Dear friends around the world,
Situation in the greater Tokyo area including IPMU has come back more or less to normal since March 11, after the earthquake, tsunamis, and the nuclear accident. IPMU area has suffered little from the earthquake and tsunamis directly, but had inconveniences due to the rolling blackout and the short supplies. Now the rolling blackout is officially over and the supplies are mostly back to normal.
There is still a widespread concern about the radioactivity due to the leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Although the comfort zone obviously varies from one person to another, it is important for you to know the objective facts. The environmental radioactivity levels in various parts of Japan are posted by the MEXT in English, Chinese, and Korean. The reports from the Japanese government had been validated by IAEA and other international bodies. I myself would not worry about any levels below one microsievert per hour, especially that the levels have been constantly going down.
Most of our members who had traveled outside Japan watching the development have now come back and work normally at IPMU.
The US State Department has lifted the travel warning to Japan. They now list Japan under the "travel alert" where they state clearly the regions outside the 50 miles radius around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant "do not pose significant risks." There is also a webpage from the World Health Organization that put together FAQs about the potential health risks. Having said this, we should all be aware that the devastated areas have to go through a long reconstruction effort. I've been extremely grateful for and impressed by the international support for the disaster relief. I'd appreciate your continued support. The Japanese Red Cross now accepts donation via PayPal in addition to Bank Transfers.
Best Regards,
Hitoshi