The Yomiuri Giants and Yakult Swallows are scheduled to play a pair of games in Fukushima at the end of this month and one more in late July. With the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant far from being resolved, some players are leery of making the trip.

"I understand that we want to do what we can for the people (in Tohoku) and lift their spirits, and whatever we can do to help is great," said Swallows first baseman Josh Whitesell, 29. "In the same sense, on a personal safety level, it is recognized as the most devastating nuclear disaster in the history of our world. I just want to make sure that me and my family are safe."

[link to www.asahi.com]