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From Our Own Correspondent

Remembering Fukushima

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.41.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ten years ago a magnitude 9 earthquake struck off the north east coast of Honshu, triggering a devastating tsunami which left 20,000 dead and more than half a million without homes. It also triggered a meltdown at the nuclear plant in Fukushima. There were fears the contamination would spread just as it did with Chernobyl. Rupert Wingfield Hayes revisited the nuclear zone. The mass kidnappings of children in Nigeria have made repeated headlines recently. In the past three months alone there have been four such abductions. This dramatic escalation has led many to conclude that kidnapping children has become a business in Nigeria. Mayeni Jones looks at whether the media is part of the problem. A fresh wave of sex scandals in France is forcing the country to confront widespread sexual abuse and, in particular, incest. There is now a push to reform laws surrounding rape and child abuse and, for the first time in France, to set a legal age of consent. Joanna Robertson reflects on the culture that has tolerated a long-standing problem. We’re in Pakistan where one young man has used the time spent in lockdown there to perfect his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. He has now taken to the streets in his coat tails and bowler hat – to the alarm and entertainment of those on the streets of Peshawar. Rani Singh watched him. Malta has a rich history spanning thousands of years and influenced by a range of cultures. One of the official languages on the island, Malti, has its roots in Arabic, and, over time fused with the Sicilian dialect of Italian. Juliet Rix reports how the language reflects the history of the island, from the early Arab occupiers to European monarchs.

Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts

0:05.4

Today, yet again, pictures on TV and the internet of another abduction of schoolchildren

0:11.1

in Nigeria and our correspondent reflects on suggestions that media coverage is playing

0:17.2

apart in the grim business.

0:19.9

In France, the curtain lifts on a culture of secrecy with the publication of a book about

0:25.6

child sex abuse, with politics, academia and the Me Too movement getting involved.

0:31.6

A new site on the streets of Pashawa in Pakistan, a Charlie Chaplin impersonator, and all

0:38.6

thanks to a pandemic lockdown.

0:41.6

And the island of Malta has seen Arab rulers, European monarchs and seafaring warrior

0:46.9

monks all influencing the curious language of Malti.

0:52.5

Just to Japan, and ten years ago saw the transfixing site of a massive tsunami bearing

0:58.8

down on the North East coast of Honshu and the nuclear plant at Fukushima, caused by

1:05.3

a magnitude 9 earthquake, 20,000 people died and over half a million were made homeless.

1:11.9

The strongest in Japan's history, laying waste to towns and villages, it memorably damaged

1:17.9

the nuclear plant in Fukushima, resulting in a meltdown in three of the reactors.

1:23.8

And there were fears the contamination would spread.

1:26.8

Rupert Wingfield Hayes has been back to the damaged region.

1:31.0

There are moments in history that people will tell you are forever seared into their memory.

1:35.9

For some, it's the plains hitting the Twin Towers in New York.

1:39.7

For my mother, it was the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

1:42.8

For me, it was sitting at my desk in Jerusalem ten years ago.

1:47.4

Watching those live pictures of the giant tsunami crashing onto the North East coast of Japan.

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