Original Japanese written by Kay Ikezumi, Secretary General.

The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese

The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), on November 16^th, gave a go-ahead to the extended operation of Unit 3 of The Kansai Electric Power’s Mihama Nuclear Power Station (hereafter “KEPCO” and “Mihama NPS,” respectively). Located in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, Japan (some 47 miles north-northeast of Kyoto), the old NPP has been at work over the last four decades. This is the third aged reactor whose “prolongation” has been approved, following Units 1 and 2 of KEPCO’s Takahama Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).

Following the disaster of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi NPP, the NPP safety laws were revised in 2011 to eliminate outdated NPPs. Under the revised safety laws, Japan has a “40-year of operation” regulation. There is, however, an exemption to this. The NRA can authorize an old NPP’s “prolongation” of operation, just once, for up to 20 additional years, as a “highly exceptional case,” since applying the “40-year rule” strictly would eliminate many reactors, which might result in a power shortage.

The approval of Mihama Unit 3’s prolongation is making “highly exceptional cases” commonplace. At present, what practical meaning does the “40-year rule” have? Many are seriously worried that we might see more and more aged reactors’ lives prolonged.

The Mihama NPS marks its 40^th year of operation this November, and should have been decommissioned, if the NRA had not approved its prolongation.

The Authority claims it has confirmed that a major accident would not destroy Unit 3’s reactor vessel. When the Fukushima Daiichi disaster hit, however, most media reported that the “myth of NPP safety has broken down.” So, where has this lesson gone?

KEPCO says it will spend some JPY165 billion on reinforcing the unit, to make it resistant to earthquakes and tsunamis. The reinforcement work should be finished in 2020, after which the reactor is to be restarted. Despite this gigantic investment, at a regular press meeting last October, KEPCO’s President, Shigeki Iwane, emphatically stated: “We believe the restart work should pay off economically.”

Recently, India and Japan signed a civil nuclear agreement. One result of the deal is that many of Japan’s reactor providers—now that it is next to impossible to build a new NPP in Japan—can now count on India’s market as a major NPP export target.

The restart approval and the nuclear agreement stand on the same principle—money matters more than life. Life is disregarded for money.

In the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, currently almost 100,000 Fukushima citizens are still living as evacuees, to avoid exposure to radioactivity and other hazards, in places far away from their hometowns. They have already been living as refugees for 5.5 years now, and this has cost many of them their health. Many aged evacuees are living in isolation, which adversely affects their health, both mentally and physically, while some have chosen to commit suicide.

The Fukushima Daiichi disaster has deprived those citizens of their ordinary living, exposed them to radiation, and left behind gigantic heaps of radioactive waste. Also, the decommissioning of the NPP has a long, winding way to go. None of these grave issues have so far been resolved. Still, there is a mega trend in Japan to approve NPP life prolongation, permit NPP restarts, and export NPPs.

We need to stand up against this trend. Otherwise, it will run wild.

Below: Article from the November 17^th, 2016 edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper

Original Japanese written by Toshiaki Ozeki, member of the No Nuke Project’s Committee

The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese

The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Below: Article from the November 12^th, 2016 edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper

Prime Ministers Modi of India and Abe of Japan, on November 11^th, agreed to and signed a civil nuclear agreement which will enable the export of nuclear power plants from Japan to India. Japan has experienced the devastation nuclear energy can cause, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster has yet to be controlled. India, an owner of nuclear weapons, has yet to join in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Thus, many are asking serious questions about the agreement. Though the deal provides that, in the event India resumes nuclear weapon tests, Japan can cease cooperation with India, this agreement, in its essence, is an arrangement for Japan’s nuclear power plant builders/providers to secure a good market. Thus, PM Abe’s remark that his nation is going for “a world without nuclear weapons” now sounds empty.

 

Original Japanese written by Izumi Koshiyama, staffer

The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese

The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Below: Article from the November 9^th, 2016 edition of the Fukushima Minpo newspaper

The JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, a national R&D agency) intends to build a new experiment facility in Tomioka Town, Fukushima. (The northern border of the town is only around 3 miles away from Fukushima Daiichi, at its closest point.)  At this facility, they plan to conduct experiments in FY2017 to learn what caused the melted fuel rods (called “fuel debris”) at Fukushima Daiichi. The Japanese government has allocated a budget of some JPY 1.5 billion to the new facility’s construction according to the article. Literally, billions of our tax money is going to this project.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese
The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

 

Below: Articles from the August 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th, 2016 editions of the Fukushima Minpo newspaper

 

Fukushima being rebuilt, yet not restored

5 and 1/2 years after the devastating earthquake and the nuclear power plant (NPP) disaster of March 2011, no-go restrictions have been lifted for one district after another. Thus, recovery seems to be in rapid progress—until you see that most residents here live with the fear of radiation. Especially important and urgent is the care of children living here, whose precious childhoods have been ruined by radiation.

 

A new move

Now, some groups in Fukushima have visited Chernobyl. Their intentions? To learn the experiences and knowledge acquired since the 1986 disaster, and to see what is happening today in those areas contaminated with radiation.

 

To Belarus

One such visiting group, “Fukushima Kodomo no Mirai wo Kasngaeru Kai” (Fukushima Association for the Children’s Future), runs fellowship programs in cultural and athletic activities for secondary students in Fukushima and children in Belarus. The participants from Fukushima stay in camping facilities or elsewhere in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. During the summer school holidays this year, a group of Fukushima children spent 10 days at  a state-run facility for children’s education and recuperation.  Following the Chernobyl disaster in Belarus, the national government established recuperation facilities The nation has 14 such facilities, and affected children can choose to utilize any of them. The facilities are free of charge for children up to high school age living in the contaminated areas.

 

The facility the Fukushima children visited has an abundance of equipment, ranging from jet baths that treat arms and legs with an extract from pine leaves, to massage machines, to aroma therapy rooms. The children visiting from Fukushima happily used them to refresh themselves, both mentally and physically. The facility also includes a museum of farmers’ lifestyles from the end of the 18^th century through the early 19^th. In addition, there are classrooms for making craftworks of straws, embroidery, and etc. Thus, this facility is a great place where Belarussian children can learn their own traditions and culture. Clearly they are proud of their cultural heritage. Seeing their pride, Fukushima children are now more eager to learn their own cultural heritage.

 

The Japanese author’s wish

Ever since the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown began, many organizations have been running temporary retreat programs which take Fukushima children to places with less radiation so they can regain their health during, for instance, their summer school holidays. We, the No Nuke Project of the Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan, have been holding such retreat programs as well. The children play as they want to outdoors in places with less radiation and look so delightful and full of energy – proof that such programs are truly helpful. I hope we will soon see facilities like the ones in Belarus, as well as more integrated programs, available for all the children growing up here in Fukushima.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese
The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Below: Articles from the August 4^th, 2016 editions of the Asahi Shimbun, Fukushima Minpo, and Akahata newspapers

 

Putting aged reactors to more work

The Kansai Electric Power Company’s Mihama Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) should be into its 40^th year of operation this coming December. The NPP is located in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture (some 80km [50 miles] NNE of Kyoto). Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has approved the inspection report, one of the requirements to extend the NPP’s operational life. Two more approvals, and the NPP can legally run for up to two more decades.

The relevant nuclear power control laws stand on the principle that “any reactor aged 40 years or more should basically be shut down to prevent any unexpected accident.” Thus, legally speaking, life prolongation of a reactor is an exceptional measure. In spite of the spirit of these laws, in June 2016, the NRA gave the go-ahead to two other aged reactors in Fukui, namely Units 1 and 2 of Takahama, both of which are more than 40 years old. Now, will the Authority give the same go-ahead to Mihama’s Unit 3 as well? Where is the “spirit” of the law?

 

And its own problems

Besides its age, Mihama’s Unit 3 has other problems as well. First, the reactor is located close to a geological fault. The NRA, therefore, had to raise the level of the reactor’s “maximum seismic intensity” 1.3 times above what Kansai Electric originally proposed. To meet this new and higher seismic standard, the power company asked the NRA for more time to take new safety measures. Thus, the Authority decided to “wait and see” before holding the final inspection of the seismic resistance capabilities of Unit 3’s major facilities. The same “wait and see” attitude took place with Units 1 and 2 of Takahama. In truth, however, seismic resistance inspection should be conducted in the beginning of the whole inspection process.

Furthermore, Kansai Electric decided to abolish Units 1 and 2 of Mihama. Why is it trying to extend the life of Unit 3 alone? One factor is that the economy of the municipality hosting the NPP has been dependent on the power plant. Another factor is that Unit 3 provides greater power output and, therefore, can be still profitable even after all the additional safety measures have been taken. Here, once again, we see the major factors that make Japan hold on to nuclear power—“economic addiction” to NPPs of the municipalities hosting them, and power companies going for money at the cost of safety.

 

Once a major NPP disaster has hit —-

Turning our eyes to where I am, Fukushima, many are still living with serious difficulties after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster took away their jobs and their hometowns. Once a major NPP accident has contaminated the environment, there is nothing we humans can do to bring it back to normal. This is obvious when you see what is happening here.

True, much decontamination work has been done—removing radioactive soil and cleaning road surface asphalt. After a while, however, the radiation levels of those “decontaminated” places rise again. I live and work in Koriyama, Fukushima, where many kids stroll around today, seemingly care-free. The town might seem to be at perfect peace. Actually, however, there are countless “hot spots” where the radiation levels are dangerously high. Thus, many parents tell their children not to touch the soil or plants. And many kids can stay outdoors for only limited periods of time. Those parents are seriously worried that their children will experience some radiation-related health problems, as well as mistreatment from other people. Worse yet, those parents simply have to keep these worries to themselves. It is not easy here for residents to talk about such worries, since doing so can ruin their relationships. In short, radiation has robbed the residents here of the right to live in freedom and in peace.

 

The Japanese author’s opinion

5 and 1/2 years ago, most people of this archipelago saw what terrible things radiation can do, and reconsidered what truly matters to them. The NRA, supposedly learning lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, has set up new nuclear regulations, saying that “there is no end to our efforts for nuclear safety. Always, we have to strive for a higher safety standard.” Now, however, economic greed is corroding such “repentance.”

Dear readers, are you aware of where electric power, something you consume every day, comes from? Today, residents of Japan are capable of choosing who should supply power to our homes. Thus, every one of us is, in one way or another, involved in national energy policies. We need to be wise; we cannot let national energy policies ruin either our beautiful natural environment or our freedom to live in peace. We are the ones to prevent another nuclear disaster.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese
The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Based on articles from the July 30^th and August 3^rd, 2016 editions of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper and the August 2^nd, 2016 edition of Fukushima Minpo newspaper

Evacuation orders lifted, but evacuees….

An evacuation order was issued in many districts soon after the meltdown began at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and now the order has been lifted for one district after another. Japan’s national government plans to lift all such orders by the end of March 2017, except for the “no return zones” where the radiation levels are still high. One intention of the government is to call the 2020 Tokyo Olympics the “Olympics of Recovery” and let the world know how well Japan has recovered from the March 2011 disaster.

So far, thanks to the evacuation orders that have been lifted, some 20,000 citizens are now “eligible” to return to their hometowns. How many of them, however, have actually “gone home?” In fact, only 5% or so. After spending some years as evacuees, many have gotten a job in the places they evacuated to, many are going to school there, and now, for many of them, the places they evacuated to have become a home where they make their living.

We can safely conclude that five years is too long a period to be called “evacuation.” Another factor preventing many from returning is that radiation is still an issue in many of their hometowns. Also, many of their hometowns today have only a few stores, clinics, etc. Thus, many evacuees, especially younger ones, find it hard to return.

 

Where to go?

At the same time, TEPCO and the national government are terminating their compensation and livelihood support payments to the evacuees. Many of the evacuees, called “voluntary evacuees,” left their homes without an order from the government. For evacuees of this kind, in compliance with the Disaster Relief Act, Fukushima’s prefectural government and the relevant municipal governments have rented some apartment rooms, both in and out of Fukushima Prefecture, and offered them to these evacuees free of charge. The prefectural government has decided to terminate this program at the end of March 2017. Every evacuee affected by this decision is now forced to make a tough decision – to continue to live as a “voluntary” evacuee on their own expense, or to return to their hometown.

 

Affected by the March 2011 earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown, 40,982 Fukushima citizens are currently in evacuation (including voluntary evacuees), as of July 14^th, 2016. Also, as of August 1^st, 2016, 47,922 others are still living inside the prefecture, but not in their hometowns. Twenty other people are living in evacuation in unidentified places. Thus, a total of 88,924 are in evacuation in and out of the prefecture.

Finding a place is quite difficult

Fukushima’s prefectural government officials and some other individuals visited some voluntary evacuees in and out of Fukushima in their residences. They successfully interviewed some 5,190 households. 1,693 (32.6%) of them had yet to figure out where to live after April 2017.

Many of the voluntary evacuees are households consisting of a mother and her child/children who fled from their original homes as soon as possible to protect themselves from radiation, taking only what they could carry with them. To such households, the termination of the rent-free apartment program is a critical issue. Moreover, in addition to their difficult life as evacuees, countless voluntary evacuees experience discrimination and prejudice from some of people around them.

 

Living with radiation

Parents raising a child in Fukushima still experience numerous conflicts and anxieties. As time goes by, those living in the prefecture talk less and less about radiation. Once you have chosen to stay there, you simply have to live with radiation, which does not disappear. Still, in many places, the radiation levels are still dangerously high, although many residents just avoid talking about it. Some residents just ignore radiation, while others take all the protective measures they can. Each resident here has their own standard of radiation protection for their own life.

---

 

 The Japanese author’s wish

Some media reports claim that residents of Fukushima have no more need to worry about radiation, while others say that radiation is still dangerously high. Both opinions are widespread. I hope that voluntary evacuees outside Fukushima will learn as much as they can about the radiation in the prefecture. If possible, they should visit their hometowns and just walk around. This way, I hope, they can clearly learn both the advantages and disadvantages of returning home and thereby make the best decision for themselves.

I also call for the Japanese government and the relevant municipal governments to provide as much help as they can to voluntary evacuees as they face new and uncertain lives.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese
The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Below: Article from the June 7^th, 2016 edition of the Fukushima Minpo newspaper

The Round 2 results
Following the meltdown of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), thyroid examinations of children of Fukushima have been conducted. The second round of the examinations (full checkups) began in April 2014, and by the end of March 2016, it had been determined that 30 of the children examined had thyroid cancer. This number has grown larger—by 14—than the 16 children found to have cancer in the first round, whose results were officially announced at the end of December 2015.

The chairperson of the “Kenmin Chosa Kento” Committee (Committee to Survey Fukushima Citizens and Consider Rebuilding Measures) repeated the Committee’s official statement that, “At this moment it is hard to discern influences from the radioactivity,” on the ground that, among other reasons, not many cases of thyroid cancer have been found in younger children, who are more sensitive to radioactivity than older children.

Can we trust the “experts”?
Here, we need to look closer at the examination results, as shown in Table 1 below. There, you can easily see that the “rate of malignant and suspected malignant cases” is higher in districts with higher radioactivity, such as those municipalities around Fukushima Daiichi currently specified as evacuation zones, as well as in the cities of Fukushima, Koriyama, etc. It is reasonable to suspect some cause-effect relationship between the meltdown and the thyroid cancer cases. Still, some experts deny such a cause-effect relationship.

(Table 1)
Results of the thyroid examinations, Round 2
(As of March 31^st, 2016)

FY2014	No. of subjects, Round 1	No. of subjects to be covered by Round 2	% of Round 2 subjects	No. of subjects who received Round 2	Malignant and suspected malignant cases	% of malignant and suspected malignant cases
Kawamatamachi Namiemachi Idatemura Minamisoumashi Dateshi Tamurashi HIronomachi Narahamachi Tomiokamachi Kawauchimura Okumamachi Futabamachi Kuzuomura Fukusimashi Nihonmatsushi Motomiyashi Otamamura Koriyamashi Korimachi Kunimimachi Teneimura Shirakawashi Nishigoumura Izumizakimura Miharumachi	1,763 2,500 759 8,882 9,100 5,005 679 999 1,994 213 1,752 684 150 42,653 7,872 4,804 1,262 47,773 1,632 1,237 790 9,652 3,172 996 2,375	23 27 14 81 84 51 9 5 24 2 14 2 2 344 58 31 5 351 14 9 11 63 27 3 23	1.3 1.1 1.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.3 0.5 1.2 0.9 0.8 0.3 1.3 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.9 0.7 1.4 0.7 0.9 0.3 1.0	19 22 11 68 76 42 7 4 20 1 12 1 2 286 50 26 5 269 10 8 6 46 19 2 13	0 2 0 4 7 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 8 1 3 0 17 1 0 0 1 0 0 0	0.00 0.08 0.00 0.05 0.08 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.06 0.00 0.04 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00
Subtotal	158,698	1,277	0.8	1,025	48	0.03

FY2015	No. of subjects, Round 1	No. of subjects to be covered by Round 2	% of Round 2 subjects	No. of subjects who received Round 2	Malignant and suspected malignant cases	% of malignant and suspected malignant cases
Iwakishi Sukagawashi Soumashi Kagamiishimachi Shinchimachi Nakajimamura Yabukimachi Isikawamachi Yamatsurimachi Asawakamachi Hiratamura Tanaguramachi Hanawamachi Samegawamura Onomachi Tamakawamura Furudonomachi Hinoematamura Minamiaizumachi Keneyamamachi Showamura Mishimamachi Shimogoumachi Kitakatashi Nishiaizumachi Tadamimachi Inawashiromachi Bandaimachi Kitasiobaramura Aizumisatomachi Aizubangemachi Yanaizumachi Aizuwakamatsushi Yugawamura	44,143 11,382 4,697 1,971 1,028 751 2,386 2,009 732 1,016 848 2,136 1,161 485 1,250 961 784 66 1,757 120 93 120 611 5,558 643 456 1,710 398 376 2,484 2,026 385 14,025 503	322 99 30 15 13 5 15 13 4 8 6 16 8 6 10 9 3 0 16 0 0 1 4 37 4 6 12 3 2 13 10 0 91 3	0.7 0.9 0.6 0.8 1.3 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.2 0.8 0.9 0.4 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 1.3 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.6 0.6	105 72 24 13 10 2 10 8 3 6 4 6 7 2 4 4 2 0 11 0 0 1 2 2 2 3 8 2 2 0 2 0 3 0	4 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0	0.01 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.00 0.13 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00
Subtotal	109,071	784	0.7	320	9	0.01

The Japanese author’s concerns
Here in Fukushima, some 130 children, diagnosed to have thyroid cancer, have already undergone surgery. Metastasis to a lymph node has been detected in more than 70% of these children. Some 70% of those children whose cancer has metastasized have a tumor 1cm (0.4”) or larger in size. In some children, the cancer has metastasized to a lung. These facts show that these children are suffering from fast-developing cancer. No one can claim that these children had surgery too soon.

Some experts fear that some children can be over-diagnosed, and that some of them might undergo unnecessary surgery after such an over-diagnosis. If such a case occurs, then good compensation and long-term care should be provided to the affected child and his/her family.

Also, we have to keep in mind that all those children who go through cancer checkups, as well as their parents, live every day with worry and stress.

We have to keep searching for the truth. Otherwise, many children might be forced to live at the mercy of some adults who turn their eyes away from these grave issues. Some adults are even trying to cover up these issues.

 

※Note on the thyroid examinations in Fukushima
The pilot examinations, Round 1, covered those Fukushima children who were 18 years in age or younger, some 370,000 in number, when the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown began. Round 2, the full examinations, covered some 380,000 children in all, including those born within a year of when the meltdown began. Round 1 inspected a “lumps” within the thyroid with an ultrasonic device, to discover their shape, size, etc., and ranked each lump as “A1,” “A2,” “B,” or “C,” in the order of seriousness. (“A1” is the easiest to treat.) If a child is found to have a lump of a certain size or larger that falls under either “B” or “C,” then Round 2 examinations look in more detail into his/her blood, cells, etc.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese
The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Below: Article from the March 13^th, 2016 edition of the Akahata newspaper

A “safe” place to play in

In Koriyama, Fukushima, there is a children’s play facility named “PEP Kids Koriyama.” Opened in December 2011, “PEP” has been providing children in Koriyama spaces where they can play as they want to, free from anxieties related to radiation.

So far, Fukushima Prefecture has opened 65 such facilities, taking advantage of its municipalities’ projects to secure indoor playgrounds for kids. The precursor to them, PEP Kids Koriyama, is the largest of its kind in Fukushima, so far serving some 300,000 people each year. On commission from the municipal government of Koriyama, a non-profit organization called “PEP Network of Child Care in Koriyama,” runs the facility.

Fun inside
Step inside the facility and you are in a large space, greater than a typical elementary school gym, surrounded by a great variety of play equipment. Here, playing with the equipment, a child can learn 36 basic types of body movements. There are also a sandpit 70m² (753.5 square feet) in area, a tricycle circuit, a ball playground, and other equipment. In many parts of Fukushima, where radiation is still strong, children cannot play outdoors. Many kids and their parents come together at PEP from all over Fukushima.

Swimming pool? No, swimming balls!
Mr. Kentaro Sato (age 36) was having fun in the “ball pool,” where a player “swims” in the pool of plastic balls, with his two daughters, aged 5 and 3 years. Said he, “Playing outdoors still makes us quite uneasy. Here we can play in peace. We play here three times a month, and my kids always love it.” PEP Kids Koriyama is admission free, and you can play in it for 90 minutes each time.

— no play makes Jack a dull boy
Dr. Shintaro Kikuchi, a pediatrician involved in the administration of the play facility, has examined numerous kindergarteners and discovered that, following the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown, the children’s rate of weight increase has declined to around a third of the rate before the disaster. The pediatrician also said, “The current tragedy of Fukushima has showed us how crucial children’s right to play and grow up is. We adults are responsible to secure that right of theirs to the maximum.”

---

A child in confinement
5 years ago, the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown took playgrounds and the opportunity for growth in physical strength away from Fukushima’s children, leaving them with many developmental and growth problems.

A certain mother raising her child in Koriyama, Fukushima, said she has not let her child play outdoors since the meltdown began in March 2011. Both she and her husband have to work, and it is hard for them to drive with their child to somewhere far away on weekends so their child can play outside. Their child, therefore, simply plays video games at home on days off from school. One’s childhood is important developmentally, and a childhood without the opportunity of playing outdoors can have seriously adverse effects on the child. The mother honestly said she was worried about her child’s future. Her child is deprived of the happy memories that come from playing in nature, and she feels guilty for that.

The Japanese author’s concerns
I too am deeply worried over Fukushima’s children and their parents. Parenting in an environment like this is quite burdensome and can badly affect the whole family.

 

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese
The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Below: Article from the March 27^th, 2016 edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper

 Mr. Ryoichi Wago is a high school teacher and a poet.
Born and raised in Fukushima, he suffered in the East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Mr. Wago has been expressing, through his poetry, what goes on in the minds of  Fukushima residents. Today, five years after the catastrophe, he described his thoughts on the Asahi Shimbun webpage. I, Fumi Kawamori, found his thoughts quite amenable, so below I share some them with you.

“When the meltdown began, I despaired that Fukushima might become a ghost prefecture, with no humans living there. So, I decided to remain here in Fukushima till I die. It was then that the poem “Radiation is coming down. A silent night,” came to my mind.

The 2011 earthquake shook and broke something within me. By then, I had already been creating poems for more than two decades, questioning the irrationalities of the human world. Still, all my creations were useless before the seismic catastrophe. Everything I saw was irrational. My imagination was unable to say anything. What we had taken for granted as “the daily” was so fragile. I was terrified!

Before the 2011 disaster, my direction in writing poems was, “let those who have ears listen and understand.” That catastrophic experience changed my direction to “let more hear of this.” Now, I want to describe the irrationalities right in front of my eyes as they are, and I want to make this post-meltdown world known to as many people as possible. What is happening here in Fukushima is an issue for the whole society. It affects individual lives as well. So, I now use very plain words. I also use some words I never used before the meltdown, such as “sorrows” and “tears.”

In the minds of many people in the affected areas, there are still some dark things remaining, left unattended—just like those black vinyl bags containing contaminated soil, piled up here and there in Fukushima. Reading a poem can expose such “dark matter.” A reader of my poems wrote to me, saying “Your poems describe precisely my resentments and sorrows, and brought me to tears.” Such dark matter must be exposed and spat out, to create some space in the mind to accommodate something new. So, our fears, anxieties and sorrows should be given shapes and shared by many. For that reason, I keep to my music and theater activities as well.

Also, presenting the same old things in the same old language will make the messages stale. Bringing up the disaster again using new language that has never been used before can make people think about it once again. For instance, I want to see as many people as possible visit and see the hard-hit areas. Still, I need a word other than “tourism.”

“Reconstruction” is a word that sounds brutal to me. It implies that the acceleration of work and good results are what is wanted. So, all our tragedies and our agonies are measured by work and results. Here in Fukushima, some 100,000 people have evacuated. Many children who lost their homes to the tsunami only recently have been able to visit the beach. So, I intend to find words to describe their current feelings and thoughts fully, day in and day out.”

---

 

The Japanese author’s feelings
Once you have decided to keep living here in Fukushima, radiation is something you just have to learn to live with. Year after year, living in this desperate situation, it has grown harder and harder to talk about radiation with people here. Thus, we have anxieties, sorrows, etc. that we cannot let out of our mouths. They are piled up in the dark of our minds.

Such “dark matter” must be spat out one way or another—shared with others. Such sharing purifies my mind—this I can say for sure, out of my own experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below written and arranged by Heeday, based on the original Japanese
The English edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

Below: Articles from the March 26^th, 2016 editions of the Fukushima Minpo and Akahata newspapers

▼Click each image to read an English summary of the Japanese article.

On March 25^th, 2016, Shikoku Electric Power decided to decommission Unit 1 of its Ikata Nuclear Power Plant (located in Ikata, Ehime Pref., some 250 miles WSW of Osaka) this coming May. The unit would be into its 40^th year of operation in 2017. The power company has submitted a notice of the decision to decommission Unit 1 to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The residents around the nuclear power plant (NPP), however, are raising their voices: “The decision has come much too late. The remaining units should be decommissioned as well.”

Goliath money for Li’l David power
If Shikoku Electric wished to extend Unit 1’s operation, it would have to meet the legal requirement of submitting an application to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), by this September, a year before the reactor reaches its legal life of 40 years. The power company has been considering such an extension of Unit 1. However, this unit has a small power output (566,000 kW) and the extension work is estimated to cost more than JPY170 billion. Thus, the company has given up on the extension. Following the meltdown of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi, the Japanese government set up a new regulation, stating that a reactor can operate only for up to 40 years. Under this new regulation, last spring five reactors received the verdict of decommissioning. Ikata Unit 1 has become the sixth.

Feeding 30 Goliaths—would it make sense?
The government is proposing a mix of power sources (“best mix”), which says nuclear power should supply 20 to 22% of the total power demand in FY2030. This means some 30 reactors would need to be operating then. Still, the safety measures for them are monstrous, which could prevent many reactor restarts. Consequently, this “best mix” will be nothing more than a castle in the air.

The other units
At the same time, Shikoku Electric, on the same day, March 25^th, submitted to the NRA an application for a pre-use inspection for Unit 3 of Ikata. This inspection is the final procedure to be taken before restarting a reactor. This unit “met” the new safety regulations last July. Those regulations are part of the requirements for a reactor restart. Its owner, Shikoku Electric, plans to restart Unit 3 late July, this year. The company is also considering a restart of Unit 2 as well.

After the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown, Japan’s government amended the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law and set the basic operation period of a reactor at 40 years. An extension of up to 20 years might be granted, provided the mandatory safety measures, such as flame retarding of power cables, are correctly taken. The NRA examines if such measures have been appropriately taken, in compliance with the amended legal standard, before the reactor in question can be restarted.

Money, or life?
Many of the NPP’s equipment and facilities run under severe conditions of high temperatures and pressures. Also, vibration-induced metallic fatigue and thermal fatigue make them fragile. Moreover, close to the Ikata NPP runs the “median tectonic line,” one of Japan’s greatest active faults. Its Unit 1, almost 40 years at work, simply has to be decommissioned.

Yet there is a deeper issue. Shikoku Electric decided to decommission Ikata Unit 1 for business reasons—the extension cost exceeds the estimated profit from the extended operation. It was not a safety decision. The company plans to restart Ikata Unit 3, which has “met” the amended national standard, this July.

The Japanese author’s concerns and wish
The Ohtsu District Court, listening to the plaintiff residents, made a court decision to stop Units 3 and 4 of Kansai Electric’s Takahama NPP, which were only recently restarted. The court’s decision pointed out a crucial issue about the amended national standard, which provides the justification for a reactor restart: “Though the amendment was made in response to the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown, we have yet to identify the very causes of the meltdown.” In a situation like this, restarting Ikata Unit 3 would be a downright folly. I sure hope Shikoku Electric will decommission all the units.