radiation problem still exist?

Hi All,

I am planning to go to Japan, and wondering if the radiation problem still exist?
I have not heard any more update about this problem in the news. Last time I heard that this radiation leak to the sea could take years/decades.

is there any contamination on the food in japan?

Yes, the problem is still there. But it is of little concern to short term visitors. By far the biggest dose of radiation you will get on the flight to Japan. Here are some basics:
http://www.japan-guide.com/news/0018.html

Last time I heard that this radiation leak to the sea could take years/decades.

A lot of radiation escaped during the first few days and weeks. Recently, the amount of escaping radiation is much lower. It is still very high in the immediate surroundings of the plants, but it decreases quickly with distance. There are hopes that the leaks can be fixed with a few months.

is there any contamination on the food in japan?

Yes, there are a few cases of slightly contaminated food. But of no concern to short term visitors, because even if you eat contaminated food (which is already very unlikely because contaminated food is kept from distribution), you would have to eat it regularly for a long time period in order for it to show any effects on your health.

If you are concerned about your health, you should be much more concerned about fat, salt and sugar levels than radiation levels. They pose a much bigger threat.

Don't worry about the radiation. The media tends to make things sound a lot worse than they really are. For some reason they like to scare people. It gives them a power trip.

Big Johnson

Hay Siung Lie,

Here in Japan, radiation is daily news. Just to add, for more information you can refer to the Ministries' websites like this one.
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/

Similarly, all prefectures' websites have uploaded information like this and you can usually find it by clicking the icon saying something about the Great Earthquake.

You can also refer to English versions of Japanese newpapers like these. Big papers are less scary, by the way :)
http://www.asahi.com/english/
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/

It will take time to settle the technicial problems at the Fukushima plant, and radiation won't disappear overnight anyway, so yes, the problem still exists. The good thing is that it is fairly organized.

Last time I heard that this radiation leak to the sea could take years/decades.

I think what you may have heard is that the seafood contamination is "yet to come." Because larger fish swimming in further areas feed on the smaller fish originally swimming near the plants, and while crops and cattle on land is easy to organize, fish swim around freely. Researchers, private and public, are working on this issue at this very minute.

Either way, seafood is being monitored and tested as well. And basically, no food in the eastern/southern half of Japan as well as the northern tip has proved to be contaminated over standards.

If you are coming with infants or the pregnant to the so-called "hot spots", you may want to be extra careful, but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. But keep yourself updated.

Here's another website I just learned from the news.
http://safecast.org/ja