My Life: Interview with Sunao Tsuboi, Chairperson of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, Part 14
Feb. 6, 2013
August 6 and March 11
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
Shared dread of radiation
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. The tremor and the subsequent tsunami led to the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant. The accident was rated Level 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, the same as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union.
I went to China right after the accident at the nuclear power plant, and it weighed on my mind the whole time I was there.
The peaceful use of nuclear energy was said to be essential for economic development, so there was a sense that you couldn’t oppose nuclear power plants. Ichiro Moritaki (1901-1994), the so-called “father of the anti-nuclear movement,” always said that the human race couldn’t coexist with nuclear weapons or nuclear power, but the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations didn’t come out in favor of ending Japan’s reliance on nuclear power until after the disaster. I regret that.
If we wait until something after happens, it will be too late. If we don’t give serious consideration to nuclear issues, the entire earth will be affected. People have to wake up to this.
In August 2012 Mr. Tsuboi traveled to the city of Fukushima and recounted his A-bombing experiences. It was his first visit to the disaster area following the accident at the nuclear power plant.
I wanted to boost the spirits of the people of Fukushima and encourage them. I told the audience, “You must not be afraid of radiation, but it can cause tremendous harm, so you must not underestimate it either.” That’s because the health of the victims may be affected several years down the road.
On that trip Mr. Tsuboi met with Tamotsu Baba, mayor of the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture. The entire population of the town was forced to evacuate after the disaster at the nuclear power plant. Namie has issued its own health handbook modeled on the A-bomb Survivor Certificate. The town has asked the central government to provide relief measures like those for A-bomb survivors.
I first met Mayor Baba on August 6, 2012, when he came to Hiroshima. We have to see that the citizens of the town are able to get compensation from the government. I would like to go back to Fukushima with other A-bomb survivors, create an opportunity to talk with victims of the nuclear power plant disaster and encourage them not to give up.
We atomic bomb survivors went through a terrible time as the result of the A-bombing, and we know the dread of radiation better than anyone. The question of how to finally dispose of the spent fuel from nuclear power plants has not been resolved yet either. If an accident should occur, we would not be able to control the nuclear energy.
In order to ensure that the human race is not destroyed by radiation, we have to make the voices of the atomic bomb survivors heard. The elimination of nuclear power plants will also lead to the abolition of nuclear weapons, which is our earnest desire.
(Originally published on February 5, 2013)
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
Shared dread of radiation
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. The tremor and the subsequent tsunami led to the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant. The accident was rated Level 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, the same as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union.
I went to China right after the accident at the nuclear power plant, and it weighed on my mind the whole time I was there.
The peaceful use of nuclear energy was said to be essential for economic development, so there was a sense that you couldn’t oppose nuclear power plants. Ichiro Moritaki (1901-1994), the so-called “father of the anti-nuclear movement,” always said that the human race couldn’t coexist with nuclear weapons or nuclear power, but the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations didn’t come out in favor of ending Japan’s reliance on nuclear power until after the disaster. I regret that.
If we wait until something after happens, it will be too late. If we don’t give serious consideration to nuclear issues, the entire earth will be affected. People have to wake up to this.
In August 2012 Mr. Tsuboi traveled to the city of Fukushima and recounted his A-bombing experiences. It was his first visit to the disaster area following the accident at the nuclear power plant.
I wanted to boost the spirits of the people of Fukushima and encourage them. I told the audience, “You must not be afraid of radiation, but it can cause tremendous harm, so you must not underestimate it either.” That’s because the health of the victims may be affected several years down the road.
On that trip Mr. Tsuboi met with Tamotsu Baba, mayor of the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture. The entire population of the town was forced to evacuate after the disaster at the nuclear power plant. Namie has issued its own health handbook modeled on the A-bomb Survivor Certificate. The town has asked the central government to provide relief measures like those for A-bomb survivors.
I first met Mayor Baba on August 6, 2012, when he came to Hiroshima. We have to see that the citizens of the town are able to get compensation from the government. I would like to go back to Fukushima with other A-bomb survivors, create an opportunity to talk with victims of the nuclear power plant disaster and encourage them not to give up.
We atomic bomb survivors went through a terrible time as the result of the A-bombing, and we know the dread of radiation better than anyone. The question of how to finally dispose of the spent fuel from nuclear power plants has not been resolved yet either. If an accident should occur, we would not be able to control the nuclear energy.
In order to ensure that the human race is not destroyed by radiation, we have to make the voices of the atomic bomb survivors heard. The elimination of nuclear power plants will also lead to the abolition of nuclear weapons, which is our earnest desire.
(Originally published on February 5, 2013)
