'Usually I spend New Year's Eve eating New Year's soba and go with my whole family to listen to the watch-night bell. But this year, I will spend Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 working. I will see the first sunrise of the year looking out over the sea driving along the highway toward the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. I will lean toward the sea and put my hands together in prayer for the 10 classmates I lost to the tsunami. This will have to serve as my hatsumode." (Fukushima worker's diary, Dec. 31, 2011, Tokyo Shimbun.)
As 2012 approached, people across the country counted in the new year, while crowds flocked to do hatsumode — the first temple visit of the year — just after midnight. Having overcome the tragedy of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the country is now suffering from a sort of recovery fever. This fever threatens to blind us to the situation of workers at Fukushima No. 1, who this year were unable to enjoy New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.
On Dec. 16, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made his own "mission accomplished" statement, saying the "power plant accident has been brought under control." But we need to recognize that far from being "under control," the coming months and years will be crucial in terms of protecting the lives and safety of workers at Fukushima No. 1.