nuclear-news

Refugees from Fukushima join in anti nuclear protest

“We Want to Fight For This Cause”: Nuclear Refugees from Fukushima Join Anti-Nuke Protests http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/17/we_want_to_fight_for_this “…….Three years later, Japan is still reeling from the impact of the disaster. More than 340,000 people became nuclear refugees, forced to abandon their homes and their livelihoods. Entire towns were forced to evacuate, including Futaba, a town that housed part of the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Before March 11, 2011, nearly 7,000 people lived in the town. Today Futaba is a nuclear ghost town. The government relocated many of the residents to an abandoned school near Tokyo, where they live in cramped, shared common areas, many families to a room, are provided with three box lunches per day. The refugees were given permits to return home to collect personal items, but only for two hours.

Just before this broadcast, Democracy Now! producer Mike Burke spoke with an evacuee from Futaba. She was one of hundreds of anti-nuclear protesters who were outside the official residence of the Japanese prime minister demonstrating.

YUKIKO KAMEYA: [translated] My name is Yukiko Kameya. I’m from Futaba, which was 2.1 kilometers from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. Right now, we have evacuated, and we are living in a temporary housing in Tokyo in a space provided by the government. It’s close here, so I’m coming here every Friday to demonstrate against the nuclear power facilities. ……

January 18, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized