Japan: Grace in the Ruins

Re TIME's cover package on Japan [March 28]: As a young Air Force officer stationed at Misawa Air Base, I went through Japan's 8.2 magnitude quake of 1968. Our base was badly damaged, and we went days without power or heat or water. Our military discipline and personal resolve saw us through our crisis. Also inspiring were our Japanese neighbors in Misawa City and northern Honshu. First they endured, and then they recovered. I have no doubt that Japan will be rebuilt in far less time than we can imagine now. Because in Japan, it's not about "me" but about "us."
Paul S. Kendall, ARLINGTON, TEXAS, U.S.

The comments in your cover story about the resolve and fortitude of the Japanese people are right on the mark. We take pride in working hard and as a team, no matter how difficult a situation we are put in. It will take years for northern Japan to rebuild from this disaster. The earthquake and tsunami may have taken away our shelter, clothes and food, but one thing they can never take away is our samurai spirit.
Gaku Imamura, CHIBA, JAPAN

The deep sorrow of those who lost not only family members but every piece of property is unimaginable. There are also many refugees who were not directly affected by the earthquake and tsunami but were forced to evacuate because of the damaged nuclear plant. We need to urgently carry out rescue and restoration. Japan has historically overcome many natural and man-made disasters, and now must show it has enough strength to do so in the face of unprecedented catastrophe. I believe we can do it.
Katz Tomono, TOKYO

The title on your cover, "Japan's Meltdown," is inaccurate, insensitive and appalling. It belittles Japan's all-out, around-the-clock efforts to avoid meltdown, fuels fear outside Japan and pumps paranoia into people inside Japan. The exaggerated title does disservice to your own reporters, whose coverage was levelheaded among mostly panicky stories coming from the foreign media.
Yoko Sawatari, KAMAKURA, JAPAN

Although TIME's cover title was shocking, all the stories described the situation in northeastern Japan accurately. The disaster has been described as unthinkable and beyond the scope of design. That may be true, and we understand it would be too costly to prepare 10-m-high seawalls along the entire coastline. We can rebuild houses and towns even if an earthquake and tsunami devastate them. But we cannot rebuild on land contaminated by radiation. This is the lesson learned and to be shared in the world.
Tatsuya Kawahara, KYOTO, JAPAN

It is difficult to understand how Michael Grunwald, in his fairly balanced discussion in "The Real Cost of Nuclear Power," can include these sentences together: "The industry's defenders may ignore Fukushima Daiichi, but the industry will not. It's serious about public safety ..." and "... in 2003 industry lobbyists beat back an [NRC] recommendation for new [rules] designed to prevent the hydrogen explosions that are now all over the news."
Laurence E. Thomson, RICHMOND, VT., U.S.

No doubt the events in Japan are serious, but as with the Three Mile Island accident, the media are pitching sensationalism rather than facts. Despite the catastrophic severity of simultaneous natural events, the Fukushima reactors' safety systems and containment structures performed as they were designed to perform. I worked in reactor safety and design at a Department of Energy national laboratory for many years. I am certain that nuclear fission is the only energy source we have (or will have for quite some time) that is capable of ending our dependence on foreign oil. I hope my grandchildren will see it in their lifetimes.
Tony Valente, WILLOWBROOK, ILL., U.S.

Despite emotions and a few high-profile accidents, nuclear power has a relatively good production and safety record to build upon. Society should learn and prudently act on accidents and not run from intelligent use of technology.
Edwin Swanson, SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ., U.S.

What's Next in the Mideast
Re Joe Klein's "Washington's Policy Sandstorm" column on Libya and Egypt [March 28]: The billion-dollar question is whether the change people are fighting for will eventually give way to religious fundamentalism. It is one thing to overthrow dictators. It is another to make sure democracy is installed.
Charles Puthota, SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., U.S.