Professor Ishii from Fukushima University sharing his research work on measuring radiation in farm fields for practical solutions (a project supported by CWS Japan). Photo: Courtesy Takeshi Komino
The Global Citizen’s Conference on Fukushima held this week in the city of Fukushima has attracted many citizens, activists and organizations from both Japan and abroad. The conference has officially launched the booklet “10 Lessons from Fukushima – Reducing risks and protecting communities from nuclear disasters.”
During the conference, citizens from Fukushima have raised their voices against the current situation in Fukushima. One key message we need to send the world: the situation in Fukushima is NOT under control. Citizens offered a view of the current situation:
- Many incinerators are being built in secrecy that will burn radiated scrap material. In some locations, residents have started to sue the government. Where is transparency in such decisions!?
- A large lawsuit has been filed through ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) system by the residents of Iitate after they lost their village to radiation contamination. The battle has just started.
- Thyroid cancer rates are increasing, and the number in Fukushima is well beyond the national average. Officials note the relationship between the nuclear accident and current situation among children.
On behalf of CWS Japan and as one of its co-authors, I have explained the background of why we decided to create this booklet. There is no proper dissemination of lessons Japan has learnt from the tragedy in Fukushima. The booklet has been launched in five languages (Japanese, English, French, Korean and Chinese), but we want to translate this into more languages, especially in languages of countries where nuclear power plants are located, or planned. Already, there has been an indication from the participants that they would like to translate it into their own languages.
“We want to know the real damage of this nuclear accident,” one foreign participant asked at the conference. “We want to hear how much damage it has done for people and the land of Fukushima.”
There is still a lot to do to ensure lessons from Fukushima are properly disseminated and understood by the global community. We are committed to do our best in communicating the lessons and situation in Fukushima during the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.