Japan Passes Law To Cleanse Internet Of "Bad" Fukushima Radiation News
* Japan nuclear radiation
* July 24, 2011
* By: Alexander Higgins
http://www.examiner.com/article/japan-passes-law-to-cleanse-internet-of-bad-fukushima-radiation-news
Japanese Farmer Refuses To Kill Radioactive Cows
Credits:
Uncanny Terrain - YouTube
Related topics
* nuclear fallout
* Censorship
* Radiation
* Japan
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Japan has passed a law that will enable the police and contractors to monitor
internet activity without restriction to "cleanse" the Internet of any
"bad" Fukushima radiation news.
As I previous reported, Japan has officially ordered the censorship of any
reporting of the truth about the Fukushima nuclear radiation
fallout by ordering telecommunications companies and web masters to
scrub any stories negative stories from the about the disaster.
Japan Officially Orders Censorship Of Truth About Fukushima Nuclear Radiation
Disaster
>The government of Japan has issued an official order to
telecommunications companies and web masters to censor reports which
contradict the state media reports that the Fukushima nuclear radiation
disaster is over.
>
>
>
>Japan Government Officially Censors Truth About Fukushima Nuclear Radiation
>Disaster
>The supposedly free democratic nation of Japan, which supposedly
values and promotes freedom of speech, has officially issued orders to
telecommunication companies and webmasters to remove content from
websites that counter the official government position that the disaster is
over and there is no more threat from the radiation.
>The government charges that the damage caused by
earthquakes and by the nuclear accident are being magnified by
irresponsible rumors, and the government must take action for the sake
of the public good. The project team has begun to send “letters of
request” to such organizations as telephone companies, internet
providers, cable television stations, and others, demanding that they
“take adequate measures based on the guidelines in response to illegal
information. ”The measures include erasing any information from internet sites
that the authorities deem harmful to public order and morality.
>>Source: Asia Pacific Journal
>Nuclear Expert Arnie Gundersen On The Latest Fukushima Developments
>© 2012 Zenrin© 2013 Microsoft Corporation
>Location: Tokyo, Japan 35.675195753574 ; 139.76959593594
>Note: I saw the executive order issued by Japan a week or two ago but could
>not find it in an English version anywhere but didn't report on
it because the Japanese to English translated versions of the order did
not provide clear enough meaning. What I gathered from the order was
that Japan ordered telecommunication companies to provide notices to
websites and webmasters to remove messages from internet bulletin boards and
websites that conflicted with the Government reported version of
events. If the websites and webmasters did not comply the
telecommunication companies are to shut down offending websites as this
is considered a national security issue which is affecting public safety and
contributing to public unrest. It was also ordered that email
communications be monitored to prevent the spread of false rumors. If
you can find the original executive order, please send me a tip with the link.
>[...]
>When Tanaka requested the names of the media executives hosted by
TEPCO in China, Katsumata retorted, “I cannot reveal their names since
this is private information.” But it is precisely such collusive
relations between mainstream media, the government and TEPCO, that
results in the censorship of information concerning nuclear problems.
>Now the Japanese government has moved to crack down on independent
reportage and criticism of the government’s policies in the wake of the
disaster by deciding what citizens may or may not talk about in public. A new
project team has been created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communication, the National Police Agency, and METI to combat
“rumors” deemed harmful to Japanese security in the wake of the
Fukushima disaster.
>The government charges that the damage caused by earthquakes and by
the nuclear accident are being magnified by irresponsible rumors, and
the government must take action for the sake of the public good. The
project team has begun to send “letters of request” to such
organizations as telephone companies, internet providers, cable
television stations, and others, demanding that they “take adequate
measures based on the guidelines in response to illegal information.
”The measures include erasing any information from internet sites that
the authorities deem harmful to public order and morality.
>[...]
>Read The Rest...
Apparently the previous order was not enough to stem the flow of
negative news as Japan has passed allow that will allow police
unrestricted access to monitor all Internet communications to crack down on the
so-called rumors. Making matters worse, Japan has issued open
bids for companies to monitor blogs and social media such as tweets to
crack down on the information making its way around the internet.
According to are report on the U.K progressive, the Agency for Natural
Resources and Energy,
opened a call for bids (tender) regarding the “Nuclear Power Safety
Regulation Publicity Project”, for contractors to monitor blogs and
tweets posted about nuclear power and radiation.
“Nuclear Power Safety Regulation Publicity Project”
stipulates that, “The Contractor is required to monitor blogs on nuclear power
and radiation issues as well as Twitter accounts (monitoring
tweets is essential) around the clock, and conduct research and analysis on
incorrect and inappropriate information that would lead to false
rumors, and to report such internet accounts to the Agency. The
“Contractor” is required to keep the Agency well informed on the
internet accounts and keywords used in the blogs and Twitter accounts
that are posting incorrect and inappropriate information. The Contractor is
required to maintain sufficient number of personnel for
around-the-clock monitoring. The Contractor is required to submit
reports on internet accounts via CDR.” The document, however, does not
state that blogs or Twitter accounts, which run afoul of METI’s
guidelines, are to be banned or frozen.”
Nuclear News adds in their report 'Japan about to censor Internet news on
nuclear radiation?'
Since March 11, 2011 it has been reported that YouTube
videos containing footage or comments unfavorable to Tokyo Electric
Power Company (TEPCO) or the Japanese government have been removed
within several hours of their posting. Examples of offending YouTube
videos include excerpts of TV shows with controversial comments like
footage showing smoke emitted from the nuclear reactors, and an ex-TEPCO
employee speaking on his Fukushima experiences. Likewise, Twitter
accounts with too much content regarding nuclear power and radiation
issues have been disrupted.
Prof. Ibusuki of Seijo Univ. Law Dept. comments:
“The Computer Network Monitoring Law will enable the
police to monitor anyone’s internet activity without restriction.”
Although this appears, on the surface, to be beneficial when targeting
cyber-attacks, some Japanese commentators are suggesting that the law is
un-Constitutional……
>“Nuclear Power Safety Regulation Publicity Project” stipulates that,
“The Contractor is required to monitor blogs on nuclear power and
radiation issues as well as Twitter accounts (monitoring tweets is
essential) around the clock, and conduct research and analysis on
incorrect and inappropriate information that would lead to false rumors, and to
report such internet accounts to the Agency. The “Contractor” is required to
keep the Agency well informed on the internet accounts and
keywords used in the blogs and Twitter accounts that are posting
incorrect and inappropriate information. The Contractor is required to
maintain sufficient number of personnel for around-the-clock monitoring. The
Contractor is required to submit reports on internet accounts via
CDR.” The document, however, does not state that blogs or Twitter
accounts, which run afoul of METI’s guidelines, are to be banned or
frozen.”
The U.K Progressive further elaborates:
Saturday, July 23, The Japan Times reported, about 1,500
cows that were fed hay containing radioactive cesium, in excess of the
government limit, were found to have been shipped from Fukushima and
other prefectures to all of Japan except Okinawa, as of Thursday, July
21. Evidence of rising contamination in and around the plant has
tempered optimism, and new reports has consumers raising questions about
whether it remains safe to eat beef, chicken and pork.
>Since March 11, 2011 it has been reported that YouTube videos
containing footage or comments unfavorable to Tokyo Electric Power
Company (TEPCO) or the Japanese government have been removed within
several hours of their posting. Examples of offending YouTube videos
include excerpts of TV shows with controversial comments like footage
showing smoke emitted from the nuclear reactors, and an ex-TEPCO
employee speaking on his Fukushima experiences. Likewise, Twitter
accounts with too much content regarding nuclear power and radiation
issues have been disrupted.
>While many radioactive cattle have been discovered long distances
from Fukushima, what is more important is where their feed is coming
from.
>Uncanny Terrain: Yoshizawa’s ranch is 14km downwind from the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The government ordered him to
kill his 300 cows. Most of his neighbors’ animals are gone, but some
have been released and joined his herd. Yoshizawa refuses to kill his
cows. He wants them to be studied for the effects of radiation.
>Straw found 45 miles from Fukushima is highly contaminated with
radioactive cesium, which is an indication that radiation has
contaminated large portions of Northern Japan. More than half a million
disintegration per second in a kilogram of straw are comparable to
Chernobyl levels.
>The American Nuclear Regulatory Commission was correct when it told
Americans to evacuate beyond 50 miles from Fukushima – the Japanese
should have done the same. Ex-Secretariat, Gundersen, of Japan’s Nuclear Safety
Commission blames this contamination on “Black Rain”. “Rather
than minimize the information the Japanese people receive,” Gundersen
suggests, “minimizing their radiation exposure..”
This video included in the progressive report page shows the type of the
negative information Japan is trying to keep a lid. Even in light of the recent
beef scandal were Japan allowed highly radioactive beef to be shipped all over
the
country and be eaten when it was widely reported that the beef was
highly radioactive this man whose cows are only 14 miles from the
Fukushima plant refuses to kill his cows.
Meanwhile, in this video, Nuclear Engineer Arnie Gundersen says it is time to
stop trying to
minimize the flow of information and start minimizing the radiation
exposure people are receiving.
Famed Nuclear Physicist Chris Bubsy goes even further says the Fukushima
disaster health risk is being grossly underestimated and is far worse than
Chernobyl on a global level.
Instead of factual reporting, the new law will mean a news sites and
blogs will become proliferated with news articles like this report from Daily
Yomuri with the feel good healdine of "Fun in the sun for Fukushima families".
Fun in the sun for Fukushima families
>[...]
>To make summer more enjoyable for children, a newly organized group
called "Fukushima no kodomo o mamoru kai" (group to protect Fukushima
children) is planning a 29-day trip around Hokkaido for children and
their parents from Fukushima Prefecture.
>The group was founded by a woman who evacuated from Fukushima to
Sapporo and other volunteers. During the one-month program, which begins
Monday, participants can enjoy swimming, hiking and bug collecting.
>It costs only 5,000 yen for children and 20,000 yen for parents with
additional funds coming from donations by Hokkaido residents and others. A
total of 20 families or 44 people are slated to participate in the
program.
>Yuka Saito, 38, who will join the trip with her three children, said: "My kids
>and I are tired of worrying about radiation. In Hokkaido, we
don't have to worry about food contamination and I want my kids to run
around outside and enjoy themselves."
>The Fukushima University disaster volunteer center, mainly made up of
>university students, will invite about 40 primary school students for a free,
>five-day summer camp on the Shima Peninsula, Mie Prefecture.
>In Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, parents and schools will give
about 840 children and parents the opportunity to travel abroad to Asian
countries or to many destinations in Japan, including Okinawa.
Participants do not have to pay for transportation, accommodation or
most other expenses, which will be covered by local governments and
nonprofit organizations.
>[...]
>Source: The Daily Yomuri
Suggested by the author:
* Physicist: Fukushima Risk Grossly Underestimated And Far Worse Than
Chernobyl
* Fukushima: Still Dire For Japan Radiation Still Threatening the U.S.
and Canada
* Nuclear Whistleblower “Books Are Being Cooked” Fukushima In America
Will Happen
* Gundersen: Stop Minimizing Information And Start Minimizing Radiation
Exposure
* Japan Forced School Children To Clean Radioactive Dirt From Swimming
Pools
.........................................................................................................
http://japanfocus.org/-Makiko-Segawa/3516
Fukushima Residents Seek
Answers Amid Mixed Signals From Media, TEPCO and Government. Report from the
Radiation Exclusion Zone (Updated May 16)
Makiko SEGAWA in Fukushima
Mistrust of the media has surged among the people of Fukushima
Prefecture. In part this is due to reports filed by mainstream
journalists who are unwilling to visit the area near the crippled
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. But above all it is the result of
contradictory reportsreleased by the media, TEPCO and the government.
On the one hand, many local officials and residents in Fukushima
insist that the situation is safe and that the media, in fanning
unwarranted fears, are damaging the economy of the region.By contrast,
many freelance journalists in Tokyo report that the central government
is downplaying the fact that radiation leakage has been massive and that the
threat to public health has been woefully underestimated. While the government
long hewed to its original definition of a 20 kilometer
exclusion zone, following the April 12 announcement that the Fukushima
radiation severity level has been raised from a level 5 event (as with
Three Mile Island) to a level 7 event (as with Chernobyl), the
government also extended the radiation exclusion zone from 20 kilometers to at
least five communities in the 30-50 kilometer range.
In recent weeks, many Fukushima residents who fled in the first week
of the nuclear crisis have begun returning home and attempting to resume normal
activities. For example, some local people in Iwaki city, 40-50
km from the Fukushima Daiichi reactor, are convinced that it is now safe to
return despite the high radiation levels recorded. Here is one
example.
School Entrance Ceremony Amid Radiation Fear in an Exclusion Zone Near the
Fukushima Daiichi Reactor
In Japan, April’s cherry blossoms signal a symbolic beginning, a new
stage in life. On April 6th, along with school children across the
nation, Iwaki City, within the 40 km radiation exclusion zone, held many school
entrance ceremonies for elementary, middle and high schools.
Iwaki's Yumoto Daini Middle School’s ceremony was a bit different:
not only were there 33 new students, but refugees living on the school
grounds and some members of the Self Defense Force also attended.
Overall 107 people participated in the ceremony. Headmaster Sawai Shiro
may have exceeded his authority in taking the humanitarian step of
granting permission for the refugees to remain on campus as the school
year begins, at the risk of being punished later for breaking rules.
School Entrance Ceremony at Yumoto Daini Middle School, Iwaki City, Fukushima
Local sources report that in the first week or so after the nuclear
crisis began, Iwaki City experienced difficulties in receiving supplies
like food and fuel because many agents refused to deliver.Since early
April, refugees who had evacuated outside the prefecture started
returning. Restaurants in downtown Iwaki are reopening and many
convenience stores boast reasonably well-stocked shelves, while gas,
water and electricity have been restored. Iwaki City has repeatedly
confirmed that “radiation is at a stable level which is not harmful to
human health.” Iwaki officials explain that this judgment is based on
figures provided by the Fukushima prefectural government regularly
updated since March 11.
Principal Sawai began his welcome speech by saying, "I am glad to be
able to confirm that all 33 new students are participating in this
ceremony amidst a disaster that had forced many people to leave
Yumoto.""In our district,” he continued,“some people survived by
drinking water from their bath for weeks as there was no running water. I want
you to care for each other especially for anyone who is in
trouble." He concluded, "You young students, are the future of Japan.
Now, we should be bound as one beyond differences in ideas, position or
self interest."
Though all the new students attended, not all teachers were there. As a result
of the catastrophe, personnel for the school was frozen and
new teachers were not dispatched to the school, Sawai explained. As a
result of the lack of teachers, there will be only one class run by a
teacher for each grade.
School Doctor Informs Children “The radiation problem is already finished.”
Following the principal’s speech, the school’s doctor in his white
coat stated matter-of-factly that, based on science, people should know
that the worst of the earthquake damage had passed and that radiation
leakages from the Fukushima Daiichi plant were decreasing and would soon fade
away.
“The radiation problem is already finished,” he told the children and their
parents. “You can go to school and go outside without any
problem. You should not fear malicious gossip.”
While the doctor’s assurance that all major risks have ended would
certainly raise eyebrows among most people outside the prefecture, many
locals share this belief. We note the difference in perspective between
radiation experts and people assessing the issues at a distance and
those on the ground facing the destruction of their livelihood. While
rumors of the dangers of radiation continue to swirl, many locals are
even more afraid that rumors will destroy their businesses and any hope
of securing their livelihood and rebuilding their communities.
Ikarashi Yoshitaka, 33, is one who is particularly keen on restoring
his business and the local economy, a goal that leads him to downplay
warnings of radiation risk.“It is just an emotional thesis that ours is
‘a city in danger!’” he insisted. Together with dozens of volunteers
from across Japan, Ikarashi has visited many areas throughout the
radiation exclusion zone. He confidently asserts that his $600 made in
U.S "Geiger counter" has detected no abnormal amount of radiation.
Ikarashi is troubled by the fact that the milk business he manages
suffered a 90% drop in sales as a result of radiation fears. Some
farmers have been forced to throw away their milk, and at least one
local farmer is rumored to have committed suicide over the ruin of his
business.
Following the government announcement of level 7, Ikarashi observed
that “residents will not listen; they don’t trust the government. The
greatest concern for locals is to restore their towns and I’m doing my
best to restore Iwaki City.”
Honma Hiroshi, 56, on patrol with the SDF in Iwaki comments: “I’m
surprised that local people are so calm. Even within the 30 km radiation
exclusion zone, they don’t even wear special anti-radiation clothes
(Taibex). Even after the level 7 announcement, there has been no panic
in the city."
Desperation over the destruction of the local economy appears to have provoked
an unscientific optimism concerning radiation in some local
communities struggling to get back on their feet.
Shortage of Information and Aid for Fukushima Citizens in the Radiation
Exclusion Zone
Ikarashi points out that the reason for the absence of trustworthy
information and the presence of baseless gossip is “lack of
information”; the national media tend to avoid entering the radiation
exclusion zone, fearing contamination and merely regurgitate the claims
of the local government and officials obtained by telephone.
A more intense form of the same crisis struck Minami-Soma City,
closer to the nuclear plant within the 20 km zone but on its northern
side. For more than a week, the city was like an island bereft of food,
water, and gasoline. Finally, in desperation, on March 24, Mayor Sakurai
Katsunobu sent an SOS to the world through YouTube begging for support to his
dying community.
Mayor Sakurai Katsunobu
Mayor Sakurai explained that his gambit of airing a Youtube call for help
succeeded in drawing the attention of the central
government, and Tokyo has taken seriously subsequent requests. However,
Sakurai, said that as of April 6, only 20,000 residents remained of a
population of 70,000. “We have to think of the means to save the
remaining weak people (aged people and someone who do not have money to
evacuate)", Sakurai said sadly.
Minami Soma City
On April 7, the mayor made a second Youtube, observing that "Many businesses
had started operating. But, there is no reliable information on the nuclear
reactor!"
In the nuclear radiation exclusion zone close to the plant, large
numbers of people are out of work. The Fukushima Labor Bureau, on March
29, said that as a result of the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
disaster, about 58,000 people in approximately 4,800 work places within
the 30 km exclusion zone around the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor have lost
jobs.
Local people voice concern that the jobless rate is being inflated as a result
of pernicious rumors. At the same time that the school
ceremony was being held, a long queue of people was lined up in front of the
Public Employment Agency in Taira, Iwaki from 8 a.m. in hope of
finding work.
Public Employment Agency, Taira
"Before, people formed queues several kilometers long at gas
stations; now people stand in a long line at the employment agency,"
Mori Akira, 63, pastor of the Global Mission Chapel, sighed.
Shimoyamada Matsuto, 50, director of public relations for Iwaki city
Disaster Management Headquarters, explained, "Since harmful rumors are
so powerful, not only are farming and fishing industries affected, even
some industries have been damaged as a result of claims that even
machines are contaminated!"
Fukushima provides one third of the electric power for the Tokyo
Metropolitan Area, including both nuclear and thermal power plants. “If
Fukushima goes down, the entire capital region will panic!" Shimoyamada
warned.
Study Session with Hatoyama Yukio and Freelance Journalists: Questioning the
Media, the Government and TEPCO
In Tokyo, on April 6, a group of freelance journalists centered on Uesugi
Takashi, 43, held a media session with dozens of DPJ lawmakers, including
former Prime Minister Hatoyama
Yukio, to question the performance of the media in the wake of the
Fukushima disaster.
Hatoyama Yukio (right) Uesugi Takashi (left) at media conference
Kawauchi Hiroshi, a DPJ member of the House of Representative, stated that
“Information about radiation diffusion should be correctly
revealed to the nation. However, so far only once was this done."He
explained the frustration of local officials. "The information from
TEPCO (Tokyo Electronic Power Company) should be precisely conveyed. I
talked to the mayor of Iidate village (in the 30km zone), whotold me,
'There is no information and I do not know what to do.'"
The Media Corruption that Protects TEPCO
Uesugi Takashi explained the core of the problem behind misinformation and
rumors.
"Freelance journalists and foreign media are pursuing the facts, even going
into the radiation exclusion zone. However, surprisingly, the
Japan government continues to prevent freelance journalists and overseas media
from gaining access to official press conferences at the prime
minister's house and government."
Uesugi stated that since March 11th, the government has excluded all
internet media and all foreign media from official press conferences on
the "Emergency Situation". While foreign media have scrambled to gather
informationabout the Fukushima Reactor, they have been denied access to
the direct information provided by the government and one consequence of this
is that "rumor-rife news has been broadcast overseas."
In fact, access has been limited in two ways. First, while Chief
Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio holds twice daily press conferences for
representatives of the big Japanese media, registered representatives of
freelance and internet media are limited to a single press conference
per week. Second, in contrast to Japanese media who are briefed
regularly by Edano and periodically by Prime Miniser Kan, foreign media
are briefed exclusively by administrative staff.
Uesugi also notes that at TEPCO press conferences, which are now
being held at company headquarters, foreign correspondents and Japanese
freelancers regularly ask probing questions while mainstream journalists simply
record and report company statements reiterating that the
situation is basically under control and there is nothing to worry
about. One reason for this, Uesugi suggests, is that TEPCO, a giant
media sponsor, has an annual 20 billion yen advertising budget. "The
media keeps defending the information from TEPCO!” “The Japanese media
today is no different from the wartime propaganda media that kept
repeating to the very end that ‘Japan is winning the war against
America,’” Uesugi exclaimed.
There is one particularly telling example of the media shielding
TEPCO by suppressing information. This concerns “plutonium”. According
to Uesugi, after the reactor blew up on March 14, there was concern
about the leakage of plutonium. However, astonishingly, until two weeks
later when Uesugi asked, not a single media representative had raised
the question of plutonium at TEPCO's press conferences.
On March 26, in response to Uesugi’s query, TEPCO stated, “We do not
measure the level of plutonium and do not even have a detector to scale
it.” Ironically, the next day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano announced
that “plutonium was detected”.
When TEPCO finally released data on radioactive plutonium on March
28, it stated that plutonium -238, -239, and -240 were found in the
ground, but insisted that it posed no human risk. Since TEPCO provided
no clarification of the meaning of the plutonium radiation findings, the
mainstream press merely reported the presence of the radiation without
assessment (link). Nippon Television on March 29 headlined its interview with
Tokyo University Prof. Nakagawa Keiichi, a radiation specialist, “Plutonium
from the power plant—No effect on neighbors.”
On March 15, Uesugi criticized TEPCO for its closed attitude toward
information on a TBS radio program. For this, he was immediately
dismissed from his regular program. The scandal involving TEPCO’s
silencing of the media took an interesting turn two weeks later. At the
time of the disaster on March 11, TEPCO Chairman Katsumata Tsunehisa was
hosting dozens of mainstream media executives on a “study session” in
China.When asked about this fact by freelance journalist Tanaka Ryusaku
at a TEPCO press conference on March 30, Katsumata defended the
practice.
“It is a fact that we traveled together to China,” he said, “[TEPCO]
did not pay all the expenses of the trip, but we paid more than they
did. Certainly they are executives of the mass media, but they are all
members of the study session.”
When Tanaka requested the names of the media executives hosted by
TEPCO in China, Katsumata retorted, “I cannot reveal their names since
this is private information.” But it is precisely such collusive
relations between mainstream media, the government and TEPCO, that
results in the censorship of information concerning nuclear problems.
Now the Japanese government has moved to crack down on independent
reportage and criticism of the government’s policies in the wake of the
disaster by deciding what citizens may or may not talk about in public. A new
project team has been created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communication, the National Police Agency, and METI to combat
“rumors” deemed harmful to Japanese security in the wake of the
Fukushima disaster.
The government charges that the damage caused by earthquakes and by
the nuclear accident are being magnified by irresponsible rumors, and
the government must take action for the sake of the public good. The
project team has begun to send “letters of request” to such organizations as
telephone companies, internet providers, cable television stations, and others,
demanding that they “take adequate
measures based on the guidelines in response to illegal information.
”The measures include erasing any information from internet sites that
the authorities deem harmful to public order and morality.
Children of Minami-Soma: An Interview with Mayor Sakurai Katsunobu
Makiko Segawa
In an exclusive interview with the writer in the first week of May,
Minami-Soma Mayor Sakurai Katsunobu discussed the potential health
risks, especially for children.
Mayor Sakurai—recently named by Time magazine as one of the top 100 influential
people of
2011—tends to downplay health concerns, saying that the current level of
radiation in the city is "not that dangerous."
"Certainly, the figure in our city is a bit higher than in Tokyo, but
monitoring tests tell us that it is lower than in Fukushima City or
Koriyama City, for example."
Both of the cities he named are much further from the troubled Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant than his own community. The
mayor points out that radiation contamination does not correspond neatly
with how distance from the plant, but varies widely based on wind
direction and the nature of the terrain.
But are the children of Minami-Soma out of danger?
"Of course it is important to move the kids to a safe place," he responds, "but
if the current radiation readings continue as they are now, it is not
really dangerous."
"If the measurements stabilize,” the Mayor continued, “we can think about
reopening schools even in the 20-30 km exclusion zone."
Some local schools in the more distant parts of the city have already
reopened—since April 22, seven public elementary and middle schools have
resumed their functions.
Indeed, on April 27 the city-run Kashima Elementary School held an outdoor
emergency exercise for about 700 children involving the scenario of an
incoming tsunami.
When pressed about whether or not he was concerned about the future cancer
rate among today’s local children, Mayor Sakurai offered the following
comment: "Regardless of the radiation problem, cancer rates are already
surging in society and we need to address this issue realistically."
He insisted that people shouldn't compare the problems in his city with what
occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where many people died in a
short period after receiving a blast of concentrated radiation.
"No one even knows for sure how many people died as a result of the
Chernobyl disaster—it's as if people are afraid of a ghost that never
appears."
Under close questioning, Mayor Sakurai acknowledged that the city has planned
for
further evacuations should a fresh central government order come down,
but quickly added, "I don't want to incite fear among the people."
Sakurai estimated that about 40,000 of the city's normal 70,000 population are
currently residing in the city, but about 2/3 of the children have been
evacuated.
Outside the city office among the people at large, the same sort of optimism
seems to be prevalent.
Yoshihisa Tahara of the Haramachi district of Minami Soma, seemed almost
offended to be
asked about radiation. This president of a sewage company remarked,
"There is no worry about radiation here; it's just an exaggeration."
Near the roadblocks at the 20 kilometer exclusion zone, children were
playing outdoors without any hint of concern. When asked what they were
doing there, they smiled and jumped around before saying, "We came to
meet the soldiers of the Self-Defense Forces!"
Their 30-year-old mother explained that she wasn't worried: "Look at those
police over there in light clothing—I don't think there is any cause to
be scared."
She did complain, however, that an SDF officer refused to answer her
question when she asked how much radiation they were detecting in the
area. The officer said that he was under orders not to give out such
information to the local residents.
"I cannot trust the government," she remarked, "but no matter how high the
radiation may be and whatever compensation I might receive, I don't
want to leave here as this is my family's land."
Makiko Segawa is a staff writer at the Shingetsu News Agency. She prepared this
report from Fukushima and Tokyo. She can be reached at
[email protected].
Recommended citation: Makiko Segawa, Fukushima Residents Seek
Answers Amid Mixed Signals From Media, TEPCO and Government. Report from the
Radiation Exclusion Zone, The Asia-Pacific Journal Vol 9, Issue 16
No 2, April 18, 2011.
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