nuclear-news

Fear of radiation leads to discrimination against Fukushima victims

The woman, whose name is not yet known, had booked a photographer for her wedding this month and was looking forward to tying the knot with her partner of eight years.

But her plans turned to ashes when her future mother-in-law blurted out: “What if we don’t have a healthy child because of the radiation?”

It scarcely mattered that she had been living in Tokyo and was no closer to the plant than the majority of Japanese – the fact she grew up in Fukushima was enough for her to be discriminated against.

Although her friends were looking forward to the wedding to brighten the gloom of their post-tsunami lives, she called off her engagement, saying she could not accept such prejudice…………

While Japanese society’s cohesion and strength has shone through during this disaster, isolated examples of discrimination against the tens of thousands of refugees from around the nuclear plant began surfacing not long after the March 11 quake.

They include institutional and individual discrimination. The government of the city of Tsukuba, just northeast of Tokyo, was forced to apologise after forcing Fukushima area refugees who had sought shelter to obtain “radiation-free” certificates or undergo screening.

The Mayor of Minamisoma, a town of 71,000 that lies 25km from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, said this week he been approached directly by several victims of discrimination.

Katsunobu Sakurai said: “I was told by a mother with some children that when they went to a different area of Japan, they were warned by other children: ‘You are contaminated don’t come near me.’

“The children came home in tears. Having heard such stories, I made an appeal to the national government to ensure that proper education is given so that children do not say such terrible things.”

Japanese media have reported on a Fukushima area evacuee family with young children that was driven out of Funabashi City near Tokyo after local children complained they might “infect” them with radiation……

Although such examples are isolated, the severity and callousness of them led chief government spokesman Yukio Edano to condemn such actions. But many Japanese from outside the affected area remain wary in their dealings with Fukushima locals….The Fukushima Bar Association says evacuees and their children have been victimised and petrol stations have denied access to cars with Fukushima plates……

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/discrimination-increases-torment-of-fukushima/story-e6frg6so-1226073275610

June 11, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011