March 11, 2020<\/p>\n
The anguish of a mother who evacuated to Niigata, fleeing the nuclear accident with her two children, a one-year-old and a three-year-old, comes across clearly. The elder child is now about to enter middle school and does not want to be separated from all the friends he has made. But his mother wants to return to her home. \u201cWhatever we children say, our family is going back to our old town, right?\u201d The boy’s words reveal his complex and ambivalent feelings.<\/p>\n
In Fukushima Prefecture, the whole 20.8-kilometer section of the Joban railway line running from Tomioka through Yo no Mori, Ono and Futaba to Namie will be reopened for the first time in nine years on March 14. In the tenth year after the disaster, the evacuation order for a part of the hard-to-return zone will be rescinded. However, in responses to a questionnaire 64% of 1,399 former households of Futaba Town, which was totally evacuated, said that they \u201chad decided not to return,\u201d 24% replied that they were \u201cunable to decide,\u201d and 11% replied that they \u201cwanted to return.\u201d For Okuma Town and Tomioka Town, where the evacuation order has been partially rescinded, 60% and 49%, respectively, said they \u201cwould not return.\u201d Around 2% of the households of Okuma Town and 7% of the households of Tomioka Town have already returned (Prefecture and Three-Town Joint Survey, August to November 2019).<\/p>\n
When ten years have passed, a three-year-old will become a middle school student and it also becomes possible to see the shape of the so-called \u201crestoration.\u201d The appearance of the F1 plant (the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station) has changed. Public opinion has also undergone a slight change. However, what never changes, whether it be ten years or one day, is that our lives depend on the safety of the air, the water, the land and food. Since 3.11, the safety of these essential elements has been lost. Despite this, there are people who insist that things are \u201cscientifically safe\u201d and proclaim the onward thrust of the Fukushima recovery under the flag of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n
There is no shortage of intractable problems: Disposal of the ever-increasing amounts of radioactive contaminated water, reuse of radioactive contaminated soil, the apparent large numbers of thyroid cancers, the unknown road to decommissioning, the IRCP\u2019s new draft recommendation, etc. etc. What is conspicuous is the attempt to persuade citizens in the name of science.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe exposure dose is small. It\u2019s scientifically safe,\u201d is what they say, but is it really so? In the first place, is the data they are using as evidence really trustworthy? Are the conditions sufficiently understood for the data to have any meaning? In nature, as opposed to a laboratory, realities are complex and cannot be controlled. In some cases, there is no option but to rely on epidemiological surveys to show causality. These processes will necessarily exclude some people.<\/p>\n
For us who live in contemporary society, we have to bear in mind the essential ambiguity inherent in science. When there is a difference of opinion in science and technology, going along with the most critical and pessimistic opinion should be our basic stance. If we do not, the average person’s \u201cright to\u00a0maintain\u00a0the\u00a0minimum\u00a0standards of wholesome\u00a0and\u00a0cultured living\u201d (Article 25 of the Constitution of Japan) is very likely to be violated in the name of high-level science and technology.<\/p>\n
While engraving on our hearts the sorrow of losing so many people, I hope we will go forward with a strong determination that these mistakes will never be repeated again.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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