An Appeal at “Nuclear Zero Citizen’s Parade”
Until the Day When our Children’s Smiles Return
5 May 2012 Sapporo
By Touma Watanabe, Sapporo Japan
(A
13-year old evacuee from Fukushima who currently lives in Sapporo)
Today
the Tomari Unit 3 will stop and Japan will have no operating nuclear power plants.
This in itself is something to celebrate and one could say that we have
achieved something. However, I believe that few people will rejoice 100%. Although all nuclear power plants will be out
of service, this is just one of numerous challenges. The government and the
electric industry are working hard to restart nuclear power plants such as Ooi
3 and 4. There are too many challenges piling up in front of us. Once all nuclear
power plants have been stopped, my next goal is to prevent their restart.
If
the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident was unanticipated, it is not difficult
to imagine that other nuclear power plants could also be affected by earthquakes
and tsunamis. Japan is the country with the highest frequency of earthquakes in
the world and recently so many experience earthquakes almost every day. How can
we possibly agree to restart of nuclear power under such conditions? Japan
seems unprepared to manage tsunami threats that could take place anytime.
If the
government and the nuclear industry absolutely want to restart nuclear power,
they could save power in many different ways、I do not understand why they absolutely insist on restarting nuclear power
by all means. To those people who benefit from the nuclear industry, nuclear
power is something “convenient” which can effectively generate money. But those of us who live near these
plants risk our lives for the sake of power generation. I believe that such an
uneven system has torn apart the thoughts and the bonds between the people.
Fukushima
city where I used to live is one of such an example.
Our
family was worried about the gradually expanding evacuation zone. When we started
evacuating, we saw many cars of people who were trying to escape from where
they lived. Most likely, many were people from Fukushima prefecture and nearby
areas who thought that it was dangerous to stay there. But in the areas that
were far away from nuclear power stations, for example in Tokyo, the government
made the announcement: “There will be no immediate health impact of
radioactivity”. The government increased the radioactivity threshold for
evacuation to 20mSV, and only the people who lived in the areas over 20mSV were
to evacuate. The government’s response was so ambiguous on this issue.
For
those living far from Fukushima, nuclear power and radioactivity was simply
somebody else’s business. We who lived in Fukushima believed that the
government would help us. We were stunned and in despair. Had the nuclear
accident happened in Tokyo, the government response would have been different. There
was nobody who questioned this problem of discrimination against remote local
communities.
I
imagine that the people who lived far away from nuclear plants believed when
the government told them that nuclear power was safe, or that the majority was
indifferent to the risk it posed. Even today there are so many conflicting
opinions about nuclear power. Some say it is safe, others say that it is risky,
others are indifferent… opinions are divided.
“Kizuna”
(Bonds) was selected to be the word of
the year 2011. To me 2011 was the year when our bonds were completely torn to
shreds. Our biggest challenge is to prevent the restart of the nuclear plants
and the most critical issue is how to put and end to the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power accident.
The
Fukushima accident is far from over. Water contaminated with radioactive
substances continues to be released into the sea. Many areas in the Fukushima
prefecture have very high levels of radioactivity. In a normal situation, it is
far from safe to keep living in these areas. I want children, at least, to be
evacuated, and to create a condition where they could live there. I still think
of these things.
Immediately
after the accident, the radioactivity level was 24 micro SV/hour in Fukushima.
It was at such a high level that nobody should have been allowed to enter into
the area. Yet at that moment many children were going to collect water or playing
outdoors unaware of the risk. These children were exposed to incredibly high levels
of radioactivity. In spite of this, the government continues contributes to
these children’s’ exposure to high levels of radioactivity. Children in
Fukushima are even forced to attend physical education classes in the
schoolyard outside as if nothing has happened.
Prime
Minister Noda said that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident is over. But the children in Fukushima are not
protected. I want the Fukushima nuclear
accident to be over but in a real sense where children are protected.
There
are just too many challenges. We may not able to deal with them all during our
lifetime. But I want to do what I can do so that children, in the near future, can
smile once again.
(Translation by Kaori Izumi)
Trusting You and I
Who Speak Out and Fight for Change
Kai
Nergaard Izumi (14 years), Sapporo Japan
Good
afternoon, I’m not a Fukushima survivor, I have not walked through the paths of
radiation and I am not someone who has to endure the pain. I’m just a student in
Japan. My name is Kai, I’m 14, a regular student, born in Norway, half
Japanese, but I’m not here to talk about myself, but the people, the believers
in the great country with rich traditions and dedicated people, faced with a
serious challenge. Ever since 3.11, I just couldn't believe what had been going
on, and then I opened my eyes. I saw what the world was like, and honestly, it disturbed
me. Knowing the danger, I knew Japan needed help so I wrote to Barrack Obama on
26 September because I thought he could help out Japan from this disaster. In
the letter I said:
“I know that this might sound very strange
for a young man from a foreign country to write this but the words have to be
said. My mother has recently visit New York to participate in the Nuclear Power
Plant protest. Now on to the reason I am writing this. I am not good with my
words so please bare with me. If the world keeps using nuclear power as the
main resource for energy then when the next huge earthquake happens, then the
power plants will releases the radiation, then half of the globe will be
contaminated again, the water, air, every living form will be contaminated. For
humans the DNA will be cut off and as a result, causes cancer, and the children
who are born will have physical disabilities. Please listen from someone who
has friends from Fukushima and have had to evacuate because of what happened.
What happens if this happens in America? How would you solve it, cause it will
never go away, it will stay here forever. You'll drink the radiation, you'll
eat it, and you'll breath it. There is no denying that the fact is that the nuclear
radiation will kill us all if it isn't controlled. I know this is weird for me
to write but I just had to say it. Sorry that this letter takes up your time,
enjoy your life while you can, may God bless you and your family.”
But today I learned that President Obama is
indeed promoting nuclear power. What I initially thought about Obama was wrong,
but what I wrote to him was ALL facts.
And I still haven’t received a reply. Everything I wrote
to him had just happened. And you know what, the world is just a bunch of
bullshit wrapped up with a pinch of death. BUT, I still had hope. I still
believed that Japan was great; I still believed a change could be brought, and
I still stay true to it. But my faith is not placed in the government. I place
it in our people, those who are trying to make a difference and those who speak
for what they are fighting for and know what is right.
Why Should We Give Nuclear Another
Chance Whilst Risking Our Own Lives?
No!
All Nuclear Power Should Be
Stopped Forever from Today
Kana
Ikezawa
Good
afternoon
A week or so ago, my friend Kai, (who just talked or who will talk), asked
me to do this speech at an anti-nuclear movement that was happening on 5/5 in
Odori Park in Sapporo. I was very interested in the topic from before, probably
because of my parents who are absolutely against nuclear power. Because of
that, I was able to gain more knowledge about the system. Therefore, I had not
only the information that are presented by the governments or the common media,
but also some other international and various resources provided by mainly. If
I was not given this information, I don’t think I would be here making this
speech. And it’s not always only the parents who will influence the children;
the environment, the education and so many other things.
For the children, these environments are crucial however, after 3/11 or
even before, this country has been in a way, destroyed by the nuclear power.
The population, at some time, could not think of a life without nuclear. Now,
after the accident, we are left with heavily polluted zones, where people still
do live and the government will not provide enough information to help them
decide whether they should move or not. There are so many children who have to
stay and live in the highly radioactive parts of the country. Do they have a
choice? No. Will they ever know how dangerous it might be to keep living their
lives in these places? No. The effects will not show up until they grow up, and
start having their own life. By then, will it be the same people in charge of
the government? No. As being part of the upcoming generation, I do not want to
blame the entire group of adults and I should not because many are fighting
against it and are trying to better their children’s lives. However, later on,
we are left with the burden of the radioactivity in the country.
And that burden is not something that we truly wish. In the future we want
the choice in the usage of power resources when we will be the one paying for
it. Do we really need nuclear power? No. And in fact, we are over-using it
especially in the cities. Overweight is unhealthy for human beings and so it is
for energy usage. Therefore we need to go on a diet and become healthier in our
consumption of electricity.
We have been relying too much on nuclear power but is there any other alternative
energy resources? Yes. Solar or wind power, or even from tides or thermal. Some
pro-nuclear people think that these power productions are unstable and that it
will cause some negative environmental effects. However, we are able to improve
these points with the technology and the intelligence that we have. And that is
actually easier than trying to control and manage the nuclear power plants.
But that change cannot be easily made without the cooperation of the
entire Japan. 3/11 is the chance for us to renew our old ways. Today, all the
nuclear power in Japan are stopped and it must remain so forever. It proved
itself wrong and harmful, why do we have to give it another chance whilst
risking our own lives?
