I'm on high alert to stories about Fukushima, Japan since I traveled there a little over a year ago to speak with residents about how their lives had changed since the disasters of 2011. This one from the NY Times recently struck a chord because it echoes what we were told by a doctor working on the ground in one of the affected towns of Fukushima Prefecture. She said people's physical and mental health were damaged more by fear and avoidance of potential radiation exposure than by the exposure itself. It's hard to say what the data about cancer rates will reveal in this region as the years go on. But for the time being, this argument is interesting food for thought.
Photo: Daisuke Tomite/ Associated Press, via NY Times