In a nation where polite public discourse is the norm, the dialogue quickly turned hostile

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-radiation-children-20110529,0,6286849.story

Parent anger plays role in Japan's reversal of raised radiation limits at schools

Japan's Education Ministry has pulled an about-face, returning exposure limits for schoolchildren 1 millisievert a year. Officials will also pay for removing surface soil from affected schoolyards.

By John M. Glionna and Kenji Hall, Los Angeles Times

May 29, 2011

Reporting from Tokyo— The parents were furious: Why, they demanded, had Japanese officials raised the acceptable level of radiation exposure for schoolchildren near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant? snip

At a government-convened meeting here this month, parents demanded that authorities reinstate stricter radioactivity standards and begin stripping the top layer of soil off contaminated playgrounds. But officials stood their ground. And in a nation where polite public discourse is the norm, the dialogue quickly turned hostile. A woman in the front row cut off one spokesman:

"In the playground, in the sandbox, children put dirt into their mouths! They breathe in the dust! You should do the same! Lick the dirt!" she shouted to applause. "You wouldn't do this to your own kids!"