‘The Days’ is an 8-episode Japanese mini series available on Netflix that depicts the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that occurred in 2011. The show focuses on the events in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami over a 7-day period, showing the perspectives of government officials, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) employees, and workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
1. What Causes the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster?
The show begins on March 11, 2011, which starts out as a normal work day at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Suddenly, a massive 9.1 magnitude earthquake strikes offshore, causing intense shaking and damage to the infrastructure.
Plant manager Masao Yoshida acts quickly to shut down the reactors. However, the earthquake cuts off the electrical power grid and backup generators kick in to cool the reactors.
2. What Happened to Backup Generators?
Just as they regain control, an enormous 40-foot tsunami hits the plant, flooding the facility and disabling the backup generators.
With all power gone, the reactors start to dangerously overheat with no way to cool them down. Shift supervisor Shinji Maejima and his team are trapped in the dark control room with no communication to the outside world. They have no monitoring capabilities to see the dire situation unfolding in the reactors.
A group of workers volunteer to go check the damage, knowing they will be exposed to high radiation. They discover steaming leaks, rising temperatures and pressure buildups indicating meltdowns in progress.
As the situation worsens, Prime Minister Azuma (Fumiyo Kohinata) and his administration downplay the risk to avoid mass panic while struggling to make critical decisions with TEPCO executives like Furyua (Kaoru Kobayashi).
3. Who Opened Valves to Pump Seawater and Cool Down Plant?
Plant manager Yoshida leads intense efforts to open valves, pump seawater, and take any measure to prevent total meltdown. TEPCO employee Kaneshiro (Yutaka Takenouchi) puts his life at risk going into the radioactive plant to manually open valves. However, the government provides little guidance for the rapidly escalating disaster, while TEPCO executives downplay the severity.
Over the next 6 days, increasingly heroic efforts are taken by the workers to cool the reactors, release radioactive gas venting, and prevent explosions. More workers willingly put themselves at risk of lethal doses of radiation to turn valves, connect hoses, monitor readings, and keep the reactors flooded.
Throughout the immense obstacles, Yoshida remains a steady leader focused on saving his workers and stabilizing the plant.
4. What’s the Situation at Day 7?
By Day 7, the immediate risk of nuclear meltdown has been averted, however high radiation levels remain.
An exclusion zone is declared around the plant and residents within 12 miles are evacuated. Yoshida continues pumping seawater to cool the reactors over the next several months.
5. What Happens to Koki Kirihara?
Koki Kirihara is a young employee working at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant when the earthquake and tsunami hit in March 2011. After the tsunami hits, Koki and another employee, Takahira, get trapped in the basement levels of Unit 4.
In episode 8, the office phone rings through to Koki’s mother, Kirihara, and informs her that her son Koki’s body has been found dead. This confirms that the young plant worker Koki did not survive the events of the tsunami and its aftermath.
While Koki and Takahira were trapped, the media wrongfully speculated that they had abandoned their duties. This resulted in online harassment of their names, despite the fact that they had heroically lost their lives carrying out their responsibilities.
6. What Happen at the End of ‘The Days’?
TEPCO finally declares the plant in cold shutdown status in December 2011. In the aftermath, an investigation ensues over the handling of the disaster, and criticism is directed at the government and TEPCO management.
However, Yoshida and the frontline workers are praised for their heroic efforts preventing a catastrophic total meltdown. The story concludes that the workers were forced to make grave sacrifices, including the ultimate sacrifice of their lives from radiation exposure, in order to save Japan from nuclear fallout disaster.
The ending scene shows Yoshida looking at the damaged reactors still requiring cooling years later, indicating the ongoing consequences of the disaster. The final shot pans out over the Fukushima coastline and disaster zone, driving home the severe damage inflicted, as the emotional musical score plays.
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The Days series has been compared to HBO’s acclaimed drama “Chernobyl”, though reviews indicate it is not quite as strong narratively or artistically. It takes a solemn, realistic look at the human toll of the disaster. The ending focuses on the aftermath and Yoshida’s eventual fate.
