This article was taken from the July 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Kazuto Tatsuta wanted to help Japan recover in the wake of the 2011 tsunami, so he got a job in construction at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. And as an aspiring comic book writer and artist, he decided to create a Manga based on his experience there. "It's completely different to what people think," says Tatsuta, 49. "It's not terrifying or dangerous. It's just a normal workplace with normal workers -- a lot of them are middle-aged men just like me."
With 1F: The Labor Diary Of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, Tatsuta (a pseudonym) says he can engage the section of the Japanese population who read Mangas and not much else. It's a realistic portrayal, without a plot or political messages -- he just tells it like it is. "Yes, it was a pain putting all the protective gear on and a bit nerve-racking going into areas with higher radiation levels, but the job is being done. I wanted to show what the media doesn't report, like the workers' expressions and how they lounge around in the resting area."
The only time the mild-mannered Tatsuta raises his voice is when he talks about the scaremongering reporting of Fukushima in the Japanese press. "There are so many lies out there it's ridiculous.
People in Fukushima are just getting on with their lives," he says. "All I can do is to write what I know, and I hope people outside Japan can rein in the Japanese media and help us convey the truth."
1F: The Labor Diary Of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant is on sale in Japan now, published by Kodansha
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
