Into the Indies 03.15.11: The Earthquake

Posted by Ryan Byers on 03.15.2011

We're keeping things serious this week, with some notes on the massive earthquake that rocked Japan a few days ago and information on what you can do to help.

I really don't feel like writing about Japanese professional wrestling today.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past several days, you know that northeastern Japan has been rocked by the fifth largest earthquake that has been recorded by the United States Geological survey since it started keeping records in 1900. It is the largest ever to hit Japan. This was followed by a tsunami of epic proportions and aftershocks of the quake which reached a magnitude of 6.0, which can be a damaging enough quakes in their own right. In recent days, there have been two reported explosions at nuclear power plants, though at least a complete meltdown of any of the reactors has been avoided to date. There are over two thousand confirmed dead, but that number is artificially low at this point because there are many lifeless bodies - both discovered and undiscovered - that have yet to be counted. Over three thousand people have been reported missing. Nearly 500,000 are estimated to have been displaced from their homes.

So, yeah, I don't know that I want to talk about the country's fake fighting right now.

If there is anything to say about professional wrestling in the wake of this tragedy, I guess it is that, fortunately, the industry does not seem to have suffered any losses of which we are aware yet. As far as the major companies are concerned, All Japan Pro Wrestling and Dragon Gate both released statements that all members of their rosters are safe. New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH haven't released similar statements to my knowledge, though they have been running shows after the earthquake featuring virtually all of their respective rosters, so presumably everything is fine. Word about those associated with smaller companies has been harder to come about, but Osaka Pro has been running shows (and collecting money for relief efforts from its audience) while joshi groups Ice Ribbon and SENDAI Girls have both blogged that all of their wrestlers are okay, which is particularly impressive in the latter case since Sendai is the major city that has taken the most damage.

Though it is great to see that so many associated with the pro wrestling business have pulled through this, there are many more people from many different walks of life who are not doing so well. Mothers, husbands, daughters, fathers, wives, sons, grandparents, co-workers . . . they're all being negatively affected here, with many of them paying the ultimate price.

If you have enough leisure time to be reading an article like this one on a professional wrestling website, chances are good that you also have enough financial resources that you can make a monetary contribution that could do some good.

Go to the Red Cross website. Now. Give what you can. It will help.

Also, though it may not meet immediate needs, I strongly suggest regular giving to the National Search Dog Foundation, which takes dogs out of animal shelters and trains them to provide vital rescue services in times of crisis. SDF-trained dogs from the United States are currently in northeastern Japan helping to find victims of the earthquake, and I know that they also played a great role in rescue efforts after the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

I will be back next week, hopefully with something a bit more positive. Until then, if you're around the Pacific Rim and reading this, you are most likely safe, and I am grateful for that. I wish the best of luck to you and your friends and family.