukushima radiation and health

by Christina MacPherson

Japanese Manga Stirs Up Fukushima Nuclear Controversy
http://kotaku.com/japanese-manga-stirs-up-fukushima-nuclear-controversy-1573381718
(Manga pictures on original article) 8 May 14 A famous Japanese food
manga takes on the “truth about Fukushima.”

The Japanese manga, Oishinbo (美味しんぼ) is a long-running food manga that
has been ongoing since 1983. In his latest chapter that was recently
published in the magazine Big Comic Spirits, author Tetsu Kariya
depicted the manga protagonist, Shiro Yamaoka, as he returned from a
visit to the nuclear-disaster-suffering prefecture when he suddenly
has a random nosebleed.After the incident, there is a discussion with
another character who says that he, too, has suffered from such
unexplained nosebleeds and fatigue, finishing with the comment, “There
are a lot of people in Fukushima who suffer from the same symptoms.
They just don’t talk about it.”

This depiction managed to stir up the hornet’s nest. According to
Japanese news site Ebisoku, soon after the magazine hit the racks, the
publisher, Shogakukan, was flooded with complaints and criticism that
the manga was showing Fukushima in an exaggerated negative light.

The town of Futaba-machi wrote an official complaint, stating that
there was no truth to the claim that “lots of people suffer from
nosebleeds and other symptoms” and that the manga was damaging the
image of Fukushima that they were trying hard to rebuild. The
complaint notes that ever since the manga came out, there have been
cancellations of visits and product orders and that Fukushima
residents were afraid that the manga was cultivating discrimination
against the prefecture and its residents.

Shogakukan has responded, saying that the depictions in the manga are
based on real-world coverage by the author and that the manga had been
published respecting the author’s expression.

The latest chapter of the manga seems based on personal experience by
Kariya that he noted in an interview with Nichigo Press earlier this
year. In the interview, Kariya talked of how the damage from the 2011
earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster was much worse than he had
imagined.

In response to the negative criticism against his manga, Kariya stated
that while he expected some backlash, the extent of the response has
surprised him. In a statement covered byNetarika, Kariya warned that
there are still 2 more chapters to come and that he plans on writing
harsher things. “People who are in an uproar about a nosebleed might
go berserk.” Kariya stated. However, Kariya remains firm in his
stance, saying that people are trying to sugar-coat the disaster with
euphemisms and falsely positive language to hide the truth - something
he hates more than anything else.

The author of Oishinbo recognizes that a lot of people will not like
what he has to say, however, he maintains his position and has said
that he will release his rebuttal after the last chapter is published.

Christina MacPherson | May 9, 2014 at 8:31 am | Categories: Japan,
media | URL: http://wp.me/phgse-hhw

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