The Japanese Emperor just gave an address

[Hannah Bell]

the situation of the power plant is now in a critical condition.

we hope the workers are going to resolve.

many people suffering.

let's survive this disaster. i am deeply impressed/touched by the people trying to help -- self defense, fire dept, coast guard, local govt, int'l rescue teams, domestic rescue teams -- who have come to the disaster area, day & night they continue to work --

in addition, many international good wishes of hope and we saw their word of hoping for revival. so i want to pass on your words to the people in the disaster area.

let's hope we can overcome these circumstances from here

i know victims will have a hard time from now, let's try to support those people

to the victim: don't give up & take care of your health

people all over the world, please give the help & please look after in the long term to help the people

japanese tv, no link

[joshcryer]

1. +1, I saw the translation by YokosoNews

[Hannah Bell]

2. yeah, that's where i got it, but i came in on the middle so just typed and then

posted when it was finished.

[joshcryer]

7. You can tell he's so exhausted, he's saying he loves people all drunkeningly. :)

Poor guy, I hope he gets rest soon but he will probably have to deal until the reactor thing is over.

[jannyk]

3. Link to BBC - they are loading it in little bits

#
0739: "I pray for the safety of as many people as possible" - Emperor Akihito.

#
0741: The emperor expresses his condolences to disaster victims, appeals to people not to give up hope.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

[readmoreoften]

4. I'm confused about levels of radiation. CNN and AP were claiming that they were getting readings

of, first 400 millisievert, then 800-1000, but Katz was saying similar numbers in microsieverts, which really is not very elevated at all. The difference between a dental xray numbers and radiation poisoning numbers is enormous so I'm really curious to know accurate information.

[Hannah Bell]

9. i'm not completely clear myself. what i understood is that edano misspoke,

using milli rather than micro. maybe he said 10,000 milli/hr instead of 10,000 micro/hr, which would = what's being reported now -- 10 milli. at the gate/perimeter. which would be more than a chest xray/hour.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/16_26.html

at any rate, there was some kind of error in the reporting.


as for the earlier levels of 600 to 800 millisv, i'm seeing changes in that too:

Radiation levels being observed at the gate of the complex were now standing at between 0.6 to 0.8 millisieverts (mSv) per hour – a total still almost 2,000 times the usual annual dosage.

http://www.thejournal.ie/fukushima-staff-evacuated-after-major-radiation-surge-2011-03/

hopefully by tomorrow there will be a fully clarified statement.

[steve2470]

5. snippet from Reuters about the speech:

Japanese Emperor Akihito says problems at Japan's nuclear-power reactors are unpredictable and he is "deeply worried", in an extraordinarily rare appearance by the emperor and his first public comments since last week's earthquake.

by linda.noakes at 3:44 AM

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2

[steve2470]

6. comment from BBC on Emperor's speech:

0745: These are the first public comments from the emperor since Friday's earthquake and tsunami. It's very rare for him to make such appearances. He says he's "deeply worried" after an earthquake he describes as "unprecedented in scale".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

[rainbow4321]

8. I'll be the first to say that I know nothing about the Japan

political and/or emperor set up...maybe it's just me but his appearance and speech kinda come across as a "the (nuclear) shit is really, really, really going to hit the fan soon I'm making a statement now before you realize just how bad it's going to be...see ya!"

[Hannah Bell]

10. the emperor actually speaks a "dialect" that is reserved for emperors

in his public pronouncements (using special verb forms, honorifics,etc)

dialect's not the right word, it's really a "register," but for americans maybe dialect is more understandable

so i don't think you can read too much into what he's thinking from translation.

but i don't get anything like your reading from his speech.

i personally don't find anything so strange in the emperor making public speeches during a national crisis of this magnitude. not sure why bbc does.

in fact, per yokoso news, the emperor gives a message to the people regularly. and has been giving regular messages to the task force team.

the only unusual thing about this one was that it was live.

[JCMach1]

11. Has Akihito EVER done this before...?

I can't recall that he has...

[steve2470]

12. after the Kobe (my bad) earthquake, from what I know nt

[Hannah Bell]

13. i added something:

in fact, per yokoso news, the emperor gives a message to the people regularly. and has been giving regular messages to the task force team.

the only unusual thing about this one was that it was live.

yokoso news just answered this question -- is it really unprecedented? -- for a foreigner because they'd just seen the same thing on bbc & wanted to know if it was true.

[JCMach1]

25. Thanks for clarifying...

He's just doing his job I guess... :scared:

[Mimosa]

14. Link (on my reply) indicates the inside info is ominous.

Listen to the emperor and watch body language. This is not good news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

[Hannah Bell]

16. it's "ominous" for foreigners, maybe. not for japanese.

[steve2470]

15. I asked Katz on yokosonews.com about the Emperor's speech:

He did not seem to think it was a huge deal but important to the Japanese people.

[Hannah Bell]

17. thanks for doing that. it's crazy the way people take some small bit of info

& run wild about it.

americans thinking they are able to read the emperor's body language and tone of speech when the emperor is raised in a aristocratic hothouse and his body language reflects that special upbringing (as well as his japaneseness), speaks a unique & highly stylized, formal form of japanese -- it's just nuts.

[steve2470]

18. My pleasure.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I had totally forgotten Japan even HAD an emperor, so I wanted to ask the Japanese perspective.

[Hannah Bell]

19. :>)

[Mimosa]

20. Please. You can't know what I am or even my milieu or personal experience.

Do you just feel argumentative for some reason?

remind me to quit reccing almost all your topics.

Buh bye.

[Hannah Bell]

23. no, i'm not being argumentative, i'm just worried & tired of people taking

things and running with them.

someone just posted a list of numbered monitoring stations thinking they were gamma radiation readings.

i'm sorry if i offended you. it wasn't personal.

i'm a bit overwhelmed with what's happening, & i confess very irritated with people who seem to me to be hyping rumors & putting the worst spin on every bit of information.

which i have not seen you doing generally.

there were already a bunch of people who seemed to be assuming that because the emperor made a speech it meant it was his final word to the people before meltdown or something. your "ominous" hit me in the same light.

[steve2470]

21. Emperor's speech not live:

0855: Tomoko Hosaka of the Associated Press tweets: "The emperor's address wasn't live. He taped it earlier today, according to the Imperial Household
Agency. #tsunami"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

http://twitter.com/#!/TomokoHosaka

[Hannah Bell]

24. then it isn't even unique in that respect, if so. & not connected

to what's going on right now at the plant.

[steve2470]

22. more complete quote from BBC:

0917: Here's a much fuller quote from Emperor Akihito's address: "The number of people killed is increasing day by day and we do not know how many people have fallen victim. I pray for the safety of as many people as possible. People are being forced to evacuate in such severe conditions of bitter cold, with shortages of water and fuel. I cannot help praying that rescue work is done swiftly and people's lives get better, even a little... I sincerely hope that we can keep the situation from getting worse. I have received messages of condolence from heads of state of various countries with kind words that their hearts are with the victims. Allow me to convey the words to people in the afflicted areas."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

[malaise]

26. He had me in tears because

he rarely speaks in public.

[Hannah Bell]

28. ? check youtube.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

27. based on my chatting with friends over there...

...it was mainly a message of 'stay strong' and designed to comfort and try to keep hope alive

or at least that's my third-hand interpretation of it