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Editor’s note: The above title and the following was translated from the April 6th issue of Newsweek Japan. Real Estate Japan has translated this article in the hope that anyone who is deterred from coming to Japan based on information obtained from the global mainstream media will think again.

At times of crisis and natural disasters humans’ characters and strength are often put to the test. How do we act when the usual becomes unusual and our lives are turned upside-down in a single instant? Do we stay calm to the best we can, helping those around us, or – do we succumb to the panic, lose our credentials and start thinking of no one but ourselves?

Those questions do not apply only to individuals – they are, and should be, also addressed to the mass media. Media is continuously tested at times of difficulties – when broadcasting from the battlefields or from sites hit by natural disasters: is media able to remain unconditionally, unemotionally and professionally calm and present the events accurately?

Up until very recently Japan had always looked up with respect to foreign media. We have always worshiped Western media as an ideal, the best of the best of journalism, and have always, almost without exception, relied on their authority.

However, the Great Tohoku Earthquake of March 11 destroyed this myth into millions of pieces that will never be glued together again.

In the aftermath of this unprecedented devastating natural disaster that destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives, houses, buildings, memories, and even hope, a rather large number of foreign journalists failed at their profession. It was exactly those who were in the position of reporting the news who got overwhelmed by them. As a result, they failed to remain calm and abandoned their professional duties.

At the time the earthquake hit Japan on March 11, foreign media rushed in reporting from the devastated areas, focusing on the grave tragedy that struck Japan that day. However, the moment the explosion at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant hit news channels, foreign media changed their broadcasting fundamentally. Fukushima had suddenly become the next Chernobyl. Yes, the fear of the invisible and the unknown is understandable. However, the way many foreign journalists behaved after the explosions was impossible to comprehend.

The Stars We Lost

Deserting under enemy fire – that is the military term. Fleeing is what we would call it casually. Regardless of the word, that is what characterized foreign media’s actions after the Fukushima explosion. In fear of radiation, a great number of Tokyo-stationed foreign correspondents fled not only away from Fukushima, but even from Tokyo.

Let’s talk about a rather familiar case: one of the best, globally known and accredited journalists (working for one of America’s top financial newspapers). He was responsible for reporting US Military Disaster Relief operations in Northeast Japan together with a journalist of Newsweek Japan, when he disappeared. He was gone without a trace.

This journalist was usually relaxed and levelheaded. On the first day of the interview with the US military, he was focused on updating the world via his smart phone.

But on the next day he turned into a different man. It was the day when reports on the Fukushima explosion worsened. He began packing his luggage immediately and left the station in panic. In a trembling voice he shouted at us, “I just want to leave as soon as possible! That is all I want.” All efforts to reason with him were to no avail. Even the fact that US military troops’ radiation level checks showed no dangerous levels wasn’t enough to convince him to stay and continue reporting.

Perhaps he thought there was nothing left to report. Or perhaps he was in a rush to write another story and had to be somewhere else. Even if it sounds unlikely, perhaps he had other reasons to leave. However, what is certain is that he wanted to leave Northeast Japan right away in fear of radiation (ironically, he was exposed to the same level, or perhaps even greater, radiation during his flight to Osaka).

He was not the only one. There were many other Tokyo-stationed foreign correspondents who fled to Kansai or even out of Japan in fear of radiation. It may be that they had a personal reason to justify their actions, but acknowledging that Japanese media reports were non-stop in the field, reporting day and night, the foreign press corps actions are rather difficult to justify. What they did is nothing more – nothing less – than an abandonment of professional duties.

Exceptionally hysteric was the US media. While it is rather common for them to add extra tension in world news reporting, the broadcasting manner this time was extraordinarily provocative. CNN’s Anderson Cooper learned about the second explosion at Fukushima’s power plant during a live report. The following are the series of questions that Cooper bombarded a nuclear specialist at the studio:

“How far is Fukushima from here?” “What direction is the wind blowing to?”

When he was told that he is broadcasting from a station, a 100 km away from Fukushima, Cooper shouted out in panic that it is probably better to leave immediately. Whatever his reasons for adding tension to his report were, it is clear that he failed to remain self-assured and report in a balanced way that his profession requires him to. As a result, the only thing he managed to do successfully was to maximize viewers’ fears.

The Reality of Irresponsible Reporting

The Foreign media’s irresponsible reporting after the earthquake influences Japan no less than it influences viewers abroad. Watching reports such as Coopers’ put many into grave fear to the point that a number of embassies began evacuating its citizens out of Japan one after another.

There were cases when reporting was not only over exaggerated and imbalanced, but also stereotypical. When the initial 800 workers at the Fukushima plant were decreased to 50, European and US media labeled them as the “Fukushima 50,” “Nuclear ninjas,” or “Nuclear Samurai.” The popular German newspaper Die Welt went as far as to refer to the helicopters working at the Fukushima plant as “kamikaze.”

At a glance such type of reporting may seem harmless, but is such by no means.

“It is not only stereotypical, but Fukushima-focused reports only also take away people’s attention from those that it should be addressed to – the earthquake and tsunami victims,” spoke Steve Garnett, a journalism professor at Northwest University in the US. In fact, that has already happened. Sensational scenes from the earthquake and tsunami, added to the non-stop reporting about radiation from Fukushima, leaves little space for reporting the real situation for the thousands of victims in Northeastern Japan. People are still looking for their families and medical help is still limited for many, especially the elderly. But such type of stories rarely make it to the news.

Needless to say, there are, of course, exceptions. New York Times, for example, increased the number of its reporters who continue to send balanced reports from the field. Many journalists volunteered to travel to Japan individually as well.

However, it can not be denied that the rumors foreign media spread through their sensational and unprofessional reports harmed Japan in many ways. Fear of coming to Japan has been observed on a number of occasions – trading ships going to Yokohama drastically decreased, and specialists who have the potential to help the devastated areas were prevented from reaching the areas for various reasons too. This is all a result from the man-made disaster that was created by the media.

Japan is struggling to survive and overcome the hardships and challenges facing the country after this major disaster. The Japanese media is still here covering the story the way it should be. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the foreign press.

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