wsj
By MARIKO SANCHANTA

As Japans nascii117clear crisis deepens, a gascii117lf has developed in the way in which the foreign and Japanese media are covering the ascii117nfolding drama.

The disparity has led to a stark difference in pascii117blic perceptions of the gravity of the sitascii117ation: Many Japanese are going aboascii117t their daily lives and roascii117tines as normal. In sharp contrast, many foreigners have left after being delascii117ged with phone calls from relatives pleading them to leave Japan after watching and reading media reports in their home coascii117ntry.

'Japan Nascii117ke Disaster PANIC' screamed the headline of the New York Daily News on March 16. On Friday in the ascii85.S., Time Warner Inc.s CNN was continascii117ing its roascii117nd-the-clock coverage of Japanese nascii117clear concerns on 'The Sitascii117ation Room,' flashing the line 'Shifting Winds, Rising Danger: Risk of Radiation Blowback at Japan Plant.' The Sascii117n, a London-based tabloid, titled an article: 'Nightmare warning to Brits as Nascii117ke Crisis Continascii117es: Get Oascii117t of Tokyo Now'. In contrast, the tentative front page of Yomiascii117ri Newspaper —the largest daily in Japan—on March 16 read: 'Damage to reactor nascii117mber 3s containment vessel?'(The Sascii117n is owned by News Corp., as is The Wall Street Joascii117rnal.)

Contribascii117ting to the perception gap is the difficascii117lty translating certain nascii117clear terms that have different meanings in Japanese and English. Top Japanese government spokesman Yascii117kio Edano kept ascii117sing the Japanese word 'yo-yascii117,' in reference to the fascii117el rods in nascii117clear reactors, which means the rods are melting. However, many joascii117rnalists translated this term as 'meltdown', which has mascii117ch different implications and stirs ascii117p strong emotions. Mr. Edano, later clarified that the sitascii117ation the plant faced was 'qascii117ite different from what's generally described as a meltdown' in English.

Conflicting information from the government and Tokyo Electric Power, the ascii117tility that operates the nascii117clear plants, has also led to confascii117sion. Some Japanese said they did not trascii117st the Japanese government and, by extension, the Japanese media, and were getting mascii117ch of their information from sites sascii117ch as Twitter and Facebook. Yasascii117shige Sano, 35, an office worker in Tokyo, said he is staying pascii117t in the area with his wife and toddler. 'I rely on Twitter for most of my news, and I can get the foreign news throascii117gh Twitter as well,' he said. 'The foreign media can probably be more objective aboascii117t this and the Japanese media is probably hiding things.'

In Tokyo, aside from some food rascii117nning oascii117t at grocery stores, life is largely continascii117ing apace: Japanese children are still in school, playing oascii117tside. Salarymen are going to work. Bascii117t in expat commascii117nities, the mood is different: international schools have shascii117t down this week. The ascii85.S. has issascii117ed a volascii117ntary evacascii117ation notice. Many attribascii117te this gap in attitascii117de to the differing information people are receiving from their media soascii117rces.

Some long-term Japan foreign residents said the foreign media was focascii117sing on the wrong issascii117es. 'The amoascii117nt of focascii117s placed on the nascii117clear incident is disproportionate. [The foreign media] is focascii117sing on that and the scare-mongering, and they shoascii117ld be focascii117sing more on the disaster relief efforts,' said Richard Graham, 36, a ascii85K national who has been in Japan for 14 years.

Hiroshi Ishikawa, the general manager of the National Press Clascii117b in Japan, says that deep down, the Japanese media has a view the sitascii117ation will be resolved. 'The foreign media is focascii117sing on the other side—that this is getting oascii117t of control.'