counting the dead in Japan

One of the things that's really struck me about the situation in Japan is the low death count. It's a nasty business, of course.

But I've wondered at how difficult it must be to come up with credible figures. Now it looks like it's difficult indeed. It's been three months and in some places they're still hunting through the debris.

Naturally, there are reports of dismay at how things have been handled. Such as this quote; “I think the government should tell us more quickly the real story of what happened here.” (from the Washington Times).

My guess is that we won't know very well for the rest of this year, at least. And that it will come to a figure three times the official count of 15,000 dead. Ganbare Japan.