EDITORIAL: The battle being waged at the Fukushima nuclear power plant

Helicopters operated by members of the Self-Defense Forces dumped tons of water on the quake-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture on Thursday. Riot police of the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo and SDF personnel also deployed water cannon from the ground in an attempt to cool the No. 3 reactor.

The immediate area is seriously contaminated with leaked radioactive substances. The workers all wore protective gear and measured radiation exposure levels as they went about their tasks.

Footage of the operation, aired on television, was watched by many people with bated breath.

One week has passed since the mega-quake struck northeastern Japan.

Workers of Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, and its business partners and firefighters have been working day and night to fight a disaster that has no precedent.

Countless people perished in quake-triggered tsunami and some were injured in explosions at the plant. Many workers are also engaged in efforts to recover the ability to generate electricity at the plant.

We pray their efforts bear fruit quickly and that those brave souls who are literally staking their lives to fix the radiation leak are exposed to the minimum risk to their health.

In a catastrophic event such as this, who has to work in such a dangerous environment? Our society, which has avoided in-depth discussion on this issue, is now facing this grave question.

Japan is neither a dictatorship nor the militaristic state that it once was. Each and every life is precious and irreplaceable. No one can has the right to rank one person's life as more valuable than another's.

At the same time, the mission at hand is not work that anyone can do. It can only be handled by highly trained professionals--people whose job is to make and provide electric power and those who have specialized knowledge and technology; SDF personnel who have the required equipment and entered service taking the oath that they are prepared to take risks when necessary; and police officers, whose mission is also to maintain public safety.

Of course, for SDF personnel and police, it is work they never thought they would be required to do. However, since the crisis has escalated to this point, we have no choice but to believe in their sense of mission and ability and hope for the best.

This risky work will likely continue for many days to come. Difficult decisions will probably have to be made along the way.

Those who are in the position to make decisions and issue commands must do so on the basis of appropriate information. The same can be said of politicians who must take final responsibility.

They must gather much wisdom, take into account all sorts of factors, devise multiple backup measures and procure supplies before reaching their decisions.

If they make a misstep, get rattled or try to shift the blame on others, not only those doing the actual work but their families and also the public will not have any faith in their ability to resolve the crisis.

While showing gratitude from the bottom of our hearts to those who are at the frontline of this disaster, we must keep supporting their activities both spiritually and materially.

As ones who use electricity and have been enjoying life's comforts as a result, we wish to join hands in a spirit of solidarity.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 18