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)
2011年11月、東京の外国人記者クラブで私は水爆実験の犠牲者、大石又七氏を含む、ヒバクシャ4人を招待し、記者会見を開きました。 In November 2011, I held a press conference at Foreign Correspondents' Club in Japan inviting 4 hibakushas including Mr. Matashichi Oishi, a H-bomb victim in 1954.
国内外の記者が5,60人集まりましたが、残念なことにまったくこの重大ニュースはカバーされませんでした。 The press conference gathered 50 or 60 domestic and international reporters, but this important conference was not covered almost at all...
I have been totally dissapointed at media both in Japan and overseas since then...
NHK has been including amazingly short comments from Mr. Oishi on the North Korea's H-bomb test news, but such a short comment would not tell any historic truth of this bomb.
Please read Mr. Oishi's truthful opinion regarding H-bomb. Also, please watch the video of Mr. Oishi in the following youtube video at 20:50. (both in Japanese and English)
5 speakers timeline in the order of the presentation Mari Takenouchi, journalist/translator 7'30'' Shuntaro Hida, Hiroshima medical doctor, 13'45" Matashichi Oishi, H-bomb victim, 20'50" Ryosuke Umeda, former nuclear worker, 30'00" Sachiko Sato, mother from Fukushima, 37'30"
*******
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.
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...
2011年11月15日、外国人記者クラブ ノーモアヒバクシャ!ノーモアゲンパツ記者会見 広島から福島まで、ヒバクシャを一堂に介した歴史的な会見です。 Nov 15, 2001 Foreign Correspondents' Club in Japan No More Hibakusya! No More Nuke Power! A Truly Historical Press Conference made by Hibakushas (radiation exposed people) from Hiroshima to Fukushima スピーカー 肥田舜太郎、医師、広島被爆者 大石又七、核実験被曝者、元第五福竜丸船員 梅田隆亮、元原発労働者 佐藤幸子、子どもたちを放射能から守る福島ネットワーク世話人 竹野内真理、フリーランスジャーナリスト、翻訳家 (スピーチと質疑応答は、日本語と英語通訳付き) Speakers Shuntaro Hida, Physician & Hiroshima A bomb Hibakusha Matashichi Oishi, Hibakusha, Former Lucky Dragon Crew Sachiko Sato, Representative, Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation Mari Takenouchi, feelance journalist, translator Ryusuke Umeda, Former Power Plant Worker
5人の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。必読!
5 speakers presentation texts are provided both in Japanese and English on this page. MUST READ!
1.竹野内真理、ジャーナリスト、翻訳者Email:mariscontact@gmail.com
Mari Takenouchi,Journalist, TranslatorEmail: mariscontact@gmail.com
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.今日は私は以下の三つのことを言いたいです。
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.
3Nuclear 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.