Citizens of Japan turn to Twitter to conserve electricity through “Operation Yashima"

In order to conserve electricity, the people of Japan have turned to the social networking site Twitter to both save energy and contact loved ones in this time of crisis.

Because the earthquake has caused power outages, the Tokyo Electric Power Company has called on citizens to help conserve electricity, leading celebrities and average citizens alike to utilize Twitter instead. The collective effort has been nicknamed “Operation Yashima” in reference to the classic anime, “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, in which the Evangelion units defeat their enemy with the use of a rifle that drains power grids across Japan.
TEPCO is currently unable to produce enough electricity during peak hours, predicting a shortfall of approximately one million watts – or 300,000 households.