Yellow Rain in Japan Pollen or Radiation? You Decide

It's been hard keep up on the most recent credible news from Japan as I am in a hotel in Ventura, California that has a dinosaur PC which cannot read Japanese as there are no Japanese fonts installed. At this very moment I am lucky and at a friend's house where they do have usable computers.

Now, I see that western news is, once again, cranking up the sensationalism again in claiming that yellow rain falling in Tokyo and other areas of Japan are proof of serious nuclear fallout just like Chernobyl.

The headlines read:

Chernobyl Yello Rain Lie Used in Japan (sic)

The ‘‘yellow rain’’ seen Wednesday in the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo was caused by pollen, not radioactive materials as many residents had worried, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday

The article then goes on to explain how the authorities in Russia used pollen as an excuse for yellow rain. I am not sure that the authorities did this in Russia as I didn't bother to check, nor can I speak Russian.

I don't know if what is written above is true. It is not linked to other articles and I do not speak Russian so this news is to be taken with a high degree of skepticism. I highly suspect that this is, once again, more unfounded sensationalism. I wrote about that in:

News for Intelligent People Criticize Japan Nuclear Sensationalist Reporting.

"...an important point that I have been talking about all along: Instead of taking reports and commentary by pundits as gospel truth, reports that use words like, "may," "might have," etc. etc... We should consider opinions of experts and not news pundits like that hysterical woman, Nancy Grace, who is only concerned with garnering high ratings. As responsible adults, we must only take into consideration news articles that are backed up by facts with links that can be verified by us, the reader." 

So, once again, let's deal just with facts:

The Japan Weather and Meteorological Association says that the yellow rain is pollen. The Japanese government says so too. Okay, let's throw out what the government says and, once again deal with facts:

Here is the news from Yahoo Japan: 

地面の黄色い塊はスギ花粉＝放射性物質疑う電話が殺到―天気相談所

時事通信 3月24日(木)11時25分配信

「黄色いものがたまっている」「放射性物質が降ったのでは」。気象庁の天気相談所に24日午前、関東地方周辺から、こうした問い合わせが1時間に100件を超えるほど相次いだ。
同庁などによると、関東地方は23日に多くのスギ花粉が舞い、同日夕から24日未明にかけて降った雨に混ざって降下。地面に黄色い塊を作ったとみられる。
天気相談所に、こういった内容の問い合わせが殺到するのは初めてといい、同庁は「スギ花粉なので安心してほしい」と呼び掛けている。

The Article states: 


"Is the yellow material in the rain, nuclear material? According to the Japan Weather and Meteorological Association, they have received a massive number of inquiries over the last 100 hours. According to the agency, in the Kanto area, the pollen level is 23 times higher than usual and it mixed with the rainfall of March 24. This rain is expected to cover areas it lands on with yellow dust.  The weather bureau, told callers to,  "Rest assured that this yellow material is pollen." 

Okay, but we still might not want to believe the weather bureau. How about past history and yellow rains events over these last 60 years in Japan (since they started keeping records)?


If you are a serious allergy sufferer in Japan, like my 42-year-old wife is, and many people surrounding me, you'd know that every year between the end of March and beginning of May, that the pollen reaches extrodinary levels in Japan. Funny that how it happens in the spring.


Yellow rain and yellow dust are common and a cruel fact of life to hay-fever suffers in Japan. It is a fact that  rain that is full of yellow powder falls between the end of March through May is common sense for allergy sufferers in Japan. It is also a fact:


To prove it to you, I did a quick Google Japan search and found this article from a allergy clinic's webpage asking, "What is that yellow powder covering my car?" 

車に付いた黄色い粉の正体は？（写真）

2006/05/23 0:40 | 印刷

[その他の樹木] [飛散・開花状況と分析]

車体やフロントガラスについている細かい粉は花粉です。
何の花粉でしょう？
答え＝全体の2/3はマツ（松）の花粉です。
残りはその他の花粉とゴミ。

http://www.matsuaz.com/minocl/2006/05/23/1148312445638.html


Article says: 


"That powder covering your car and windows is flower pollen.
What kind of flower pollen is it?
Answer: It is 2/3 pine tree pollen.
The other 1/3 is other plant pollen and dust." 


Allergy sufferers in Tokyo know this as a fact of life. The above article was from 2006 which was a particularly nasty year for pollen. Last year, 2009, the pollen released wasn't so bad. This year, though, the pollen is up at ten times the normal levels.


So when you see that yellow rain or yellow dust, you tell me; do you think it is radiation or dust? 

My wife's nose says it's pollen... There are over 10 million hay fever sufferers in Japan who will tell you the same thing... Why? They go through this every year.