The True Story of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Netflix has added a new series, The Days, to its vast collection of choices. The series, released on June 1, recounts the true story of the nuclear disaster that happened in Fukushima, Japan in 2011. The drama provides a detailed account of what happened leading up to the nuclear event and how a task force worked tirelessly to prevent a catastrophic incident that would have been as devastating as the 1989 Chernobyl nuclear accident that destroyed the former USSR.
The True Story of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Explained
The Days gives a thorough and detailed account of what happened in Fukushima, but it is not a documentary. The series is a dramatized version of events based on The Yoshida Testimony, TEPCO’s Fukushima Nuclear Accident Analysis Report, and a book containing stories and testimonials of people directly involved and influenced by the events in Fukushima.
The story of The Days begins on March 11, 2011, with the largest earthquake in Japanese history, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale. This undersea earthquake shook the Tōhoku region of Japan and lasted six minutes, causing a tsunami as high as 133 ft (40 meters) that destroyed the backup generators at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and took out their cooling systems. This led to the fuel meltdown that threatened a nuclear explosion. Without a power supply or a method to monitor what was happening inside the reactor units, the situation became far more dangerous.
The response team under Masao Yoshida, who headed the Fukushima Daiichi’s emergency response center, leaped into action to solve the numerous problems that plagued them. Explosions occurred in the process, hindering their work, and as radiation levels continued to rise, the area became ever more dangerous to work in. Despite it all, they were able to prevent a total nuclear explosion that would have devastated the Japanese economy. By pumping salt water into the units, they could cool down the reactors enough to lower the pressure accumulating inside. However, the aftermath of the event is ongoing today, and the cleanup of the Fukushima power plant is expected to continue over the next thirty years as experts figure out how to dispose of the radioactive material.
The Days honors the real story and pays tribute to those who risked their lives and safety to prevent a cataclysmic event. The series takes on the feat of finding a lesson and a meaning within such a tragic and terrifying event but does so with the respect it deserves. It also offers a beacon of hope as it ends with United States allies coming to the aid of Japan to tackle this situation and provide resources to help solve the problem.
The Netflix series, while still maintaining its creative liberties to dramatize events and create a story that would captivate an audience, gave significant consideration to the actual events and the real people affected by this tragedy. Chief Director Yoshida from the series is based on the real-life hero Masao Yoshida who came forward with his personal account of everything that happened and his version of events. The series provided real footage from the crisis and offered a hopeful message of how this emergency ultimately brought people together in a time of need.
While Japan still feels the aftermath of this event, The Days provides a unique and quality insight into what happened. And in shedding light on this incident, we can hopefully learn from our mistakes and find a way to move forward into a better future.
A new series called The Days has entered the vast sea of choices currently on Netflix. It was released on June 1 and tells the true story of a nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011. The provocative and insightful drama details what happened leading up to the nuclear event and how a determined task force worked tirelessly in their race against the clock to prevent an even more disastrous incident that would have been on the same scale as the 1989 Chernobyl nuclear accident which devastated the former USSR.
The Days gives a thorough and detailed account of what happened in Fukushima, Japanbut make no mistake; this isn’t a documentary. It is indeed a dramatized version of the events, based on The Yoshida Testimony, TEPCO’s Fukushima Nuclear Accident Analysis Report, and a book containing stories and testimonials of people directly involved and influenced by the events in Fukushima. Let’s take a look then at the true story that inspired The Days and see how the series compares.
What Really Happened in Fukushima?
It all began on March 11, 2011, with the largest earthquake in Japanese history (and the 4th largest documented earthquake at a scale of 9.0). This undersea earthquake shook the Tōhoku region of Japan and lasted six minutes. The earthquake became known as the “Great East Japan Earthquake” and triggered a tsunami reaching heights as great as 133 ft (40 meters). The earthquake damaged the backup generators at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and the following tsunami took out their cooling systems, which led to the fuel meltdown that threatened a nuclear explosion.
Without a power supply or a method to monitor what was happening inside the reactor units, the situation became far more treacherous. With such a hazardous threat looming, the Fukushima Daiichi’s emergency response center, headed by Masao Yoshida, leaped into action to solve the numerous problems that plagued them.
Explosions occurred in the process, hindering their work, and as radiation levels continued to rise, the area became ever more dangerous to work in. Despite it all, they were able to prevent a total nuclear explosion which would have devastated the Japanese economy. By pumping salt water into the units, they could cool down the reactors enough to lower the pressure accumulating inside.
However, the aftermath of the event is ongoing today, and the cleanup of the Fukushima power plant is expected to continue over the next thirty years as experts figure out how to dispose of the radioactive material. A 20-kilometer evacuation zone was implemented in the surrounding area, and over 228,000 people were permanently displaced as a result. Casualties from the sequence of disasters that occurred were nearly 20,000 deaths, over 6,000 injured, and over 2,500 missing.
How Does the Netflix Series Compare?
Now that we know a little bit more about what really happened in Fukushima, we can start to look at how the show compares to the real-life events. It is safe to say that this series, while still maintaining its creative liberties to dramatize events and create a story that would captivate an audience, gave significant consideration to the actual events and the real people affected by this tragedy. The Days honors the real story and pays tribute to those who risked their lives and safety to prevent a cataclysmic event.
Chief Director Yoshida from the series is based on the real-life hero Masao Yoshida who came forward with his personal account of everything that happened and his version of events. He explains why he made certain decisions and how he forged ahead in unchartered territory. The series takes on the feat of finding a lesson and a meaning within such a tragic and terrifying event but does so with the respect it deserves. It also offers a beacon of hope as it ends with United States allies coming to the aid of Japan to tackle this situation and provide resources to help solve the problem.
Although the Netflix series as a drama may be subject to criticism for various creative faults people may perceive, the series certainly did justice to the true events of the Fukushima nuclear accident. The finale wraps up the show by paying tribute to the people whose stories it centered around. The series also provided real footage from the crisis and offered a hopeful message of how this emergency ultimately brought people together in a time of need.
While Japan still feels the aftermath of this event, much of the world may forget without reminders, such as The Days. Especially since the staff and response team assembled prevented yet another Chernobyl. Many viewers likely know very little about the event that The Days provides a unique and quality insight into. And in shedding light on this incident, we can hopefully learn from our mistakes and find a way to move forward into a better future.
