The latest estimates of the death toll from Friday’s 9.0-magnitude quake is now 10,000. More than 180,000 people have fled from Koriyama, Fukushima, amid fears of a nuclear meltdown, and up to 160 people may have already been exposed to radiation. Power shortages have caused some train lines in Tokyo to suspend services. As financial markets open Monday, the economy may experience another sort of aftershock. The Bank of Japan is expected to pump 1 trillion yen (more than $12 billion) into the financial system to prevent an economic meltdown.
Almost three days have passed since the worst quake in Japanese history, but as details pour in, the situation seems to be getting worse, not better. With every update, the death toll rises exponentially, as police found more than 200 bodies in Miyagi. Countless more are left without food or water. As hours turn to days, the situation at Fukushima’s Daiichi nuclear plant gets more out of hand. For those affected by the quake, there seems to be no end in sight…
In Japan, the idea of a major earthquake was never a question of if, but when. The Japanese have learned never to take the ground for granted. Whenever I walked through bustling Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo, I thought of the oft-quoted statistic that the probability of a major earthquake hitting Tokyo within the next 50 years is 90 percent, and I considered what a tragedy such an event would be.
I am confident the Japanese will be able to pick themselves up and emerge strong after this disaster, just as they did after World War II. But in the meantime, a lot still has to be done on the ground, and it is a reassuring sign that the U.S. is sending plentiful assistance.
UPDATE, 11:05 a.m. Japan time: The Bank of Japan injected 7 trillion yen ($85.5 billion) into money markets today after the Nikkei plunged by 5 percent.
