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NEWS > HEALTH > JAPANESE SENIORS FORCED TO BECOME NUCLEAR KAMIKAZES AT CRIPPLED PLANT
JAPANESE SENIORS FORCED TO BECOME NUCLEAR KAMIKAZES AT CRIPPLED PLANT
June 4 2011
Okuma, Japan – In Japan, the idea of dying for a cause has long been embedded in the national consciousness. From the days of the Daimyo and Shoguns to the modern events of World War II, dying for the nation, for the leadership, or simply to 
preserve family honour has been a major part of the Japanese identity. No other nation on the planet has given such respect to the notion of death, never mind celebrated it when done correctly.
Of course death is not the reason for such a celebration, it is the dedication to the larger community, to the family, something which has become quite a valuable tool since the massive earthquake and tsunami which ravaged the country earlier this year. Whether it was with emergency rescue, financial aid, or simply sympathy, the entire nation came together to help the stricken northern region with hardly a word of complaint, something few other nations would likely be able to do. For many the tragedy which struck the country was a tragedy for the whole nation, and they thought nothing of leaping to the aid of their countrymen and women. Now that dedication to their neighbours has reached a whole new level as elderly Japanese flock to the damaged nuclear facility in the north to help quell the disaster in one final tribute to their community.
“We have to work instead of them. Elders have less sensitivity to radiation. Therefore, we have to work. There is no thought of not doing this thing, this is our duty and our honour, this is what we do for the community and for the people of Japan,” said one volunteer. “We do not like these terms ‘suicide corps’ or ‘kamikaze’. We do this 
humbly, we walk into these reactors because it what must be done not because it is something for which we are seeking glory. When we were younger, we never thought of death. But death becomes familiar as we get older. We have a feeling that death is waiting for us. This doesn't mean I want to die. But we become less afraid of death, as we get older.”
Approximately 250 of the 1000 workers in the region are over the age of sixty.
“The truth is that cellular reconstitution happens at a far slower pace as we get older which gives older people a higher level of resistance to radiation poisoning which makes them better equipped for such an operation, though they are not immune by any stretch,” said Scrape TV Medical analyst Dr. Phillip Waites. “Any kind of increased resistance is also demurred by the other problems related to older workers, namely exhaustion. The harder they work the less capable their immune system becomes and they will become even more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of the working conditions. In this case it probably means that many of them won’t be coming back.”
The workers are at the facility on a strictly volunteer basis, though it would be considered a great shame on their families if they did not go.
“Luckily Japan has a great number of seniors, a disproportionate number realistically, and so the overall impact on the country as a whole will likely still be a net benefit. They can help with the nuclear crisis and if they pass on, well then no one needs to take care of them. They will have proven themselves useful in their old age,” continued Waites. “This is the final tribute they can make to their people, and in many ways it is also a tribute to them. By wading into these irradiated waters, capping these nuclear leaks they are making the future safe for the people of Japan. Their own lives are more than a welcome price to pay.”
Thus far, no volunteers have succumbed to radiation sickness but they will come.
Lauren Hebert, Health Correspondent
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