‘In Japan, a Portrait of Mistrust’

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/opinion/in-japan-a-portrait-of-mistrust.html

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Two years after a huge earthquake, giant tsunami and nuclear meltdown ravaged parts of Japan, life has only seemingly returned to normal. Authorities say that outside the evacuation zone in Fukushima, there is at most a very low amount of radioactive contamination — that everything is safe. But after the tragedy, many citizens ask themselves if they can believe the government.

On a recent trip to Japan, spending two months visiting my girlfriend’s family, I was struck by a pervasive sense of fear and suspicion over food safety. We decided to drive up to Fukushima and speak with residents and farmers. This Op-Doc video emerged from these conversations — becoming a portrait of people’s feelings of mistrust. I wonder, what will be the long-term effects of this disaster — not just on people’s health but also on the Japanese psyche?

<NYT_AUTHOR_ID> <p>Itai Keshet is a Tel Aviv-born filmmaker and video journalist based in Berlin.