https://savekidsjapan.blogspot.com/ by Mari Takenouchi, a Japanese anti-nuclear and anti-weapon journalist covered by Reporters without Borders in 2014, Twitter: @mariscontact, E-mail: mariscontact@gmail.com (My English/Chinese/Japanese book can be ordered by mail)
UN Special Rapporteur's Press Statement Press Release 12-058-E 26/11/2012
UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Mr. Anand Grover
Country Visit to Japan, 15 to 26 November 2012
Press-statement
Tokyo, 26 November 2012
Members of the press, Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to begin by warmly thanking the Government for inviting me to Japan and for facilitating a rich and interesting programme of meetings and visits. During my visit, I have met with Government officials, officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), medical and legal experts as well as representatives of communities and civil society. I have also visited cities and communities in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, which were affected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant accident. Throughout my visit, I have been welcomed with warm hospitality and courtesy. There has been a candid and frank exchange of views with senior Government officials. I am grateful to the Government and relevant ministries for all their efforts in organizing and facilitating my mission. I take this opportunity to thank all those who have given me the benefit of their time and experience.
You will find in this room a short document that explains my responsibilities as the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (the right to health). In brief, I am an independent expert who reports to and advises the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly on the realization of the right to health. Although appointed by the Human Rights Council, I am not employed by the United Nations and the position I hold is honorary. As an independent expert, I exercise my professional judgment in order to arrive at my conclusions and recommendations.
Today, I would like to confine myself to discussing some of my preliminary observations, which will be explored in more detail in the final report to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2013.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The objective of my mission was to understand, in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation, how Japan endeavours to implement the right to health, the measures taken for its successful realization, and the obstacles encountered. More specifically, I have addressed the realization of the right to health within the context of the Great East Japan Earthquake, including a particular focus on challenges and actions taken in response to the nuclear accident, as well as lessons learned and good practices.
At the outset, I offer my condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones and those who have suffered on account of the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear accident.
On 11 March 2011, Japan suffered an unprecedented triple disaster when the earthquake, tsunami and the man-made nuclear disaster occurred successively in the Tohoku region in Japan. The triple disasters saw the death of around 18,000 people and injury to thousands of others. I would like to commend the Government of Japan in being proactive in taking a leadership role in responding to the emergency.
I also take note of a number of reports, including those concluded by the Government appointed Investigation Committee on the Accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Diet appointed Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC). I welcome the vibrant debate on the issue.
It is regrettable to note that the local residents were not aware of disaster management plans in the event of a potential nuclear accident. In fact, local residents of Futaba city in Fukushima were led to believe by the Safety Agreement signed in 1991 that the TEPCO plant was safe and there would be no occasion for a nuclear accident.
I would like to commend the Government in setting up the Nuclear Regulatory Authority with a view to having an independent scrutiny and monitoring of the nuclear power plants. This addresses one of the fault lines in the earlier regulatory framework, namely the lack of independence and effective monitoring of nuclear power plants and the lack of transparency and accountability of regulatory authorities. This much-needed process has also been recommended by the report of the Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. It is therefore important that the chair and commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority are not only independent but are also seen to be independent. In this respect, it is well established to disclose any conflict of interest by potential incumbents. I recommend the Government to adopt such a procedure at the earliest, which will facilitate the building of confidence in the independence of the scrutinizing process.
Dear members of the press,
In the immediate aftermath of nuclear accidents, it is the established procedure to distribute stable iodine to the population in an attempt to block the uptake of radioactive iodine in those exposed to it, thereby reducing the risk of thyroid cancer. I regret to note that the Government neither gave instructions nor distributed stable iodine to the affected population. Nonetheless, some municipalities distributed stable iodine tablets in an ad-hoc manner.
Any disaster, in particular a man-made disaster like the nuclear accident, puts the credibility of the Government into question. It is therefore crucial that the Government provide accurate information and evacuate people from areas of contamination. However, it is regrettable that radiation dosage information through SPEEDI and the movement of the radioactive plume was not immediately communicated to the public. Moreover, evacuation zones were imposed on the basis of geographical distance from the site of the disaster and the footprint of the radioactive plume, rather than the actual radiation dosage. Initial evacuation zones therefore neglected hot spots. Furthermore, the Government used the threshold level of 20 mSv/year for the designation of evacuation zone. This conveyed the message that effective radiation dose up to 20 mSv/year was safe. It was further aggravated by the Government’s release of a number of publications, including school booklets, informing the public that there was no clear evidence of direct risk of cancer if a person was exposed to radiation dose up to 100 mSv/year.
The threshold level of 20 mSv/year is in contrast to the statutory legal limit imposed by the 1972 industrial safety regulation for the nuclear industry. For workers at a nuclear power plant, the maximum limit of exposure (in the controlled area) prescribed by law is 20 mSv/year (not exceeding 50 mSv/year) and a cumulative dose of 100mSv in five years. The law prohibits the entry of ordinary citizens into the controlled area with radiation dose of 1.3 mSv/quarter and further prohibits workers to eat, drink or sleep in that area. It also prohibits pregnant women to be exposed to radiation dose in a controlled area of over 2mSv/year.
I would like to recall that in Chernobyl the threshold limit for obligatory resettlement was 5 mSv/year or above, apart from soil contamination levels. There are also a significant number of epidemiological studies, which indicate that cancer and other diseases could occur in low dose radiation below 100 mSv/year. According to these studies, there is no low threshold limit for the occurrence of diseases.
It is unfortunate that inconsistency between the current limits imposed by policy on the one hand, and the limits prescribed by the industrial safety regulation in Japan, radiation limits used in Chernobyl and the findings in the epidemiological studies, on the other hand, has created confusion among a significant number of the local population, who increasingly doubt Government data and policy. This is further compounded by the fact that radiation monitoring stations do not reflect the varied dosage levels in areas in close proximity. As a result, local residents are carrying out their own monitoring of radiation dosage in their neighbourhoods. During the visit, I was shown ample data indicating the variance. In the circumstances, I would like to urge the Government to incorporate all validated independent data, including those from residents, and make them publicly available.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
According to the right to health, the Government should monitor the impact of radiation on people’s health in radiation-affected zones through holistic and comprehensive screening and provide appropriate treatment. In this regard, I am pleased to note that the Government has undertaken a health management survey. However, the health management survey is limited to the residents of and visitors to the Fukushima prefecture at the time of the disaster. I would urge the Government to expand health survey to all radiation-affected zones. Pertinently, the response rate to the questionnaire of the Fukushima health survey was only about 23 per cent, which is considerably low. Moreover, health check-ups are limited to thyroid examination for children, comprehensive health check, mental and life-style survey, and pregnancy and birth survey. The scope of the surveys is unfortunately narrow as they draw on the limited lessons from the Chernobyl accident and ignore epidemiological studies that point to cancer as well as other diseases in low-dosage radiation, even in areas of exposure below 100 mSv/year. Following the right to health framework, I would encourage the Government to err on the side of caution and carry out comprehensive studies, which would entail examining and monitoring of internal radiation exposure for a considerable length of time.
I am concerned about reports received from residents whose children underwent thyroid examination and whose results detected the presence of cyst and/or nodules below the threshold size under the protocol. Accordingly, those parents were neither allowed to obtain a second examination, nor given medical papers on demand, in effect denying them the right to access their own medical documentation. Unfortunately, they are required to undergo a cumbersome freedom of information act procedure to obtain these documents.
The Government also needs to pay special attention to the monitoring of the effects of radiation doses on nuclear plant workers, some of who were exposed to extremely high dosage of radiation. I was distressed to learn that there is a practice of employing a large number of contract workers through a layer of sub-contractors. A significant number of them are employed for short periods of time with no effective long-term monitoring of their health after their employment contracts is terminated. I call upon the Government to look into this and ensure that no workers, who have been exposed to radiation, are left without monitoring and/or treatment.
Dear members of the press,
I am pleased to note that the Government has made arrangements for the evacuees either through temporary shelters or subsidized accommodation. However, I learnt from residents that emergency evacuation centres did not provide accessible environment for people with disabilities or appropriate conditions for women with young children. It is tragic that evacuation of residents following the nuclear accident has caused painful separations in families, leading to a separation between the husband and the wife with the children, as well as from the elderly. This has led to disharmony, discord, and in some cases even divorce, leading to distress and mental health concerns. The Government should address these important issues urgently.
Radioactive contamination of food is a long-term issue. I commend the Government for reducing the threshold for food safety from 500 Bq/kg to 100 Bq/kg. However, individual prefectures have imposed lower threshold levels. Moreover, residents have raised concerns about the enforcement of the standards. The Government should strengthen the enforcement of food safety in an urgent manner.
I am pleased to note that the Government is carrying out soil decontamination activities with specific policy targets to reduce radiation levels in areas less than 20 mSv/year to 1mSv/year as a long-term goal, as well as in areas from 20 to 50 mSv/year to reduce exposure dose to less than 20 mSv/year by the end of 2013. I regret to note that there is no fixed timeline to reduce radiation in the area where current radiation level is less than 20 mSv/year to the level of 1 mSv/year. It is also unfortunate that in other areas the decontamination target is much higher than 1 mSv/year. The residents are entitled to live in a safe and healthy environment. I therefore urge the Government to adopt an action plan with clear timelines, indicators and benchmarks for decontamination to reduce radiation levels to 1 mSv/year for other areas. I was pleased to learn that decontamination is to be done by workers who are to be hired specially for this purpose. However, it is regrettable that some decontamination activities are carried out by residents themselves, without proper equipment or information about the harmful effects of radiation exposure.
In the meantime, I encourage the Government to continue and/or restore financial support and subsidies to all evacuees so that they can make a voluntary decision to evacuate or return to their homes, if they wish to do so. This will also help build confidence among evacuees in the Government’s plans.
During my visit, a number of people shared with me their apprehension that TEPCO is not being held accountable for its responsibility for the nuclear accident. The Government’s majority shareholding in TEPCO has meant that taxpayers may foot the bill, ultimately. The right to health framework provides for accountability of those actors who are liable for committing actionable wrongs. The Government should therefore ensure that TEPCO is also held accountable and that taxpayers are not foisted with the eventual liability.
Ladies and gentlemen, Members of the press,
During the visit, I have also heard from the affected residents, and particularly from such groups as persons with disabilities, young mothers and pregnant women, children and older persons, that they have had no say in decisions that affect them. The right to health framework requires the State to ensure the participation of all communities in decisions that affect them. This means that the affected people need to be part of the decision-making process as well as of the implementation, monitoring and accountability processes. Participation would not only inform the decisions holistically but also build the confidence of the affected community in the Government, facilitate the implementation of those decisions and improve monitoring and accountability. This is also necessary in restoring normalcy after the disaster in an effective manner.
I urge the Government to ensure that the affected people, particularly the vulnerable groups, are fully involved in all decision-making processes. This should include their participation, among others, in the formulation of health management surveys, designing of evacuation shelters and implementation of decontamination.
In this respect, I welcome the enactment of the Act on the Protection and Support for the Children and other Victims of TEPCO Disaster in June 2012, which provides for a framework for support and care to the people who were affected by the nuclear accident. The Act has not been implemented yet. I urge the Government to take urgent measures to implement the Act. It is a good opportunity for the Government to frame the basic policy and subordinate regulations with the full participation of the affected communities, including vulnerable groups.
（発表者順）竹野内真理（7分30秒より）、肥田舜太郎（13分45秒より）、大石又七（20分50秒より）、梅田隆介（30分ごろより）、佐藤幸子（37分30秒より）
Mari Takenouchi, journalist 7'30'' Shuntaro Hida, Hiroshima Hibakusha doctor, 13:45 Matashichi Oishi, Bikini H-bomb incident victim, 20'50'' Ryosuke Umeda, former nuclear power plant worker, 30' Sachiko Sato, Fukushima mother, 37'30'' スピーチの日本語と英語の全てのスクリプトはこのページにあります。 5 speakers presentation texts are provided both in Japanese and English on this page. MUST READ!
原発導入と被曝と健康被害の問題はいまだにタブーなのか？ The above press conference was praised by a former vice chairperson of FCCJ, but not covered by any media though there were as many as 5~60 journalists there... Are health issue due to radiation exposure and introduction of nuclear power by CIA still a taboo?
I wanted to hold a press conference for ETHOS criminal assucation case in May 2014, but it was not accepted this time due to the concurring Ohi Nuclear power plant judgement, which was considered to be more of a priority...
I became
anti-nuclear when I heard a simulation of a station black out accident scenario
from a US scientist in 1999.To
highlight the issue of nuclear power and earthquakes, I went to IAEA in 2002 to
directly plea for halting nuclear power in Japan. I remember a superior of my
acquaintance in IAEA telling me, “Ms. Takenouchi, this issue is too big for anyone to tackle.5 million Japanese people’s deaths may not be able to
be avoided. The
only way to avert such a situation is that every Japanese raise his/her voice
to stop nuclear power.” Since then, I have been trying to
disseminate information about this issue, but in the end the accident still
took place. I feel so regretful and sad.
People, especially children in Fukushima and other contaminated areas should be
evacuated immediately. I
visited Fukushima 2 days ago and I was speechless when I attended a symposium
held by government-sided scholars. They
keep saying that Fukushima is almost safe.Meanwhile, they are getting the data of children’s radiation dose and are conducting
health check-ups. Why
can’t they let
these children evacuate first and conduct medical check-ups afterwards? Are they trying to use Fukushima
children as their guinea pigs? Regretfully,
this is probable considering what the US and Japanese scholars did to Hiroshima
and Nagasaki hibakusyas.Please do not
use Fukushima children for studies. As
a mother of a one year old, I would like to make a strong appeal about this to
the world.
2. 日本の基準値５００ベクレルは高すぎます。この部屋のどこかにゴメリ医科大学の創設者で元学長であったユーリ・バンダジェフスキーの論文をご覧になった方はいらっしゃいますでしょうか？彼の研究によれば、セシウムが体内に20Bq/kgの濃度で取り込まれますと、心臓に異変が起きやすくなるというのです。そしてICRPのpublication 111（2009）にあるグラフによると、1日たった10ベクレル、大人はだいたい1日2kgの食物を摂取しますから、基準値のたった100分の1のレベルであっても、70kgの大人であっても心臓に異変が2年以内に起こる可能性を示唆しているのです。さらに30kgの子供の場合は、100日以内です。ベルラド放射能安全研究所副所長のウラジーミル・バベンコ 氏の、子供の食べ物はゼロベクレルにしなければならないという発言が決しておおげさなものでないことがわかるデータであると思います。同時に汚染がれきが全国に流通するのは防がなければなりません。特にそれが燃やされた時、沸点が641度と低いセシウムは大気中の微粒子となり、容易に人に吸い込まれ、深刻な内部被ばくを引き起こします。
2. The limit of 500 Bq/kg is way too
high. Has anybody in this room read the
study conducted by Yuri Bandazhevsky, the founder and the former director of
the Gomel Medical Institute? According
to his study, when the cesium is incorporated into the body at 20Bq/kg level,
functional abnormality in the heart is likely to take place. Also, according to a graph in ICRP
publication 111 (2009), intake of 10 Bq/day cesium, only one 100th of the
Japanese reference level would likely
lead to heart abnormality within 2 years! (Considering that an average adults
eats nearly 2kg of foods daily, if they eat upper limit of 500Bq/kg food, daily
intake is 500Bq/kg ×2kg=1000Bq/day.10Bq/day
=1/100 of 1000Bq/day)From
this graph, we can tell that the statement saying children’s cesium food intake should
be zero Bq by Dr. Uladimir Babenka, Deputy-Director of BELRAD Institute is not
an exaggeration at all. At
the same time, contaminated debris should not be distributed all over Japan.Especially if it is burned, cesium, with a
very low boiling point of 641 degrees Celsius, will become fine particles in
the air which can be easily inhaled by people, causing serious internal
exposure.
３ Nuclear power plants are not
supposed to be operating. It
is totally insane forthe Japanese
government to continue the operation of nuclear power plants in Japan even
after the Fukushima accident. It is even still trying to export nuclear plants
to overseas. There
have been earthquakes quite frequently now all over Japan and there could be
the 2nd Fukushima accident anywhere in Japan in the near future. On top of that, Fukushima No 4
exploded even though it was not operating.Hence, structures of and around spent fuel pools should be enhanced against
coming earthquakes all over Japan.By doing these three things, please save children’s lives, lives of the future generations and lives of your own. Thank you very much.
２．肥田舜太郎（広島原爆被爆医師）
Dr. Shuntaro Hida, Hiroshima A-bomb survivor, Physician
In August 1945, I was working as a doctor at Hiroshima Military Hospital.On the morning of the 6th, I happened to be 6km away from the hospital as there had beenan emergency house-call on a child patient late at night and luckily, I was not killed by the direct hit of the A-bomb.
Ever since, I have been looking after thousands of hibakusyas for 65 years.I saw some of the horrendous deaths of those directly hit by the A-bomb.Besides terrible burns and wounds, they developed highfever, purple spots, and finally died from massive bleeding from their bodies including mouth, nose, eyes, and genitals etc.
I have continued to see patients who have suffered unknown diseases throughout their lives due to the internal radiation exposure caused by the intake or inhalation of radioactive materials into their body.I believe they are the most prominent victims of this nuclear age.
However, under occupation after the war, General MacArthur made hibakusyas a military secret and issued the official order not to talk and write about them.They also prohibited physicians and scholars to study hibakusyas and proclaimed that those who violated the order should be severely punished.Thus all hibakusyas were totally ignored for 7 following the war.
Moreover, the Atomic Bomb Casualties Commission (later known as the Radiation Effects Association) strongly disseminated the phrase,“Internal exposure is harmless to the human body because the radiation
level is so low.” So, hibakyusa suffering fromso called A-bomb burabura disease (extreme and persistent chronicle sluggishness) were told neurosis or fake, which added more suffering to lives of the hibakusya.
I have also seen burabura disease patients among nuclear power plant workers.Electric companies have often announced that there was no damage to human health right after a nuclear accident.But how can a
person from an electricity company, who is not even a doctor, assume that there is no health damage immediately after the accident?To my eyes, these announcements are like lines from a self-produced stage
After the Fukushima accident, three nuclear power plant workers have died and Tokyo Electric Company have denied any causality from radiation.How can they prove that there is no relationship with radiation?
In fact, hundreds of people consulted me after Fukushima accident, whose children are suffering nose bleeding, diarrhea, fever, swollen thyroid, purple spots not only from Fukushima and North Eastern Japan,
but also from Tokyo metropolitan area and as far as Yamanashi and Shizuoka.
What can mothers do when their children develop these symptoms?I am seriously worried myself as I don't know exactly what they can do.Nobody or no family can now be totally safe from radiation in Japan.
人類にとって唯一の生き延びる道は原爆、原発を全廃することだけです。ありがとうございました。
The only way for us all to survive is to abolish both nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants in the world.Thank you very much.
３．ビキニ水爆実験被爆者 元第五福竜丸乗組員 大石又七
Matashichi
Oishi, former crew of the Lucky 5th Dragon, Hibakusya from Bikini nuclear test
I
believe we cannot have a correct understanding of Fukushima nuclear accident
unless we look back the Bikini Incident 57 years ago.The most important point is, who and why a dangerous
nuclear power plant was introduced to Japan, a most earthquake prone country.
When
I was a crew member of Lucky 5th Dragon fishermen’s boat in 1954, I encountered
a US Pacific thermonuclear test, approximately 1000 times as powerful as the
Hiroshima A-bomb.I became a Hibakusya.By the fallout brought back to Japan, people
came to realize that the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere was strongly
contaminated with radiation, which became a big news, later called as Bikini
Incident.
Various facts came to be revealed through archive
materials.From 1946 to 1958, the US
military alone conducted 67 atmospheric nuclear testing at Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls, which was 100 megaton
nuclear explosion in total.Also, this 100
megaton explosion is equivalent to Hiroshima A-bomb dropped each single day for
the duration of 18 years.Isn’t this
amazing?
Thermonuclear bomb did not only give out enormous explosive
power, but also scattered deadly
radioactive materials in the environment. The
half lives of radioactive materials can range as long as dozens of years to
even tens of thousands of years.These
materials can be absorbed into various parts of human bodies, harming the chromosomes
and body tissues internally-this is called internal exposure.This kind of damage can cause still birth,
congenital defects, which could be transferred from generation to generation.
Even the modern science and medicine cannot detect
where such long-lived radioactive material can travel in the winds and food
chain, or who and which part of the body such materials can finally come down
to.This is
the horror of radiation.Maybe some of
you might have become hibakusya already.
I want to say this.In spite of citizens’
voices of concern against nukes and radiation in those days, the governments of
the US and Japan smothered the incident and hid the facts.What happened then?Nuclear weapons become much more powerful
than Hiroshima A-bomb and more than 2００００nuclear warheads are now threatening the entire humanity.
The US
government did not take any responsibility or compensate for the victims of
this very important Bikini incident and
instead, paid small amount of consolation money only.Meanwhile, the Japanese government
acknowledged the continuation of the nuclear testing and in return, demanded
for nuclear power behind the scenes.Don’t
you think these people who made efforts to introduce nuclear power to Japan highly
responsible?I believe they are the
responsible.
Bikini Incident is not a
past.Contrary to it, that incident was
the very start of the entire story. However, nobody talks about Bikini Incident
any more.
In those days, the US tried to build a military block by providing uranium
to western world and approached Japan through CIA targeting at a major media
company Yomiuri Shimbun.The then
Yomiuri president, Mr. Matsutaro Shoriki conducted an all-out promotion of
peaceful use of nuclear power using his own media company to shift the raging anti-nuke
sentiment.
In the
political arena, so-called young-military-officer politician Yasuhiro Nakasone,
who became a Prime Minister of Japan later days, took a lead to pass the
nuclear power budget of 235 million yen at the Diet, only three days after the
Bilini Incident, in line with the US government intention.If we realize the background of this history,
we could see where the responsibility of the current nuclear catastrophe lies
and how the compensation should be made in the future.Thank
you very much.
４．梅田隆亮、元原発労働者
Ryuusuke Umeda, former nuclear power plant
worker
私は1979年に島根原発と敦賀原発で働きました。炉心のすぐ近くで働き、被曝しました。
I
worked for Shimane and Turuga nuclear power plants.I worked very close to the reactor core and
got exposed to radiation.
きちんとした安全教育はなく、「被曝」という意識すらありませんでした。
In
my case, there was no safety education, and workers were not even aware of the
concept of “exposure to radiation” .
Though we received dosimeters, since the alarm
went off so frequently and distracted our works, we left them to the workers in
the lower radiation level areas, and our supervisor deliberately overlooked
this.In Shimane, workers just wore
regular work clothes and did not wear masks.
The
scariest thing about radiation is that its impact on human health takes a long
time to appear, so at first it seems safe. In my case, I suffered from nose
bleeding and general malaise (so called Burabura disease).Burabura Disease makes it very hard for
people to work, but as it is difficult to diagnose, many people do not
understand and regard such Burabura patients merely as lazy people.
In
2000, I also got myocardial infarction and was unable to work. There are very few who apply for workers’ compensation and they are
forced to bear the condition.
However, in order to prevent radiation
exposure to more people, I became anti-nuclear.Then the Fukushima accident took place and many workers, especially sub
contractors have been exposed.I heard
there was one worker who died of myocardial infarction.I believe all the nuclear power plants should
be shut down.
1A
health consultation service should be established. There have been more than
400,000 nuclear power plant workers in total in Japan.However, only very few people have applied
for workers’ compensation.It would be
great if there was a so-called "life-line" or help-line for nuclear
workers.
2Working conditions such as safety education and radiation control should
be made as visible as possible to the third party.Without adequate safety training, endless
disputes will occur between workers and sub-contractors about whether safety education
have been properly conducted or not - as was the case in my experience.We need to avoid such situations.
3Myocardial infarction should be included in the symptoms subject to the
nuclear workers’ compensation.Myocardial infarction is included in the registered diseases of A-bomb
victims, but not those of nuclear workers.The radiation health problems caused by the A-bomb and nuclear power
plant are basically the same.It is also
very important to evaluate the effects of internal exposure correctly.
Lastly, let me report to you regarding my own
application for workers’ compensation.On November 2, I received a rejection letter to my re-examination
request from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.I
had repeatedly requested a site examination
at Tsuruga nuclear reactor, but the decision was made without an
inspection.I strongly protest this.
Tsuruga nuclear reactor 1, where I used to
work is the same type of reactor as those at Fukushima.It had many problems such as shabby
pipes.Even without a tsunami, if there
is any major earthquake, an accident like Fukushima could occur at any
moment.Why didn’t they examine Tsuruga
No. 1 reactor?I would like to have a
proper explanation from the government.Thank you very much.
５．福島の母親のスピーチ
Speech by a Mother in Fukushima
子どもたちを放射能から守る福島ネットワーク世話人 佐藤幸子
Sachiko Sato, Representative, Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation
For the past 30 years, I have been practicing natural style of farming while rearing my 5 children. After Chernobyl accident, I changed my life style using old day practices and wisdom handed down from generation to generation so that we could survive without oil, nuclear power, and imported foods.People who wanted to learn such kind of living gathered around me from all over Japan, so we were living in a sort of small community.
Then, the Fukushima accident took away everything from us.This year, we cannot grow safe organic vegetables from our agricultural land which was taken great care of without any chemical.As a farmer, there is nothing that can make me more sad.
After March 11, lives of all the people in Fukushima was changed.We had to manage to survive in the midst of the triple disasters-earthquake, Tsunami, and nuclear accident.
Particularly, we suffered from nuclear disaster.Since the radiation is invisible, it is very difficult for us to accept the fact.The radiation that exists for sure in the beautiful scenery that has not changed a bit from last year put a tremendous gap between people who decided not to continue living that area and people who decided to continue living that area.
The families and neighbors who are supposed to share their sufferings cannot share their feelings.Fukushima people’s mental damage caused by this disintegration of people’s minds can be called as “immediate health effects.”(After the accident, the government of Japan repeatedly said, “There will be no immediate health damage.”)
The government does not take any action for the upcoming health damage caused by low level radiation saying that the probability of health damage is low enough.On the contrary, the government is trying to use 2 million Fukushima people as guinea pigs to collect data, saying that there is not enough data for radiation exposure below 100 milisieverts.
To my eyes, the scenery of radiation contaminated Fukushima is just like a battle field, even though I cannot see the radiation itself.It is a battlefield between people who foolishly behaved as if they could conquer the nature and people who have cherished the nature.Since Fukushima is beautiful in nature, it does not look different at all.In sight, it is a “beautiful battle field.”
But it is a battlefield to take away the future of children by the state power.There should not be any children in the battlefield.We should not leave any child in a battlefield with fire.
People in Japan and in the world should have felt the horror of nuclear accident.What kind of nerve does this country have not only continuing nuclear power generation domestically but also trying to export more nuclear power to overseas?
I wonder what the government is thinking in regard to the health effects that can continue for generations to come.In any case, we cannot expect much from the government who left children in the fires of battlefields as long as 8 months.
Now we know that it is not our government who can protect our children.With this trend continuing, we the adults in the 21st century will have to be told that we made the judgment with our priority on the short-sighted economy rather than childrens’ lives in the future.We will be told like this until human race would eventually be extinguished.
It is people who can save children’s lives.Each single person needs to open his or her eyes of mind and make a judgment to see what is correct and what should be done to save lives.
Mothers and fathers in Fukushima stood up to make a single wish come true.That is to save lives of children.People from all over the nation got connected to protect lives of children in Fukushima.Now the time has come for everybody to get connected and make actions and to alter their life styles, the moment for all of us to make a very important decision.
If the nuclear power does not stop even after this Fukushima accident, humankind would surely tread the path to destruction.The horror of nuclear accident coming from Fukushima should be disseminated to the people all over the world.We need to continue our actions until all the nuclear power plants in the world are stopped.We should never cause any more sorrow Fukushima children had to any other children on our planet.Thank you very much.
