Kumamoto Earthquake: Japanese Netizens Send Thousand Paper Cranes, Koizumi Jinno Sends Useless Air Conditioners
Although rescue operations for the Kumamoto earthquake are still ongoing, it's hard to understand what some Japanese people are thinking.
For example, the classic gesture of sending thousand paper cranes for blessings to disaster-stricken areas. Recently, a trend has reappeared on Japanese social media: "Let’s do something for the victims of the Kumamoto earthquake—fold 10,000 paper cranes." This sparked widespread complaints from netizens: "Didn’t we already get criticized during the 3·11 earthquake and the Noto earthquake for sending paper cranes, which only added trouble to the disaster zones? How can people still want to send them?"
Some even joked, "If you insist on sending paper cranes, why not fold them from 10,000-yen bills? That would actually be useful."
Besides the paper crane controversy, Japan's Defense Minister Koizumi Jinno’s attempt at appearing down-to-earth also backfired.
On July 29, Koizumi announced via social media that he had ordered the Self-Defense Forces to deliver 300 air conditioners to the earthquake-hit areas to help victims cool off during the summer heat.
However, awkwardly, while the air conditioners arrived on time, the shelters in the disaster zone had no electricity. As a result, these units were left untouched in corners, completely useless—so much so that some Japanese media outlets jokingly dubbed them the “Jinno Air Conditioners,” sarcastically highlighting Koizumi’s inability to deliver practical results and his tendency to focus only on superficial appearances.
7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872406660424707/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the publisher.