Generalcomments

Dear all,

Thank you all for visiting, reading and sharing the news with me on the Fukushima Appeal Blog. I’ve kept it running since February 2012. Unfortunately, I will need some break now to attend to some of my health issues.

I would like to thank this blog and its supporters for giving me an opportunity to become a part of the slowly awakening global community during this very important time of global change. I had zero knowledge of nuclear before the Fukushima disaster, and was and still am a just normal citizen. It’s been hard to see Japan becoming a criminal, immoral and authoritarian country since the Fukushima Disaster. So it’s been a huge awakening and healing process to have a platform to speak out instead of feeling powerless, angry and sad about it. With the new secret law that is going to be introduced in Japan soon, Japanese people will need more help than at any other time in its history from foreign bloggers, doctors and scientists. Please remember Fukushima. I hope that the more difficulties we may encounter, the stronger and connected we will become to fight against injustice and be able to act from our heart space. (Mia)

日本の皆さん、がんばってください。 再稼動反対、子供を守れ! 1mSv/yの約束を守れ!

For more Fukushima update go to: www.nuclear-news.net, http://fukushima-diary.com/, https://www.facebook.com/fukushima311watchdog, http://enenews.com/, http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/, http://www.nuclearhotseat.com/ http://ex-skf.blogspot.co.uk/

Petition: Support Mari Takenouchi and Radiation Protection

日 本の皆様へ、個人的な感情面から、竹ノ内真理さんのことを批判したい方は、すでにそうしたのだから、これからは、その時間とエネルギーをエートス批判に向 けるべきではないでしょうか? そしてボランテイアで、海外に向けて、英語発信する真理さんは、海外の情報源にとって、貴重な存在だと思います。 (Mia)

(English) https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Office_of_the_Prosecutor_Iwaki_Branch_Fukushima_Japan_Support_Mari_Takenouchi_and_Radiation_Protection/?pv=4

(Japanese) https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Fu_Dao_Xian_Jian_Cha_Ting_Dian_ziyanarisutonoZhu_Ye_Nei_Zhen_Li_Shi_Save_Kids_JapanwoQi_Su_sinaidekudasai/?pv=8

Urgent Petition: ttp://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ask-japanese-government-promise-for-necessary-aid-for-children-who-are-still-exposed-radiation-more-than-1msv-year-3


National Parents Network to Protect Children from Radiation

I hope that every child in Japan is given comprehensive thyroid blood testing including at the minimum TSH, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies. Their thyroid function should be regularly tested on an ongoing basis. “ By Dana Trentini http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/thyroid-testing-for-japanese-children.html

*latest Fukushima Thyroid examination results released on Nov 12. (Complete English translation) (Source) http://fukushimavoice-eng2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/thirteenth-prefectural-oversight.html
National Parents Network to Protect Children from Radiation

*Fuel Removal From Fukushima's Reactor 4 Threatens 'Apocalyptic' Scenario In November, TEPCO set to begin to remove fuel rods whose radiation matches the fallout of 14,000 Hiroshima bombs

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/24-3

*Kashiwazaki Nuclear Plant: Fukushima Governor stands in the way to stop restarting! 柏崎原発:再稼動させないよう立ちはだかる新潟県知事泉田氏 http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/kashiwazaki-nuclear-plant-fukushima.html

*Statement: Japanese civil society requests that the reports of the United Nations Scientific Committee on Fukushima be revised 日本の64の市民団体が福島事故に関しての国連科学の報告内容を改訂するよう要請 www.http://hrn.or.jp/eng/a tivity/area/worldwide/japanese-civil-society-requests-that-the-reports-of-the-united-nations-scientific-committee-on-fukus/

Anand Grover, Esq., UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, criticizes UNSCEAR report on Fukushima -10/24/2013 (1 of 4)国連「健康に対する権利」の特別報告者のアナンド・グローバー氏: 国連科学の報告を批判 Video - http://vimeo.com/78483070 October 24, 2013 (NYC, NY)

*Medical experts criticize UNSCEAR report for playing down consequences of Fukushima nuclear accident ドイツの専門家が国連科学の報告書を、「福島事故の影響を過小評価している」と批判! http://www.save-children-from-radiation.org/2013/11/05/medical-experts-criticize-unscear-report-for-playing-down-consequences-of-fukushima-nuclear-accident/

*Frightening Report from the UNSCEAR (The United nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation UNSCEAR-国連科学委員会による、恐るべき報告http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/frightening-report-from-unsear-united.html

*Heavily Criticized Recent WHO Report on Health Risk Assessment from the Fukushima Disaster 厳しく批判された最近の福島事故による健康被害についてのWHO報告 http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/who-report-on-health-risk-assessment.html

*UN Report – Japanese Delegation to The UN Spreads Lies and Deception! 国連報告書2013年4月  国連への日本政府代表団のうそとごまかし! 抗議締め切り517日! http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/un-report-japanese-delegation-to-un.html

*まとめ:国連報告書2013年4月  国連への日本政府代表団のうそとごまかし! 抗議締め切り517http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/un-report-japanese-delegation-to-un.html

*A letter to all young athletes who dream of coming to Tokyo in 2020 東京オリンピックを目指している若い選手の方々へ Some Facts You Should Know About Fukushima 0.086Bq/kg was normal amount of ionizing radiation in fish before the Fukushima accident. Now it is 100Bq/kg 1160times more radioactive. http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/a-letter-to-all-young-athletes-who.html

Fukushima Petitions ☢ Please Sign and Share! Japan needs Worldwide Help NOW! Stop Fukushima Radiation – UN Action Needed

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/STOP_FUKUSHIMA_RADIATION_UN_ACTION_NEEDED/

Mobilize the U.N. Security Council to declare Fukushima a global emergency;
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/mobilize-the-un-security

*Tokyo radiation is worse than Gomel - Mika Noro’s speech on the impact of radiation in Japan http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/tokyo-radiation-is-worse-than-gomel.html

*Police arrest animal rescuers inside Fukushima evacuation zone — “They cannot be contacted and are being charged with crimes” http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/police-arrest-animal-rescuers-inside.html

Resistance posted by Ian Thomas Ash, a director of Fukushima Documantary Film "A2-B-C"

As one does not train with weight that is too light,….. And as I write this, I realize something for the first time: the more I embrace the resistance, the more I am becoming it. http://ianthomasash.blogspot.jp/2013/11/resistance.html

*福島原発で働く皆さんへ、世界からの暖かいメッセージ http://nuclear-news.net/2013/12/01/to-the-fukushima-workers-we-support-you-address-to-j-village-supplied/

(Japanese translation)http://goo.gl/re5822

*Fukushima Farmers negotiate with Japanese Government/Tepco 福島農家の若者、政府と東電に対して勇気ある発言 http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/fukushima-farmers-negotiate-with.html The current government limit is 100Bq/kg... 0.1Bq/kg for cesium in rice before the Fukushima disaster. … We feel guilty about growing it and selling it...

*Atomic bombs survivors received fair compensation, not so in Fukushima!

広島・長崎の被爆者援護法:追加1ミリ被曝で被曝者認定、福島事故被害者にも認定を、するべき

The Japanese Gov recognizes radiation related illnesses! http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/atomic-bombs-survivors-received-fair.html


Tuesday 5 November 2013

INTERVIEW/ Shuya Nomura: Avoiding TEPCO's bankruptcy exacerbated Fukushima crisis 東電の破綻を避けようとして、福島原発事故の危機を悪化させてしまった


(Source) http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/opinion/AJ201311010009

November 01, 2013
SPECIAL TO THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The words from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s mouth were clear: “The situation is under control.”
But radioactive water continues to leak from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
The cleanup has remained in disarray since the accident started to unfold on March 11, 2011, and contaminated water spills have exposed structural problems.
The root cause of the Fukushima mess is the government’s decision to avoid a TEPCO bankruptcy, according to Shuya Nomura, a member of the former National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission.
When the commission looked into the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Nomura said he saw measures being taken for the radioactive water that could only be described as stopgap.
In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Nomura also said bureaucrats should get off their “lazy butts” and stop acting like innocent bystanders.
Excerpts from the interview follow:

The misery began soon after the nuclear disaster, when the government opted to prevent TEPCO from going bankrupt.
Another idea floated at the time was to allow the utility to go through bankruptcy proceedings and have the government take over the job of cleaning up the site. However, the Finance Ministry, which did not want to throw away taxpayer money, apparently agreed with the opinion that failure to repay the company’s debts to the banks would cause problems, and that the government needed to make sure that TEPCO honored the corporate bonds it had issued.
When TEPCO needed money, the government ended up giving loans to the company in the form of “government compensation bonds.”
Officially, TEPCO took responsibility. But behind the scenes, the government exerted awkward control, like a “helping hands” comedy (in which one performer provides the arms for the performer in front, but without being able to see what is happening).
This, naturally, does not allow for a flexible response to the disaster. Additionally, TEPCO fell into a situation that made it difficult to prioritize the cleanup because the company became worried about how bankruptcy concerns would affect its stock price.
I toured the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in December 2011. This was when they began adding more tanks for storing contaminated water. Following harsh criticism for dumping the water into the ocean soon after the earthquake without notifying nearby countries, a decision was made to just store it in the tanks.
But it was obvious to anyone who took a look that this would not bring the problem under control. If effective measures had been taken at this time, the crisis would not have grown so grave.
The public sees the problem as stemming from leaving the cleanup to TEPCO, but I don’t think so. That’s because after the disaster, TEPCO was not in a position to make independent decisions.
The public image we see is only TEPCO’s, while the bureaucracy, the helping hands behind the scenes, acts like an innocent bystander. This is the problem.
The government, in an attempt to prevent disorder, makes itself out to be the hero, daringly rescuing us from the radioactive water. But I feel the government should first reconsider the lack of expertise and irresponsible handling by the bureaucracy, which has tolerated TEPCO’s sloppy cleanup.
[...]
[...]
Discussion is fixated on whether to release filtrated water that still contains tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, into the sea, but no one has even spelled out how to dispose of the highly concentrated waste matter removed in the process.
SPLIT UP AND NATIONALIZE
[...]
Unlike financial reconstruction, we cannot recover the taxpayer money we throw at the contaminated water problem. But now is the time for the political will to get the bureaucrats off their lazy butts. To do this, I think arrangements to bring in outside experts will be important.
The government has created response teams to deal with the contaminated water issues--one led by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and another led by Cabinet ministers--but has left liaising with TEPCO up to the bureaucrats. What the government should do is promptly set up a task force of technical and management experts under the appropriate Cabinet ministers and dispatch it to TEPCO. The government will have to invest a heavy dose of taxpayer money to take aggressive measures dealing with the radioactive water.
To win over the people’s understanding, there must be another debate over what is to become of TEPCO, but this time without skirting the issue of responsibility for TEPCO shareholders and the financial institutions that lent money to the utility.
I believe the only solution is to split TEPCO into a company for decommissioning and disaster cleanup (a “bad” company) and a company for supplying electricity (a “good” company), force responsibility on banks and other investors by liquidating the former, followed by a complete nationalization, and then hand responsibility for decommissioning and the like to the government.
One more important perspective to consider is the global governance of nuclear power. Due to the risk that the effects of accidents can spill over borders, we need to start thinking right away about nuclear power as part of the collective wisdom of humankind, to be governed by us all.
An example we could learn from is the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the institute that discovered the Higgs boson and is jointly managed by its member states.
Japan should be proactive in using the world’s knowledge during decommissioning and disaster response, and lead a movement to build a global cooperative framework.
(This article is based on an interview by Tsuyoshi Komano, staff writer.)
* *
Shuya Nomura, born in 1962, is a professor at the Chuo University Law School and a lawyer. He has served as an adviser to the Financial Supervisory Agency (now the Financial Services Agency) and was a member of the commission that investigated the scandal over missing national pension records.




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