ASIJ Essay Contest-Keno Katsuda "Fukushima: Neglecting Health and Safety" ― 2014/05/01 17:34
Fukushima: Neglecting Health and Safety
By Keno Katsuda
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-nine tremor struck the Tohoku region off of Japan's Pacific coast -- the largest earthquake ever recorded in the nation, and the fourth largest in the world (Kingston). This triggered a massive tsunami, with heights ranging from 3.5 to 9.3 meters, obliterating everything in its wake (Samuels). These two disasters then caused a blackout, resulting in the meltdown of three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (Birmingham and McNeill). The resulting explosions released radioactive substances around Fukushima, causing what is now considered "the most severe radiation crisis since Chernobyl" (Human Rights Watch). It is estimated that Tohoku's reconstruction will take at least a decade, costing the Japanese government roughly 20 to 50 trillion yen (Kingston, Samuels). Additionally, the unmeasurable human costs --the loss of thousands of lives, and the physical and mental traumas faced by the survivors in Tohoku-- are both unparalleled.
Initially, the Japanese government was very active in its response to the crisis (Kingston 2013). However, as time wore on, the politics of the disaster began to overwhelm aid efforts instead, hindering their efforts (Kingston 2013). This blatant negligence of the health, safety, and general well-being of the people of the Tohoku region today by the Japanese government is a severe violation of human rights.
The radiation that began to spread immediately after the explosion in Fukushima Daiichi led to various health threats. According to the World Health Organization radiation risk assessment taken in February 2013, "significant increases in solid tumors and leukemia were evident" amongst children in Tohoku. Those residing in areas near the power plant face similar health risks to the survivors of the atomic bombs: a higher chance of "[contracting] leukemia, breast, or thyroid cancer" (WHO). Furthermore, according to the study cited by CNN, there are psychological effects of the disaster -- "possibly to the point of psychosomatic illness and psychiatric disorders." This is only exacerbated by the constant, invisible fear of the radiation (WHO).
Compounding these psychological effects, some citizens of Fukushima feel that they have been prejudiced against (or suffer a fear of prejudice) due to their background as survivors of a nuclear crisis -- similar to those experienced by the hibakusha of the second world war (Cousins, Kakuchi). While the WHO document states that radiation exposure is not expected to increase "the incidence of miscarriages, stillbirths, and other physical and mental conditions," a mother from Fukushima questioned whether her children would ever find a spouse because they lived in an extremely contaminated area -- a sentiment shared by many parents from Tohoku (Cousins, Interview).
Though the tsunami and the earthquake were both natural disasters, human irresponsibility caused the accident at Fukushima Daiichi to occur. This lack of oversight and accountability stemmed from both the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO, the owner of the power plant) (Lipscy). The basic function of a government should be to protect its people, but the Japanese government's responsibility to assist the citizens of Tohoku is only compounded by the fact that the radiation may have not been an issue if the plant had been properly regulated (Lipscy).
The data that the Japanese government has provided relating to the radiation levels has been kept secret, or their data masked to reveal much lower (and safer) numbers than the true values from state independent monitoring organizations, thereby creating a "climate of uncertainty" (Citizen's Radioactivity Measuring Station, Kingston). As a result, the citizens of Fukushima and Tohoku themselves have been forced to use their own self-diagnoses and crowd-sourced data on radiation levels (Kingston). Additionally, "[the citizens] are told that Fukushima rice is safe and free from radiation [by the government,] and the next that it is not" (Kingston). As a result, the mothers of Fukushima state that they are confronted with making the impossible decisions on a daily basis to select foods that have not been contaminated (Interview). However, even amongst the group of three mothers who were involved in the 2013 interview, there was much disagreement as to what they believed to be the best actions taken for their own children. This demonstrated that there is simply no way for these civilians to ensure their own safety because of government neglect. It is inherently inhumane for the government to force the citizens of Tohoku to leave the citizens unprotected in this manner, as there will always be citizens who will suffer from the consequences of making uninformed decisions of where the radiation levels are safe, or what foods that their family will consume will be uncontaminated.
Though the accepted amount of radiation as stated by the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law in Japan is at a maximum of 1 millisievert (mSv)/ year as ìthe permissible limit of exposure for the general public, only areas in which 20 mSv/year have been evacuated by the government, leaving residents of other areas to decide whether to evacuate ìvoluntarilyî without government compensation. As a result, many who wish to evacuate cannot afford to.î (Cousins) However, because the governmentís data is constantly changing and therefore unreliable, this number could still be lower than their stated value.
Moreover, the placement of the evacuation zones does not account for many of the people exposed to the radiation. Because of radiation's rapid spread, highly contaminated areas, or "hot zones," appeared in areas of ten times outside of the evacuation zones. Because the mandatory, government funded evacuation zones are restricted to concentric circles surrounding the power plant, many of the residents of these hot zones were not considered for government compensation to fund their evacuation. As a result, the families who are exposed to the most radiation are often the ones who are unable to evacuate to safer areas. "According to a 2001 survey by Friends of Earth Japan, financial and employment uncertainty were the main barriers to evacuation, and this continues to be true. In many cases, the mother and children haven evacuated for the sake of the childrenís health, while the father remains in Fukushima to continue his job and earn money" (Cousins). This has led to the separation of families if they are lucky enough to get government support in other cities like Tokyo. However, many in the Tohoku region were simply unable to leave.
As time has passed since 3.11, Fukushima has faded from both the news and the public consciousness -- causing many citizens of Tohoku to feel as though the government has simply neglected their problems. Further compounding the woes of Fukushima, Tokyo won the bid to host the Olympics in the year 2020. Japan's Olympic committee president "reassured the international media" by emphasizing the distance from Tohoku to Tokyo, proving the neglect of the prefecture after immediate relief from 3.11 (Dvorak). As one mother stated, "We might think that the Olympics are meant to help and rebuild. However, the reconstruction has stopped, and all of the construction work is occurring. Contrary to popular belief, the reconstruction is increasingóin fact, it is just the opposite" (Interview). Focus has concentrated on the success of the Olympics and creating a positive image for Japan. Ironically, the campaign for Japan to unify in strength: the shouts of "Gambare Nippon" from right after 3.11, have instead turned into a government campaign to systematically exclude those from Fukushima from the adequate care that it gives to everyone else in the country.
Additionally, the government has been lacking the regulation of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors themselves, thereby demonstrating their lack of oversight and care for the livelihoods of the citizens of Tohoku. This lack of oversight has potentially drastic consequences for the rest of the nation as well in the event that the reactor is not taken care of (Lipscy). As a result, this government neglect could affect the health and well-being, and thereby the basic human rights of the whole Japanese population.
Health and safety are basic human rights of all people. However, the Japanese government has made it evident that this right does not extend to all Japanese citizens, thereby marginalizing the people of Tohoku. The purpose of governments is to serve the people to the best of their ability -- not lie to them at every turn. Regardless of sentiments from the government and the lack of media coverage, the issues plaguing the citizens of Fukushima and the Tohoku region are very real and must be dealt with immediately.
Works Cited
Birmingham, Lucy, and David McNeill. Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print.
Brumfield, Ben, and Alex Zolbert. "Report: Fukushima's Radiation Damaged More Souls than Bodies." CNN. Cable News Network, 03 May 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Cousins, Elicia, Claire Karban, Fay Li, and Marianna Zapanta. "Nuclear Power and Environmental Injustice: A Mixed-Methods Study of Risk, Vulnerability, and the Victim Experience." (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
Dvorak, Phred. "Fukushima Watch: Tokyo Olympics Victory More Grief for Fukushima?" Japan Real Time RSS. The Wall Street Journal, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
"Interview with Fukushima Mothers." Personal interview. 20 Nov. 2013.
Kakuchi, Suvendrini. "Social Fallout of Atomic Bombings Hounds Survivors." Common Dreams. Common Dreams, 4 Aug. 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Kingston, Jeff. Contemporary Japan: History, Politics, and Social Change since the 1980s. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Print.
Lipscy, Phillip Y., Kenji E. Kushida, and Trevor Incerti. "The Fukushima Disaster and Japanís Nuclear Plant Vulnerability in Comparative Perspective." Environmental Science & Technology (2013): 130529150607006. Print.
Samuels, Richard J. 3.11: Disaster and Change in Japan. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2013. Print.
"TOP." Citizen's Radioactivity Measuring Station. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
