The kamikaze spirit lives on

[Gob]

A group of more than 200 Japanese pensioners are volunteering to tackle the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power station.

The Skilled Veterans Corps, as they call themselves, is made up of retired engineers and other professionals, all over the age of 60.

They say they should be facing the dangers of radiation, not the young.

It was while watching the television news that Yasuteru Yamada decided it was time for his generation to stand up.

No longer could he be just an observer of the struggle to stabilise the Fukushima nuclear plant.

The retired engineer is reporting back for duty at the age of 72, and he is organising a team of pensioners to go with him.

For weeks now Mr Yamada has been getting back in touch with old friends, sending out e-mails and even messages on Twitter.

Volunteering to take the place of younger workers at the power station is not brave, Mr Yamada says, but logical.

Mr Yamada has been getting back in touch with old friends, sending out emails and even messages on Twitter Mr Yamada has been getting back in touch with old friends via e-mail and even messages on Twitter

"I am 72 and on average I probably have 13 to 15 years left to live," he says.

"Even if I were exposed to radiation, cancer could take 20 or 30 years or longer to develop. Therefore us older ones have less chance of getting cancer."

Mr Yamada is lobbying the government hard for his volunteers to be allowed into the power station. The government has expressed gratitude for the offer but is cautious.

Certainly a couple of MPs are supporting Mr Yamada.

"At this moment I can say that I am talking with many key government and Tepco people. But I am sorry I can't say any more at this moment. It is on the way but it is a very, very sensitive issue politically," he said.

Certainly it is likely more workers will be needed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13598607

[Long Run]

It is a noble thought, whether it is kamikaze, samurai or otherwise described. Beats certain a portion of elders demanding their Medicare keep going up 15% a year no matter how badly it squashes the next generations.

[oldr_n_wsr]

All I can do is Salute him.

[loCAtek]

BANZAI!!!

[The Hen]

Another reason to care for our elderly ...

[Guinevere]

It is a noble thought, whether it is kamikaze, samurai or otherwise described. Beats certain a portion of elders demanding their Medicare keep going up 15% a year no matter how badly it squashes the next generations.

Would you like to pay for the seniors medical costs out of your pocket? If I had to pay for my Mother's medical expenses (as it is, I subsidize a portion of her expenses anyway), every bit of my income would have to go towards those expenses. I wouldn't have a house, I wouldn't have a car, I never could have afforded law school, and I wouldn't be able to continue to support economic growth with my spending. What's your solution, Long Run, or do you prefer to just take pot-shots at senior citizens instead?

[Long Run]

What's your solution, Long Run, or do you prefer to just take pot-shots at senior citizens instead?

Well, I'm not really pro-NRA either. This story just seemed a juxtaposition to the other threads about the inability to do anything about Medicare because of the built in constituency that is unwilling to allow any change to their program. In 2010, the Rs effectively scared the heck out of senior citizens by noting that PPACA was going to end up reducing the amount of Medicare benefits. In the most recent election, the D's turned the tables in New York using the same strategy. So, two proposals which try to limit the unsustainable growing cost of Medicare are easily attacked by manipulating older voters who are scared of losing their benefits. Something has to be done because the current system is not sustainable -- the D plan is basically to do a better job at rationing care, and the R plan is to have less dollars chasing medical care in the hopes that this will reduce the growth in medical costs. I'm happy with one or both of those approaches since doing something to reduce the rate of growth makes more sense than doing nothing to try to control costs. Unfortunately, the easily manipulated senior vote makes it unlikely anything will happen, meaning these costs become a greater and greater burden to young people.