U.S. ambassador positive on Japan's future after quake disaster

[AsahinaKimi]

John V. Roos, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, is interviewed by Mr. Toshifumi Kawano, Editorial Director of the Mainichi Shimbun, at the Ambassador's residence in Tokyo, on May 31, 2011. (Mainichi)

The Mainichi recently had an exclusive interview with U.S. Ambassador John V. Roos and asked him about his thoughts on Japan's relief efforts following the deadly March 11 earthquake and tsunami and consequent nuclear crisis, and the response by the U.S. government to the disaster. The transcript of the interview follows.

Mr. Toshifumi Kawano (Editorial Director): On March 11th, what was your first reaction to the earthquake? When did you call President Barack Obama, and what was his first reaction?

AR: My first response to the earthquake was to ensure that all of the people that worked at the Embassy, and then the American citizens in Japan, were safe and accounted for. And as you know, tragically, we lost two Americans in the tragedy. But we only got that information later. After I coordinated with our team here, I immediately called Washington, DC in order to alert the President, the Secretary of State, and others in Washington, DC. And from there on in, the government moved with full force, not only to help the Americans here in Japan, but obviously to do everything we possibly could to help our Japanese friends in their time of need. The President was first informed of it virtually immediately -- I believe it was 4 a.m. in the middle of the night, Washington DC time -- and he made it absolutely clear that the United States Government was to do everything we possibly could to help the Japanese during this crisis.

K: So, what were you doing at the time the earthquake happened? Were you in the office?

AR: I was in a meeting on the 9th floor of the Embassy. Immediately after the earthquake, we evacuated the building. And then, out in the Embassy parking lot, I made two telephone calls very quickly: the first one was to Washington, DC to alert the President and others; and the second was to General Field, who was the head of U.S. Forces, Japan, so that we could begin coordinating on the response to the crisis.

more...http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110607p2a00m0na001000c.html

[Art_from_Ark]

1. If he was on the 9th floor of the embassy building when the Big One struck

then he would have gotten quite a shaking, even in Tokyo. I've heard from people who were on the 4th, 6th, and 10th floors of their respective buildings in Tokyo that lots of office equipment such as file cabinets, computers, bookcases, etc., were toppled over. So I'm not surprised that they evacuated the Embassy.

[robinlynne]

2. mulls? what is there to mull?