The German news folks have all hightailed it down south to Osaka and are reporting from there (or maybe they’re in Taiwan by now). The German embassy is soon to follow.

Their rescue teams have headed back to Germany after declaring that there is no one left in Japan to be rescued.

And now Geiger counters are selling out like hotcakes. Here in Germany, mind you.

Other than that though, the hysteria is being kept pretty much under control here. For the moment at least.

„Es gibt eine immense Absatzsteigerung. Wir haben in den vergangenen Tagen Hunderte Geräte verkauft.“

When in doubt, get hysterical. Germans are leaving Japan faster than you can say “the shinto has hit the fan.”

Is the situation in Japan a cause for concern? It most certainly is. But we are what we eat in the end, aren’t we? Maybe it’s just me, but if I watch an hour of BBC World coverage on the nuclear power plant situation in Japan, for instance, and then switch over to the German ARD coverage of it, I feel as if I’m now watching coverage from another planet.

BBC: The Japanese seem to be getting a grip on the situation.
ARD: Oh my God we’re all going to die!

And has anyone stopped to notice how stoic and remarkably calm the Japanese are in dealing with all of this?

No matter. Just keep eating whatever it is you eat and we’ll all see how the reporting looks next week. Not that anyone will notice or care or anything, but still.

Nur für die Mitarbeiter am Flughafen scheint die Welt nicht Kopf zu stehen. Sie betreuen lächelnd ihre Kunden, leihen spontan Stifte aus, halten hinter dem Schalter ein Schwätzchen.