People
living near the Fukushima nuclear plant have issued
An
emergency petition, demanding that the government do
more
to protect their children from radiation, June 21.
Niigata-Nippo
Shimbun, Japan
Fukushima Reconstruction Committee Issues Urgent
Global Appeal
"If Fukushima doesn’t call
for an end to nuclear energy, what will? The whole world is watching … we must
clarify our position on nuclear power before we can embark on our plans for
reconstruction."
The loneliest job in the world: One of Japan's nuclear heroes sleeps with what has been described as an anti-snoring device, near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima Prefecture, April 18.
“If Fukushima doesn’t call for an end to nuclear
energy, what will? The whole world is watching … we must clarify our position
on nuclear power before we can embark on our plans for reconstruction,” the
Reconstruction Planning Committee is reported to have strongly argued.
After the accident at Fukushima Daiichi reactor No. 1, a
panel of experts was appointed by the Reconstruction Planning Committee to
propose ideas for rebuilding Fukushima prefecture. The committee compiled a
draft of fundamental principles and made their central tenet a nuclear opt-out.
It is a declaration of intent that all 10 reactors in the prefecture should be
scrapped, including Daiichi plant reactors 5 and 6 - and the Daini
plant. Daiichi plant reactors 1-4 are already scheduled for decommissioning.
The draft proposal appeals to Fukushima residents, all local governments with
nuclear plants in their jurisdictions - and the world. In the event of a large-scale
nuclear accident, the resulting radioactive contamination is not limited to any
locality, but impacts nationally and globally as well.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Some committee members suggested relaying their
message to global society, saying, “We would like the governor to deliver our
plan to the U.N. and the IAEA.” The committee will make its final recommendations
at the end of July, and the prefecture is set to formulate a detailed reconstruction
plan based on its proposals. However, Fukushima Prefecture Governor Yuhei Sato
has declined to comment on the basic principles centered on the proposed
denuclearization.
After the accident, Governor Sato expressed anger
toward Tokyo Electric Power Company [TEPCO] and the federal
government, saying that he was “filled with the feeling that we've been
betrayed. The anger and anxiety of residents has reached a climax.” In April, he
told visiting TEPCO CEO Masataka Shimuzu that he “couldn't conceive of
reopening the Fukushima plant.” Yet it remains unclear whether he meant to
include the Daini plant in addition to Daiichi reactors 5, 6. At press
conferences, he simply says that he seeks “the earliest possible closure.” The
inner thoughts of Governor Sato have yet to be revealed.
At the Fukushima nuclear plants, TEPCO and associated
companies employed 10,000 workers and supported the livelihoods of about 30,000
people, if one includes family members. The region has also relied on vast subsidies
and tax revenue generated by the nuclear plant. However, far from contributing
to the local community, this “nuclear cash” has been spent on roads to nowhere.
The reality is that the maintenance costs for these public projects are
squeezing the prefecture's finances. Although nuclear plants may have provided
employment - it is employment that came at the expense of contaminated
agricultural land and factories, the evacuation of 100,000 people, and
suicides.
The fundamental principle of denuclearization must be
sincerely considered, not just by Fukushima residents, but by the whole of
Japan. A global debate about whether energy policies that rely on nuclear
plants are appropriate is needed now. Japan has a responsibility to begin that
discussion.
