Poor Japan

        On March 11, 2011, a terrible 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Japan in the city of Natori. This devastating disaster triggered a tsunami thirty minuets after the earthquake struck. The tsunami washed away houses, many cars, buildings and many people. Watching the footage of this disaster made my stomach uneasy. What happened that Friday afternoon made me very sad. By Monday afternoon police teams reported that 1,800 people were confirmed dead and that 3,200 people were still missing. Police teams found 700 bodies washed up on the shores of a scenic peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture. "Worst crisis since World War II" were the words of Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Some 350,000 people are without homes and are staying in shelters with their families. On top of all the devastation that went on in Japan, the earthquake also caused a nuclear power plant to become unstable. They are saying that several nuclear plant workers have become ill from the radioactive exposer. Experts say that so far the radioactive exposer to the public is low. Lets hope that it stays low.

       Some people that want to spread a little cheer in Japan are the Manga Artists. They want a message of hope to come across in their drawings. Manga artist, Takehiko Inoue, has been posting Japanese people of all ages doing one thing...smiling...these drawings have been encouraging, heartwarming, and charming to look at. So far he has posted 38 drawings on Twitter and wants to continue them because they seem to be lighting up the mood in Japan. Another artist named Arina Tanemura, has also been drawing Manga characters. Not only are the people in her drawings smiling, they also have words of encouragement at the bottom of them. one example she wrote was, "hitori ja nai yo." which means "you are not alone." Below are some of the drawings that these people made.

                                          
    
 I hope that America continues to support Japan. Our natural instinct however, is to help and give aid to help those in need during times of  tragedy.  I absolutely  think we should send troops over to Japan to help look for survivors and bodies and also to provide humanitarian relief. 

Sources:
http://manga.about.com/b/2011/03/13/japan-earthquake-relief-manga-artists-share-hope-help.htm