On March 11, 2011, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever
recorded occurred off the northeast coast of Japan. It destroyed buildings,
damaged infrastructure, and killed people in the Tohoku region. The associated
tsunami was even more destructive, engulfing coastal areas and obliterating
whole towns. The earthquake and the tsunami together occasioned a third
disaster: the meltdown at the Fukushima
nuclear power plant.
Like most people, Dr. Makoto Sato was horrified by the
destruction and suffering that he saw. He wanted to help and felt that he
should, but doing something appropriate and effective was not easy. He is a
general internist and bioethicist at a university medical center in Hokkaido, the large
island north of Tohoku.
What should Dr. Sato have done then? What should he do now?
On March 11, 2011, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever
recorded occurred off the northeast coast of Japan. It destroyed buildings,
damaged infrastructure, and killed people in the Tohoku region. The associated
tsunami was even more destructive, engulfing coastal areas and obliterating
whole towns. The earthquake and the tsunami together occasioned a third
disaster: the meltdown at the Fukushima
nuclear power plant.
Like most people, Dr. Makoto Sato was horrified by the
destruction and suffering that he saw. He wanted to help and felt that he
should, but doing something appropriate and effective was not easy. He is a
general internist and bioethicist at a university medical center in Hokkaido, the large
island north of Tohoku.
What should Dr. Sato have done then? What should he do now?