Manga tackles aftermath of meltdown

Japanese farmers in Fukushima try to convince skeptical visitors that their crops are safe from radiation. Blood trickles from the nose of a reporter who visits the area.

These are just two of the tales from the aftermath of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years— as told by manga, Japan’s ubiquitous comics for adults and teens, which have taken up Fukushima on an unprecedented scale even as Japanese film largely avoids the topic.

Ichi Efu, which centers on workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, has sold 170,000 copies in book form in nearly two months, rare for a debut manga. Another

manga set off a furor that sparked angry responses from the government, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

As Fukushima fades from the public spotlight, publishers say they hope manga will spark debate about uncomfortable topics, such as the health impact of the accident, which released radiation over a wide swathe of northeastern Japan.

In contrast to the more than 30

manga published since the disaster, there has been only one massmarket film to date on Fukushima — Homeland, released in March. Its director was careful to emphasize the human story over any political statements during publicity tours.

The nuclear disaster, set off by a tsunami that tore through the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and touched off meltdowns, remains a sensitive subject in Japan.

“Movies take a lot of money and backers tend to flinch away from this topic ... Manga are a lot more independent and can go where even news programs might hesitate,” says Kenichiro Shinohara, an editor at the popular “Morning”

manga weekly where Ichi Efu is also published.

There are several hundred manga published in Japan each year, ranging from cute to violent and pornographic, in magazine and book form.

Fukushima manga run the gamut from Sobamon, which promotes the safety of Fukushima produce, to the overtly anti-nuclear Fighting

the Nuclear Demon. At least one is set in the future.

Though manga began trickling out shortly after the disaster took place, it wasn’t until April that most of the nation became aware of them, thanks to a food manga called Oishinbo (The Gourmet) and a Fukushima food safety series.

In it, several characters suffered nosebleeds they blamed on radiation exposure — a situation that medical experts say is highly unlikely but something they have not ruled out. The manga also said the Fukushima area would be unlivable for years.

This unleashed a flood of angry comments from Fukushima residents to Abe and other cabinet ministers, who called for people to use “correct” information, in turn setting off discussions about free speech and government cover-ups.

“Of course manga are written so they’re easy to understand in one glance, which does make it possible for things to be taken wrong and rumors to be born,” says Kazuma Yoshimura, head of the Manga Research Center at Kyoto’s Seika University.

The editor of the manga apologized for some word choices but remained unrepentant about running it, citing fading interest in Fukushima and the need for more discussion about the issue.

REUTERS A Japanese mangaIchiEfu (second from right), which centers on workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, is seen in a bookstore in Tokyo.