Japan Crisis: Translation of Siaran Pers PPI Jepang, Indonesian Student Association Statement to Press

This is a raw translation of Siaran Pers PPI Jepang only shared for informative purposes, because I saw that there was still no English translation available. Hopefully it can help to reduce the anxiety and fear of anyone in need. No copyright infringement intended. Lets help and pray for Japan.

Statement of The Indonesian Student Association in Japan (PPI Japan) about Unprofessional National Media Coverage Related to Japan Disaster, March 2011

Regarding the 9 Richter earthquake in the Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, followed by the tsunami and nuclear radiation threat, we the Indonesian students in Japan deeply regret the news on several national medias that are considered non-professional broadcast information. We found these news as wrong and inconsistent to the facts in Japan, resulting to excessive anxiety for people and families in our homeland.

Therefore, on behalf of all Indonesian students in Japan, the Central Board of PPI (Indonesian Student Association) Japan submits the following statements, including a warning toward the press and information about the state of Indonesian citizen in general.

Warning for the press

Considering:

1. that we found a lot of news on the national media that are excessive and disturbing. The news are generally wrong in expressing and understanding data context, giving misinterpretation to Indonesian people.

2. some examples that we consider to be fatal among the spread news are titled:

- "881 Indonesians in Japan Survive, 30,636 Still Unknown" on March 15th and,

- "Japan Tries to Turn Back On Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Electricity" on March 17th.

Both news were published by one of the national news portals.

- the first news, though later revised, is considered wrong in understanding the demographic context of the existing distribution of Indonesian citizens in Japan. Since, except for the four prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima, Aomori, the condition of citizens in other locations did not experience significant disruption. The number of 30,636 people is a wrong context.

- The second news is considered as not following journalistic rules by giving the impression that blackouts are experienced all over Japan, whereas they are not.

3. news like the above mentioned cause excessive anxiety, particularly in the homeland. One result is that the Crisis Center of The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo receives many confirmation requests related to these reports, whereas the Embassy in Tokyo has already provided information on their official website.

Request:

4. to the national media to be more professional in referring to the Journalistic Codes of Conduct (Kode Etik Jurnalistik, KEJ) and Journalism Acts. Among them are broadcasting informative, balanced news from credible sources.

General conditions of Indonesian citizens in Japan

5. PPI Japan urges that all information regarding the condition of citizens in Japan can be referenced through one single source, that is the Crisis Center of The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo. Please, refer to the KBRI official website, Twitter @ KBRITokyo and Facebook KBRI Tokyo.

6. earthquake, tsunami, and the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion only have direct effect on the prefectures in the northern part of Honshu Island, such as Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima, Aomori. While the general conditions in other areas, including Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, where most Indonesians reside are reported safe and without casualties.

7. The Indonesian Embassy has managed to evacuate and repatriate more than 100 Indonesian citizens from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture to Indonesia. And until recently, the Embassy is evacuating other citizens from cities in the north, such as Iwate, Fukushima, Kesennuma, and so forth. More can be accessed on the KBRI Tokyo Official Website.

8. regarding the threat of nuclear radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, based on meeting results between KBRI Tokyo with Indonesian nuclear experts in Japan on March 16th 2011, it was stated that the threat of nuclear radiation is still within the scope of the city of Fukushima (0-50km radius from the NPP), so there is no serious threat to the cities in outer radius of 50km. However, it was reported that the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo continues to perform evacuation of citizens residing in a radius of 0-100km to Tokyo. Keep in mind that KBRI Tokyo is located within 250km from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Learn more on the KBRI Tokyo Official Website.

We convey the statement of attitude in good faith towards positive change. May this be a warning to members of the press in Indonesia to be more careful in publishing their news.

Tokyo, March 17th, 2011

Chairman of PPI Japan
Faisal Fithra Hastiadi
fithra.faisal@ppijepang.org
HP: +81 9064762891