NEW YORK--A mayor whose online plea spotlighted the plight of his city's residents in the early days of Japan's nuclear crisis and a doctor who worked through the March 11 disaster were among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
NEW YORK--A mayor whose online plea spotlighted the plight of his city's residents in the early days of Japan's nuclear crisis and a doctor who worked through the March 11 disaster were among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
The special issue, released April 21, named Katsunobu Sakurai, 55, mayor of Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, and Takeshi Kanno, 31, a doctor in Minami-Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, for "The 2011 Time 100."
In late March, Sakurai posted an 11-minute video on YouTube, explaining how his city was suffering from a lack of information and a dearth of supplies after the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
"We are not getting enough information from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co.," Sakurai said in the video. "Convenience stores and supermarkets where people buy everyday goods are closed. Citizens are almost being driven into starvation."
A large part of his city is within a 30-kilometer radius of the crippled plant, meaning that many residents were advised either to evacuate or stay indoors.
Sakurai's video, which was followed by a version with English subtitles, was credited with providing the world with a firsthand account of the ordeal of citizens in Fukushima Prefecture as the nuclear crisis unfolded.
"His plea resonated across the world, leading many to ask how a country so celebrated for efficiency had failed its most vulnerable citizens," a Time reporter wrote.
In a statement on April 22, Sakurai said, "I only reported the city's situation and the voices of citizens (through YouTube), and I think it is Minami-Soma citizens who should be selected."
Kanno, meanwhile, evacuated patients at his Shizugawa hospital to the highest floor to escape the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and continued to treat them during the disaster.