Re: [tlug] Wifi hotspot access in Tokyo

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Jim Breen writes:

 > One I only encountered recently was the special nature of the
 > Japanese soil that makes it dangerous to bury power cables.

Ay-yai-yai-yai!  I'm really glad that special nature also makes
nuclear power plants safer, too!  Just imagine 3/11 with non-Japanese
soil!

 > It was one of the reasons given why they had to have overhead
 > cables, despite plenty of non-Japanese examples of u/g cables being
 > safer during earthquakes.

 > [Our 別荘 has underground power, mainly because of fire risk.]

Bingo: and not just non-Japanese.  Above-ground power cables were
responsible for 500 or more deaths in the Great Kobe Earthquake
according to some (muck-raking, unofficial, distributed with Akahata[1])
estimates.  *Some* deaths is certain, as it is known that when the
power was turned back on, scores of gas fires (not to mention a few
gas explosions) occurred where live cables passed through gas pockets.

Of course not all fires were caused by downed electrical cables, not
even close to a majority.  Still, any avoidable fire in a disaster
area should be avoided, no?


Footnotes: 
[1]  The newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party.