Elderly Japanese volunteers want to work at radiation-contaminated nuclear plant so younger people don't have to

[Jenna]

They look like the planning committee for a neighborhood senior breakfast, not the leaders of a 250-member team attempting to defuse one of the worst nuclear meltdowns in history.
But that's exactly what 72-year-old Yasuteru Yamada hopes his seniors group, the Skilled Veterans Corps, will do: help end the crisis at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The group, consisting only of retirees age 60 and up, says it is uniquely poised to work at the radiation-contaminated plant, as the cells of an older person's body divide more slowly than a younger individual.

More here: Japanese seniors volunteer for Fukushima 'suicide corps' - CNN.com

[Motorwaycop]

Now that is the definition of "public spirited"

[lewisipso]

Um. Wow.

[Jks9199]

It's a very Japanese response. They have a very homogenous society, and very much as a culture will place the needs and good of the society before those of the individual.

That said -- it still takes some impressive guts.

[IMGreat101]

That said -- it still takes some impressive guts.

And considering that most of this group witnessed WWII