Japan’s Jaded Public Pushes for Nuclear Truth Post-Fukushima  · Global Voices
Ayumi Nakajima

Two years after the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunami off the northeastern coast of Japan triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Japanese people are becoming increasingly frustrated with the government's reluctance to come clean on the risks associated with nuclear power.
A Japanese citizen advocacy group called Let’s Decide Together organized a large protest on March 10, 2013 [ja] to call for a national referendum on the future of nuclear power in Japan, the latest of many citizen-led efforts to shape the country's energy policy away from nuclear power since the Fukushima disaster, the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
In the wake of the tsunami, critics around the world blasted the Japanese government for withholding information about the meltdown from the public, delaying local evacuations and exposing some people unnecessarily to high levels of radiation. The World Health Organization has concluded that those in the most contaminated areas around the Fukushima plant have elevated risks of contracting cancer, from a 7 percent increased risk of leukemia for males exposed to the radiation as infants, to a 6 percent increased risk of breast cancer for females exposed as infants.
Nuclear Free Now Global Demonstration Hibiya, Tokyo. Photo by Masahiko Murata
Though public pressure after the accident led to the shutdown of all but two of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently announced that plants that pass the country's new and stricter safety guidelines could be brought back online within the year.
But the government's emphasis on safety has not calmed Fukushima residents and activists around the country who demand more information about the dangers of nuclear power, no matter how bad the news may be.
The Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, co-hosted by the Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from December 15-17, 2012 in the city of Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, not far from the nuclear power plant, exposed the growing gap between the government and its people on the matter of nuclear energy.
The conference, in which 117 countries and 13 international organizations participated, was held to discuss and strengthen nuclear safety as well as learn from the Fukushima disaster.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan summarized [ja] the intent of the Fukushima government conference, spotlighting the government's commitment to its safety campaign:
事故から1年9ヶ月しか経っていない中で今回の会議を福島で開催することにより，原子力安全の強化の重要性につき強いメッセージを発信することができたものと考える。また，IAEA原子力安全行動計画の策定から1年を経たタイミングで国際社会の取組についてハイレベルで議論が行われたことにより，国際的な原子力安全を更に強化していくことにつながると期待される。
At the same time, many anti-nuclear organizations organized their own conferences. The Nuclear Free Now Organizing Committee hosted its Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World 2 in Hibiya, Tokyo on December 15 and 16, 2012 and the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes organized a demonstration calling for the end of nuclear energy that departed from Hibiya park. More than 5,500 people participated in the two days of events in Tokyo.
Also, the Fukushima Action Project, organized by a committee of citizens from Fukushima Prefecture in collaboration with the Nuclear Free Now Organizing Committee, coordinated various action from December 14-16, 2012 including a symposium by the Mayors for a Nuclear Power Free Japan network to coincide with the government conference.
On the first day of the government conference, about 200 citizens gathered in front of the conference venue in Fukushima to submit a formal request to the IAEA. The request called on the IAEA to disclose the data from a health survey of children, ensure accountability, and encourage the Japanese government to decommission all nuclear power plants immediately.
“KOU-YU-KOTO” (This is what's really happening) by Misato Yugi (CC BY-NC-SA 2.1 JP)
In its introduction, the request explained the Fukushima people's distrust of the IAEA's involvement in the area:
We have learned that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will establish two research centers in Fukushima Prefecture, as part of the Prefecture's ”Environmental Creation Center.” Based on the nature of the IAEA, we perceive it to be a global nuclear power promotion industry, emphasizing the peaceful use of nuclear and understating its risks. It is quite difficult to imagine and understand what such an institution is planning to do coming here to Fukushima. Many of us affected by the nuclear power plant disaster are questioning whether these research centres will have any benefit for those affected, and are concerned about the real intention.
It also emphasized the uncertainty that local residents are forced to live with as long as the government presses safety campaigns over information about the reality of the situation:
All that the government has done is to conduct a “safety campaign,” by telling people that “there are no immediate health risks”, or “it is alright to be exposed to 100μSv of radiation per year.” The residents of Fukushima are forced into a difficult decision between the fear of radiation, which cannot be seen or smelled, and the authorities’ “safety campaign,” which is causing great distress and fraction between families, friends and neighbors.
The agency replied [ja] to the request on January 17, 2013, stressing that they are not a decision-maker when it comes to nuclear matters in Fukushima or the rest of Japan:
IAEAとして、加盟国に対して原発を導入すべきである、原発の運転を継続すべきである、あるいは原発を停止させるべきであると言う立場にはありません。しかし、加盟国が原子力発電を導入する、あるいは継続するという決定をした場合には、それらの原発が国際的な安全基準を十分満たし、周辺国の懸念にも十分対応する形で安全かつ持続的に運転されるよう支援するということがIAEAの役割です。
Demanding the truth
“KOU-YU-KOTO” (This is what's really happening) by Misato Yugi (CC BY-NC-SA 2.1 JP)
The two “Red Dot” radiation illustrations in this post were drawn by artist Misato Yugi and have become widely known in post-Fukushima Japan. The illustrations try to show how dramatic the situation would be if radioactivity were visible.
But without red dots marking radioactivity in real life, the Japanese people are left to demand the truth about the dangers from the government and other agencies.
Ourplanet-TV, a non-profit media station, captured a member of the Fukushima Women's Network against Nuclear Power Plants [ja] doing just that on December 15 near the government conference venue, asking for the facts surrounding nuclear power from IAEA spokeswoman Jill Tudor.
The video is available here [ja].:
覚えておいて欲しいこと、それは、福島県はもう脱原発を決めた、ということです。それからもうひとつ、IAEAはぜひチェルノブイリの真実を語ってください。チェルノブイリの健康被害の真実を語ってください。[…] 最後にお願いです。今日から3日間行われている会議で、原発の安全性ではなくって、原発の危険性について語ってください。そして世界中の原発をなくすという、そういう会議に切り替えてください。
We want IAEA to remember, Fukushima prefecture has already decided to renounce nuclear power [ja]. There is one other thing. Please tell us the truth about Chernobyl, Please speak the truth of the health effects after Chernobyl. Lastly, in the three-day conference starting from today, please talk about the dangers of nuclear power, not the promotion of the safety of nuclear power plants. And please switch the agenda to eliminate the nuclear power plants in the world.
Another member in the footage also appealed to Tudor to let the Fukushima people have a say in nuclear matters:
私たちのことを抜きに、福島のことを決めないでください！
Please don’t decide on anything about Fukushima without the Fukushima people, us!
Kyania, who evacuated from Fukushima to Kyoto with her child after the nuclear meltdown, has documented her experience in a blog. On December 21, 2012, she published a document composed by citizens submitted to Fukushima Prefecture protesting the presence of IAEA in Fukushima overseeing decontamination and other aspects of the disaster clean-up. She also reinforced [ja] how important it is for people to know what is going on after the disaster in order to protect themselves:
国民の一人、一人が、自分と家族を守るのは自分自身である事を自覚し、情報を取り続けて下さい。
そして、あなたの思いが溢れた時には、私達と一緒に、ご自分が出来る事を、どんなに小さい事でも良いので続けて頂きたいです。
Each and every one of us should realize that only you can protect yourselves and your families, so keep collecting information on your own. If you feel butterflies in your stomach, I want you to continue taking actions on what you can do, no matter how small they are.