Saturday, May 7, 2011

Japanese superheroics in the tsunami zone

We all know there's no Superman who comes swooping down out the sky in times of natural disaster, putting out fires and blowing away raging waters with his mighty breath, then staunching the leak of deadly radiation and generally restoring things to normal-- including our sense of safety and security-- for us. No, human beings have to do that for themselves. And adults have to do these things for the small ones, the children.

Sometimes they do this by dressing like superheroes. This past week was Golden Week in Japan, and in the Tohoku region it was probably none too golden. And while the photo accompanying this story in the Japan Times seems to show kids more entranced by the commonplace news photographer taking care of business rather than the gaudily-clad "Sea Jetter Kaito" (who looks as though his batteries have run down), the carp flags do fly there. And heroism can consist of simply dressing up in a silly costume and making kids laugh again.

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