Wall Street Journal | March 22, 2011 | Yoree Koh
Masayoshi Son is not a member of the fearless Tokyo Fire Department’s Hyper Rescue Squad that departed Monday for the troubled northern pocket of Japan. But the famously energetic chief executive and founder of Softbank is on a rescue mission of his own of sorts to the strained region.
“I am a coward. I am worried about the Fukushima nuclear-power plant. That is why I have left Tokyo and am heading for Fukushima,” wrote the effervescent head of Japan’s third-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, blasting on Twitter the news of his voyage Tuesday.
He went on to say that he will meet with the governor of Fukushima prefecture, and that he wants to see evacuees staying at refugee centers near the nuclear-power plant quickly moved to a safer place. A Softbank spokesman said Mr. Son wanted to visit to show his and the company’s support for the affected region. The spokesman believes it’s a one-day visit.
Mr. Son’s penchant for Twitter is about as well known as his predilection for Apple products and his admiration for their creator, Steve Jobs. He has recently flexed that Twitter muscle, avidly posting updates about relief efforts since the disasters struck 11 days ago. He has picked some posts detailing grassroots volunteer efforts out from obscurity by retweeting them to his more than 933,000 followers and attaching his signature “Subarashi!” note in front, which means wonderful or splendid in Japanese.
Relief efforts have been sluggish in reaching some of the worst-hit areas, and the tattered infrastructure has left many of the half-million refugees with little food, water or medical supplies. Hundreds huddle together in poorly heated, cavernous high school gymnasiums converted into makeshift evacuation centers waiting for relief.
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