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How do I convince my wife it safe 2011/8/26 16:17
Wife and I have been to Japan before at present I have a massive need to holiday in Japan once more but the little wife is worried about how safe it is.

So I need HELP to convince her all good


Thanks in advance Laurie
by diviva  

. 2011/8/26 19:55
I'd probably start by not referring to her in person as "the little wife" unless in the context of "does my bum look big in this?" ;)

Seriously though, show her the updated disaster info on the home page here, point out the exclusion zone at the Fukushima plant doesn't encompass most of Japan, and mention how danger could be around the corner wherever you are (without making her afraid to leave the house). Best of all, tap into the emotional attachment by reminding her how much you enjoyed Japan before and that your tourist dollars are needed. If I ever needed convincing, that would do it I reckon.

You could of course keep far away from Tohoku and Kanto if she'd feel safer in other areas. Take what you can get.
by Sal1980 rate this post as useful

... 2011/8/26 20:09
Tell her more than 120,000,000 people still live in Japanese islands and none of them has died of radioactivity so far.
by V (guest) rate this post as useful

Have a real vacation 2011/8/27 02:43
Ditch the wife and go by yourself. No nagging or whining about things.
by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

be positive 2011/8/27 04:28
I recently moved to Japan with my hubby who had to work there, and trust me I was paranoid to move there, but then I kept saying to myself that if something has to happen it will and vice versa, therefore have no fear in anything you do and trust in God. Peace
by Rose (guest) rate this post as useful

details 2011/8/29 01:10
diviva,

Where are you coming from, when do you wish to come, what part of Japan do you wish to stay at, what do you wish to do there and will you be with children or the pregnant?
by Uco (guest) rate this post as useful

Its fine 2011/8/29 01:58
Im in Shinjuku right now. Its perfectly safe, business as usual as far as Im concerned. Tell her not to worry!
by David (guest) rate this post as useful

Uco 2011/8/29 07:21
Im from Sydney Australia .I have traveled to Japan before both on business and holidayed with my my wife and daughter. Personalty Im 110% ok to travel anywhere the Japanese government has deemed ok.This is the first time my wife has refused to go anywhere and at present if i dont go to Japan for holiday I will just not go anywhere . As many that have traveled to Japan know the magnetic attraction to return is overwhelming.
by diviva rate this post as useful

? 2011/8/29 08:17
As a sydneysider myself, i am slightly embarressed about your original post. I'd have figured you'd have visited smart traveller, read further details on this website, or at the bare minimum looked at a map to show her the 'unsafe' areas. Having visited a month ago, I wholeheartedly agree with Sal and suggest if you are still cautious, travel to other regions within Japan.
by Esprit Ja Ja (guest) rate this post as useful

... 2011/8/29 08:35
Put the "danger" into perspective. Explain her that a plane ride from Australia to Japan and back will expose her to a similar dose of radiation (due to naturally heightened radiation in high layers of the atmosphere) as staying in Tokyo for about three months or eating one kilogram of the most heavily contaminated beef found on the market so far.
by Uji rate this post as useful

. 2011/8/29 18:50
diviva,

I think Esprit Ja Ja said it all. I don't mean you should be embarrassed, but I mean that the information is all out there and you need to tell us what wasn't so convincing for your wife so far. For example, Okinawa is as safe as Sydney in terms of air and food, because I'm sure you get imported food in Sydney as well.

At least it's not very wise to keep on telling someone that something is safe when that someone is saying it is dangerous. There are many debatable aspects at the moment. You need to say, "I can understand why you this is dangerous so we won't do this, but that is safe so let's do that."

I would be more than happy to post specific answers for questions that are more specific.

Hoping to help you.
by Uco (guest) rate this post as useful

Uco 2011/8/30 06:47
The Japanese Government have done little to promote travel to Japan since the problems over the last months. Travel agents in Aust are very vague as to information then again most travel agents are now nothing but ticket sellers and bad ones at that. Problems my wife has is #1 radiation #2 food safety from radiation #3 Possibility of earth quake!!!!!!!while on holidays . These are the main concerns she has .Funny enough she would be happy to go to Vietnam or Southern China.
"I have checked the Aust travel warnings not much better than travel agents knowledge "
by diviva rate this post as useful

. 2011/8/30 07:28
Don't know if you were listening to Dr Karl's segment on Triple J back in April or so, but:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/audio/2011/03/31/3178739.htm
They discussed nuclear energy a bit, and it was a well-needed segment amongst the sensationalised media here in Australia. Get your wife to listen to it.

I've actually avoided telling a couple of people I know that we're heading to Tokyo this week because they're picturing it as a volatile disaster zone where people and food are glowing..... Their refusal to contemplate that our commercial news networks are exaggerating frustrates me beyond belief. Every little earthquake is still reported here, which freaks people out as you know, but they're failing to mention the frequency of earthquakes in Japan. Your wife may have already been in some but not have noticed. We were in the 7.2 on March 9th, but didn't hear about it til we got home the next day.
by Sal1980 rate this post as useful

Hmm... 2011/8/30 10:18
It is odd to me that someone who has been to Japan before still doesnt appreciate the size and scale of the country. Radiation in particular will not be a problem, because obviously you are not planning a Fukushima trip.

As far as the contaminated food is concerned, just keep up on the news. People in Japan are also concerned, so they are seeking this information and getting it out into the open.

You can eliminate most concerns by going to regions far from the disaster area.
Have you fully explored the Chugoku region? Shikoku? Kyushu? These are all excellent places, especially for someone who has already visited Japan.

As far as earthquakes go, there are tiny quakes every day in Japan that nobody feels. The risk is just the same today as it was when you traveled to Japan the first time and no one truly knows when a big one will come next. Your neighbor New Zealand had a bad earthquake just before Japan. I bet she doesnt look at New Zealand as too unsafe. There is little reassurance to give to someone who is afraid of natural disasters, because every part of the world, including Australia, is at risk for some sort of natural disaster (earthquake, volcano, tornado, floods, etc). If she is too fearful, she will never get to go anywhere.
by Rabbityama (guest) rate this post as useful

quakes 2011/8/30 10:55
France has several hundred quakes a year. 99% are barely noticeable, every so often there is some material damages, every 30-50 years some deaths.
Italy has had quite a few earthquakes with loss of lives.
Yet huge numbers of tourists travel to France and Italy each year...
by Red frog (guest) rate this post as useful

She said YES :) 2011/8/31 17:17
Only problem is my dear wife doesn't wish to stay in Tokyo which was my plan :(
We now plan to be there around 15 October maybe around Koyoto hears hoping we will see a little autumn colour this tip.

Thank for you help :)
by diviva rate this post as useful

It's good she changed her mind 2011/9/1 03:56
Well, it's good she changed her mind. I'm also in Australia. I booked my trip for this September, prior to the March earthquake. About a month ago, a colleage of mine asked me if I was still going, to which I said yes. Another woman overheard me and had to comment, with this horrified look on her face; "you'll be glowing! You can't eat anything over there!" like I was going into certain death. When I informed her this was in fact not true and that the country is vast, and it's quite localized and things are getting better, she said 'tch'.

I think misinformation is rampant, as well as fear mongering and just misunderstanding about how radiation even works.

Tell your wife Casey Stoner whinged about going to race near Fukushima and they did (verified independant) tests on the track (which is closer than Tokyo is to Fukushima) and deemed it was negligible. He still won't go though. He rides for Honda, for God's sake. He should be showing solidarity. He's a douche. Tell her not to be a Casey Stoner. :)

I was thinking of cancelling my trip when it first happened, but I decided to wait and see. The way I see it, this is the best thing I can do for Japan-- my tourist dollars. Tourism is hurting badly over there. Whole cities were wiped out, the death toll is estimated at 18,000. If you think of that, then a miniscule amount of radiation, about the same as going to the dentist and getting xrayed, doesn't seem like much to me. The biggest risk is in the air-- think of pilots who get dosed with radiation in the upper atmosphere over and over again just doing their job. Get some Kelp or Potassium Iodide if she's really freaking out about it. If you put it into perspective, you'll probably get to go to Tokyo for a few days. Good luck.
by CountD rate this post as useful

rotted brains 2011/9/1 05:17
all the fearmongerers have more radiation brain damage from all the garbage tv news they've been watching than you'll get from coming to japan
by winterwolf (guest) rate this post as useful

CountD 2011/9/1 06:14
hope she doesn't read you post !
by diviva rate this post as useful

danger 2011/9/1 15:34
i work here in japan and when the tsunami/Fukushima disaster happened everyone urged us to come back. Anyway we are near osaka so I felt there was no need to worry. It was hard to convince my wife and it was harder to convince my parents who do not live in Japan. For people living outside it is very difficult to know the real situation here.

anyway Japan is safe, last month my boss went near to Fukishima and he is alright.

By the way the quakes like Sendai happens once in 300-400 years. Last time earth quake of this magnitude happened on 16th december 1707.

by Guest (guest) rate this post as useful

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