Tears of Japanese firefighters

The devotion and sacrifice of Japan`s men in uniform, including firefighters and soldiers of Japan’s Self-Defense Force, have attracted global attention in the wake of the country’s massive earthquake. The Tokyo Fire Department and the Self-Defense Force conducted an operation to inject seawater into water tanks containing wasted nuclear fuel to cool off reactors at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Japanese people have conveyed in unison a message of gratitude for the spirit of sacrifice of these people, who risked exposure to deadly radiation in a desperate bid to prevent a bigger national disaster.

Three senior officials of the fire department who participated in the operation to cool Reactor 3 at the plant held a news conference late Saturday night. One official said, “It was a difficult and dangerous mission since it was a fight against an invisible enemy. Since we have fulfilled our mission to a certain extent as the people expected, we are satisfied.” Upon hearing that the radiation level declined to nearly zero after seawater was sprayed, they said they thought water was accurately injected into the water tank and breathed a sigh of relief.

They also admitted to suffering agony stemming from their deployment to a dangerous mission that could have taken their own lives. On what was the most difficult in the mission, fire official Toyohiko Tomioka said, “It was the team members. Our members were very highly spirited and all worked very hard,” then went silent for a while. He added, “I feel very sorry for our family members. I`d like to convey words of apology and appreciation,” bursting into tears. Before being deployed to the mission, they sent mobile phone text messages to their wives to inform them about their participation, receiving replies like, “I’ll trust you and wait,” or “Please become Japan’s savior.” NHK TV suspended live broadcast of the news conference but rebroadcast it again about 90 minutes later to deliver the touching answers by the heroes to viewers.

People in uniform are especially important in any country facing a crisis. Their roles are no less important given South Korea’s situation of facing a clear and present danger from North Korea. The soldiers, policemen and firefighters of South Korea are just as committed and ready to sacrifice their lives as their Japanese counterparts are if and when the nation faces a crisis. Certain people might be corrupt and negligent and should be ousted, but the South Korean public, government and media should extend support to those in uniform working behind the scenes so that they can work for the nation with pride.

Editorial Writer Kwon Sun-hwal (shkwon@donga.com)