The Curious Case of Japanese Arrogance

The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan has been a very terrible disaster and my condolences with the victims and their families. Now, more catastrophic has been the possibility of a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plants.

This catastrophic event of epic proportions in Japan is equivalent to Mother Nature bonking freestyle. But is it that bad?

Of course it is! But it doesn’t really top the scale of catastrophic events when compared to what’s happening around the world.

The world and the media which highlights the event to epic proportions or basic insignificance has a penchant for exclamation. For example the estimated death toll in Japan directly related to the earthquake and tsunami could be as high as 10,000. However, the civilian death toll in Iraq could be as high as 601,000 according to Lancet survey from 2003 - 2006. So when scaled against Japanese death toll, not only will the Iraq death toll hit the ground hard, but it would also toss the Japanese death toll high up in the sky relative to its magnitude.

But more importantly, what this basically proves is that deaths, as massive in toll as it might be is acceptable and less awe striking if its in installments.

Now to the second part of the Japanese disaster – the nuclear meltdown. As apprehensive as I could be towards the nuclear meltdown and catastrophe that may ensue (God forbid it doesn’t), the entire blame lies on the Japanese. Actually, the Japanese have been quite bold and adventurous in the modern history since World War 2. But perhaps, all their dexterous adventures show signs of a country suffering from bi-polar disorder.

The first instance of the Japanese being affected by this mental disorder was when they decided to bomb the Pearl Harbor. To date I have failed to comprehend why the fuck would they have ever wanted to carry out such a ludicrous act against a country that possessed atom bomb. If Coca Colas, New Coke were one of the biggest marketing failures, the Japanese Pearl Harbor excursion was the biggest idiotic act in war science. 

For all I know, Sun Tzu, the mysterious Chinese warrior-philosopher was a next door neighbor. I mean even though he was dead, his teachings were pretty much accessible. But I guess, perhaps it was the superiority complex/arrogance which led to the teachings of Sun Tzu being ignored atleast until Japan transformed itself from feudal to a corporate culture.

Okay what was done cannot be changed. Fortune does favor the brave and Japans economic might that resulted was truly amazing. But for your own prospects, you cannot be selfish. What followed was the advanced stage symptom of bi-polar disorder. As if taking on the might of United States and getting atom bombed in return wasn’t enough, Japan decided to take on the might of the Mother Nature. Its not like earthquakes are a brand new phenomenon and oblivious to the Japanese. It’s as old as time itself.

Building a nuclear plant is not an issue. But building a power plant when you lie on the Pacific Rim of Fire with 108 active volcanoes is kind of a stupid idea. There were 140,000 deaths in the 1923 Tokyo earthquake. How silly is it to imagine that 88 years later, if an earthquake is to strike, it would not shake the nuclear power plant and damage it exposing your own citizens to radioactivity and on a greater scale to the rest of the region.

I have always felt that arrogance knows no reasoning.