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After the megaquake on March 11, the radiation fears, the electricity shortage, and the abbreviated train schedules, Tokyo was pretty empty. People were going out only if it was essential, so actually, the trains were empty and you could get a seat. The broadband rollout was in the 1990s, and from 2005, people were encouraged to telecommute at least some of the time, so about 20% may have been able to work from home.
Then there was the matter of jishuku,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/wo...a/28tokyo.html
which, actually, I think is somewhat exaggerated in the article; other factors like the loss of generating capacity were more important, I think.
One month passed, and on Saturday, all that pent up demand took off. Costco was worse than I had ever seen it. There were no shopping carts to be had. You had to run around the parking lot looking for one. Once you got inside, gridlock, but except for a very few items, everything was fully stocked.
The mall was also packed like I had never seen it, worse than holiday shopping. Restaurants were full, everyone eating and drinking normally. You wouldn't know that anything had happened.
Now, however, for the last week, we have had quakes all over the Kanto Plain on which sits Tokyo. Clearly stress has been transferred here since there were no quakes around here in the 3 weeks after the megaquake, but in the last week, there were a few per day, and yesterday there were many more, at depths of 60 to 80 km.
For example
http://tenki.jp/earthquake/detail-4603.html
I am afraid there is now increased risk of one or more substantial quakes in the vicinity of Tokyo and Tokyo Bay. That would compound the problems immeasurably.
Sendai and Fukushima and the whole Tohoku coast continue to have aftershocks daily. There have been more than 1,000 in the last month.
http://www.newscientist.com/embedded/japan-quake
Then there was the matter of jishuku,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/wo...a/28tokyo.html
which, actually, I think is somewhat exaggerated in the article; other factors like the loss of generating capacity were more important, I think.
One month passed, and on Saturday, all that pent up demand took off. Costco was worse than I had ever seen it. There were no shopping carts to be had. You had to run around the parking lot looking for one. Once you got inside, gridlock, but except for a very few items, everything was fully stocked.
The mall was also packed like I had never seen it, worse than holiday shopping. Restaurants were full, everyone eating and drinking normally. You wouldn't know that anything had happened.
Now, however, for the last week, we have had quakes all over the Kanto Plain on which sits Tokyo. Clearly stress has been transferred here since there were no quakes around here in the 3 weeks after the megaquake, but in the last week, there were a few per day, and yesterday there were many more, at depths of 60 to 80 km.
For example
http://tenki.jp/earthquake/detail-4603.html
I am afraid there is now increased risk of one or more substantial quakes in the vicinity of Tokyo and Tokyo Bay. That would compound the problems immeasurably.
Sendai and Fukushima and the whole Tohoku coast continue to have aftershocks daily. There have been more than 1,000 in the last month.
http://www.newscientist.com/embedded/japan-quake
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