MESSAGE FROM JAPAN
18 April 2011
April 11, 2011
Dear Friends,
One month has passed since the massive Tohoku earthquake on March 11 and the resultant radiation leakage from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. We are deeply grateful for the many messages of concern and support we have received. The Siglo staff, our colleagues, and our offices escaped serious damage and we have returned to regular business.
The full extent of the damage from the earthquake and tsunami is still unclear, while 160,000 people have no prospect of returning to their homes, and the number of dead and missing is climbing towards 30,000 people. Further, the radiation leakage at the Fukushima power plant remains in a state of crisis. The radiation figures being released daily are far more dangerous than the optimistic views of the Japanese government; casualties from the accident could well reach or surpass the level of Chernobyl. In particular, the release of radiation into the ocean is much more than a domestic Japanese problem; what it really means is that pollution will now spread on a global scale. I feel a sense of responsibility for not being able to stop the Japanese government and the power company from this kind of response. I offer my sincere apology.
Writing these words may give the impression that we in Japan, myself included, have become quite pessimistic. However, we live with many dangers and risks on a daily basis. Radiation leakage alone will not determine the direction of our lives. One month after the earthquake, I feel there is an emerging hope for change in Japan today. The earthquake has made it clear that we must change in very fundamental ways. Hope and despair, like we've never experienced before, lie before us. Which one we seize will depend on each of us.
As was the case with the Hanshin earthquake, when we face change on a scale that surpasses human understanding, an extraordinary energy emerges in society. I think it will begin with the youth of Japan, but I believe there is a possibility of the rebirth of a vigorous society. It may well take some time, but we are definitely not feeling pessimistic. As people are gradually liberated from immediate concerns for the water and food necessary to keep going,the time when the entertainment of culture and sports is needed will come again.
Siglo is determined to continue as it we have always, producing films that demand human dignity and that stand on the side of people with small voices, who have been ignored and alienated by society.
Thank you for reading this long message.We look forward to continue working together in the future.
With best regards from Tokyo, where this spring too, the cherry trees are in full bloom,
Yamagami Tetsujiro
Siglo