Fukushima: Helping Genpatsu-kun to Retain His Unchi…

Here is an educational video for children designed to explain in simple terms what the problem is with the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

The nuclear power station becomes an anime character called “Genpatsu-kun” (nuclear-boy) who is having trouble keeping his “unchi” in. Unchi is an informal Japanese word for poo. The standard form is “unko.”

The prominent role that “unchi” plays in children’s education and play is one of the notable features of Japanese popular discourse that strikes the Anglo-Saxon in Japan. By the age of five or six most kids have mastered the art of drawing great piles of poo, often residing on a selected victim’s head.

Kids (and some adults too) will head towards the bathroom proclaiming, “Unchi ge desou,” or “Poo seems about to come out,” i.e., “Seems like I need a crap.”

So here it is, Genpatsu-kun with an “unchi ga desou” problem, complete with English subtitles: