New chairman of RERF is determined to listen to A-bomb survivors’ voices
Jul. 14, 2015
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
On June 20, Otsura Niwa, 71, became the seventh chairman of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), located in Minami Ward, Hiroshima. Based on the test results of blood and other samples provided by survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, RERF’s work has helped develop international standards for radiation protection. Mr. Niwa is keenly aware of the responsibility of his position and has begun asking what he can do to aid the survivors.
Mr. Niwa was a student of the faculty of science at Kyoto University and studied radiation biology in its graduate school. He devoted himself to studying the mechanism and effects of radiation on living organisms and chose to become a researcher. He worked at Hiroshima University’s former Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine and Biology (now the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine) for 13 years starting in 1984. After examining the data gathered by RERF, he became absorbed in the study of genetic influences. But he recalls not paying sufficient attention to the survivors who had provided tissue samples.
A turning point came after having conversations with sufferers of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant. When Mr. Niwa explained the degree of risk posed by exposure to a certain level of radiation, this sparked a strong backlash. “Until that time I didn’t understand the feelings of people who were afraid of the effects of exposure, even to low-level radiation,” he said. He was asked to serve as a specially appointed professor at Fukushima Medical University and assumed this post in September 2012. He moved to Fukushima and began listening directly to the voices of local residents. He said, “Only after listening to people can you realize what you’re able to do for them.” In his new role, he is determined, above all, to listen to the voices of the A-bomb survivors.
Mr. Niwa is eager to continue researching the mechanism and effects of radiation, saying that radiation produces consequences that are still unexplained. Although there is a shortage of younger researchers in the field, he remains optimistic. “If we continue publishing high-quality research papers, younger researchers will naturally follow in our footsteps,” he said. Mr. Niwa, who is originally from Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, now lives in Minami Ward, Hiroshima.
(Originally published on July 9, 2015)
On June 20, Otsura Niwa, 71, became the seventh chairman of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), located in Minami Ward, Hiroshima. Based on the test results of blood and other samples provided by survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, RERF’s work has helped develop international standards for radiation protection. Mr. Niwa is keenly aware of the responsibility of his position and has begun asking what he can do to aid the survivors.
Mr. Niwa was a student of the faculty of science at Kyoto University and studied radiation biology in its graduate school. He devoted himself to studying the mechanism and effects of radiation on living organisms and chose to become a researcher. He worked at Hiroshima University’s former Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine and Biology (now the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine) for 13 years starting in 1984. After examining the data gathered by RERF, he became absorbed in the study of genetic influences. But he recalls not paying sufficient attention to the survivors who had provided tissue samples.
A turning point came after having conversations with sufferers of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant. When Mr. Niwa explained the degree of risk posed by exposure to a certain level of radiation, this sparked a strong backlash. “Until that time I didn’t understand the feelings of people who were afraid of the effects of exposure, even to low-level radiation,” he said. He was asked to serve as a specially appointed professor at Fukushima Medical University and assumed this post in September 2012. He moved to Fukushima and began listening directly to the voices of local residents. He said, “Only after listening to people can you realize what you’re able to do for them.” In his new role, he is determined, above all, to listen to the voices of the A-bomb survivors.
Mr. Niwa is eager to continue researching the mechanism and effects of radiation, saying that radiation produces consequences that are still unexplained. Although there is a shortage of younger researchers in the field, he remains optimistic. “If we continue publishing high-quality research papers, younger researchers will naturally follow in our footsteps,” he said. Mr. Niwa, who is originally from Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, now lives in Minami Ward, Hiroshima.
(Originally published on July 9, 2015)
