In the name of convenience, economy, and progress, the
terrifyingly negative aspects and destructive potential of nuclear power plants
are often kept hidden and unmentioned. It seems that people these days have
forgotten to leave room in their hearts to care about protecting other people’s
lives and happiness. I sometimes feel like the world has lost its heart and
become like an unfeeling machine; a world full of hatred of the “other”, where
survival of the fittest is law. The world has lost its heart and its vitality.
Is there any way for us to recover our lost humanity?
But there are still many, many people – in Japan and
all over the world– who have love and kindness in their hearts. They respect
life and are trying to make the world a better place. So, why don’t we all join
hands and become fellow members of the “alliance of those who value the Heart”?
Even though you can’t see them with your eyes, there are others like you out
there. They are doing the same sorts of things that you do. Our members try to
“Do one good thing each day”. You can try too. For example, you could do
something as simple as deciding not to complain. Or you could try thanking the
delivery person for his or her hard work. I suspect that if people decide to
dedicate themselves to valuing their own hearts and the hearts of others, this
will be the true starting point for restoring the Earth. Once you start
considering everyone around you as a good friend, the happiness of others
naturally becomes your own happiness. Don’t you agree?
“Fukushima Today”
Today I would like to report again on the present
situation in Fukushima. I don’t want readers to think of this as just a problem
being faced by “others”, but rather to see that “tomorrow this might also
happen to me” and to realize that this is the response our country has given to
its citizens. And I hope that those who are able to give personal donations to
help will do so. As a spokesperson for the victims, I would like to say that I
am very grateful for your cooperation and help.
(Temporary housing will
only last until March of 2017. Those living in the affected areas must return
home to their towns and cities by that that time)
*The national government
issued the following type of order to all cities, towns and villages in
Fukushima:
“To all cities located near the Fukushima Daichi
Reactor, including the towns of Futaba, Okuma and Tomioka, as well as areas
within the TEPCO 20 km radius zone, - all affected citizens are allowed to
return to their homes (excluding those areas with high radiation where cleanup
has not been completed or where the national government has indicated
otherwise). Because of this, temporary housing will no longer be available
after March 2017, and affected citizens must leave temporary housing units and
will be required to search for a home on their own. The reason for this is that the temporary
housing units are on land that has been rented by the Prefectural government
and has to be returned to its owners.
The affected citizens must return home to their houses in the disaster
affected areas or search for a new home on their own, and they will be required
to deal with this individually.”
“In the case of recovery housing that is built outside
of the disaster affected areas, for example, those located in Fukushima City,
Iwaki and so on, the people who can move into these homes are limited to those
from Okuma, Futaba, Tomioka and Namie. Those from other towns and villages will
have to inquire about this with the mayors of their home towns and villages.”
(The reality is that even in those places where Recovery Housing has been
built, the number of houses is very limited, and there are many places where
they have still not been constructed)
*I would like to obtain exact information about the
recovery housing situation in each city, town and village and set up
connections to send aid. However, my
health is not very good lately, and I have been unable to make the necessary
phone calls, so the information I have currently is very limited. Please forgive me for the inconvenience.
*As much as is possible, the national government is
pushing for the return of citizens to Okuma, Futaba, Tomioka and Namie.
Here is what people from the disaster-affected areas have
to say in their own words:
“The evacuation order has been lifted from Okuma Town’s
Ogawagen District and part of the town office has been moved. 1,000 living
quarters for those working out at the Nuclear Power Plant have been built, and
we are working on preparing lunches for the workers. They say that 3,000 people will be able to
return home. Right now, 10,000 people
are working at the power plant. When we gave the workers a questionnaire, 8,000
of them responded that they’d like to keep working. Many people from outside of
the prefecture are working at the plant. The people of Okuma are hesitant to
return home.”
“I was told that, as an experiment, they’re also going
to allow people from Tomioka that want to return home to go back to their
homes.”
“The national government has not made any concrete
statements about purchasing areas with interim storage facilities (for storing
contaminated waste), and has said that it may be possible to return home after
30 years. They have made individual negotiations. Even though it would be
better if they just told us we will never be able to return home, they keep
giving us hope that it will one day be possible, and thus the people from the
disaster-affected areas have been unable to make future plans.”
“There are 6 reactor units at the Fukushima Power
Plant. Units 1, 2 and 3 suffered explosions, and unit 4 is being inspected.
Units 5 and 6 have been left as they were.
Units 1 through 4 are located in Okuma, while units 5 and 6 are in
Futaba. Reactor Units 6 and 7 were also
planned to be located in Futaba; sites were prepared for them. However, they
were never constructed. (There were
electrical subsidies set aside for these projects) In Namie, there was a Tohoku Electric Power
Company site, but not one owned by TEPCO.
(Because of this, their reparation money was comparatively smaller than
that received by other towns and villages).
Naraha had a TEPCO site (and because of this they received a small
amount of reparation money).
Minamisoma’s Kodaka District receives reparation money, however those
living outside of Kodaka don’t receive any. There are many people along the
coast there who were carried away or affected by the tsunami. However, as the
tsunami was unrelated to the nuclear accident, they don’t receive reparation
payments either. I heard talk that there was a one-time aide payment of
3,000,000 yen made for those who lost the head of the household and 2,800,000
yen for the loss of other family members. Those who do not own land, or only
rent their homes did not receive any reparation money.”
-At the time of the nuclear accident, radiation leaked
out to the west. Because the national government did not inform local towns,
cities and villages (their leaders) of this fact, many of those affected by the
disaster took shelter to the west. As a
result, the towns and villages of Namie, Iitate, Tsushima and Katsurao areas where evacuation
orders where given. Miyakoji, Kawauchi and Hirono also have areas with high
levels of radiation. Iitate, Tsushima,
Katsurao, Miyakoji and Kawauchi are all located along Highway 399 and are high
up in the mountains. It’s always been inconvenient to reach these places, and
they have few shops or hospitals. They
areas highly dependent on agriculture and economically not that well off. It
seems that many of the people there were working in construction as a second
job. The people of these villages tend to have a straightforward character, are
able to endure much, are not the most eloquent speakers, and are very kind to
everyone. They withstand the severity of
Mother Nature, adapting to and living in harmony with it. Because Miyakoji is at the very top of a
mountain, I heard that the main ways to make a living were growing tobacco and
raising livestock. They do farm work in the narrow valleys between the many
mountains. Gathering mountain vegetables
was also a way they made their living. Katsurao is also located in the middle
of the mountains, so tobacco and livestock were their main sources of income –
I hear that they did not have rice paddies.
Hirono has 7 thermal power plants, and I hear that many plant workers
live there. They are safely eating vegetables and rice there.
-The national government has already lifted the
evacuation orders for most of the disaster affected areas (the 20 km zone
around the reactor is currently being prepared). That’s Minamisoma (it will
also be lifted in the Kodaka district soon), Hirono, Kawauchi, Miyakoji,
Katsurao, and Naraha. Places that are heading towards having the evacuation
lifted include Iitate, Tomioka and Namie (excluding Tsushima). In the Ogawagen
District of Okuma, a meal-preparation center has been set up for the Nuclear
Plant workers. I’ve been told that in
the future they’d like to have the original residents of Okuma move back there
as well.
- Four percent of the town of Futaba has been declared
as areas where preparations for residents to return home are being made. The
Prefectural government has been buying that land (it seems they were forced to
purchase it) and has been building public parks as part of the recovery effort, as well as putting up 8-meter-tall
breakwaters in the locations where the tsunami hit. The rest of Futaba is still considered a “problem
area” for returning home.
-The national government intends to have the JR Joban
Line passing through the region by 2019. They plan to lift the evacuation order
on the surrounding area and have the citizens of Futaba living back in their
homes by that time. That is what I was
told by a person from the disaster-affected area. The Joban line has been
reopened in Naraha, but citizens that live near the train line have not moved
back home (this is because there were many rented houses that were not eligible
for compensation money). As a result, the surrounding area is pitch-black at
night and there are no buses available from the station. Because of this, the
locals find it inconvenient and don’t use it.
-When I listen to the stories of the people from the
disaster-affected areas, I can’t help but feel that the national government’s
policies are purposely ignoring the true situation in those areas. It seems all
too much like they’re taking away their “right to live”… Dear readers, what do
you think should be done about this?
-The move from temporary housing to recovery housing
has started. During this move, it seems that people have been told to leave
behind the air conditioning units, light bulbs, and kitchen stoves that were
used in the temporary housing. One person from the disaster-affected area told
me: “Even though we’ve heard that once we leave the temporary housing they will
just be demolishing them and throwing out everything inside, why won’t they
tell us it’s okay to take the items left inside? As soon as we were entrusted
with the key to the recovery unit, we were told that we had to move within 20
days. However, until we receive the keys,
we don’t even know what kind of dwelling we will be moving into. They say that
even the curtain sizes are different depending on the unit. Light bulbs, air
conditioners, stoves, we have to buy everything on our own. Have is someone who only receives a pension
of 50,000 yen a month supposed to get by?”
Dear readers, don’t you think the national government
is being extremely uncaring? I ask you
to please look at and think about this situation and send your continuing
donations and support.
[For questions] Momoko Fukuoka
Mobile: f.mom.1941@ezweb.ne.jp 080-5547-8675
Fax: 047-346-8675
(I would like to request
that calls be made between 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM local time in Japan. Depending on
my health, there may be times when I am unable to reply. If this happens,
please try contacting me again later. Thank you.)
Translation: Karen Carina
Rogers
Editing: Rachel Clark
