Despite one newspaper’s effort, Japan can’t make its radioactive waste “disappear.”From information provided by Kurumi Sugita, Jon Goman, and Fukushima 311 Voices.
After the disastrous events of the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear meltdown in Japan, France-based Kurumi Sugita, a retired Japanese social anthropologist, and her American partner, Jon Goman, started a website for the French citizens group, Nos Voisins Lontains, 311(Our Far Away Neighbors 311.) At first published only in French, it is now also published in English and Japanese at Fukushima 311 Voices.
In a particularly revelatory article last October, the pair highlighted the extent to which efforts to “normalize” the devastating consequences of the nuclear disaster are pervasive in Japan.
They detailed how the Mainichi Shimbun ran a story about the reopening of a stretch of railway line that had been closed since the Fukushima accident. The photo that accompanied the piece showed a train in the background. But the foreground of the picture was dominated by row after row of black trash bags filled with radioactive waste. (Shown in headline photo at the top of the article.)
Apparently, the radioactive trash bags photo at the train station caused some public (or possibly corporate) protest. The photo abruptly vanished from the Japanese online version of the paper (but not the English language one), to be replaced by a picture showing cheerfully smiling train personnel and passengers on the station platform.
Rows of such radioactive waste-filled bags now litter that region of Japan, sometimes stretching as far as the eye can see. Watch RT’s extraordinary drone footage of waste bags.
They are a reminder of the impossibility of effective “cleanup” after a radioactive accident. In a desperate attempt to restore confidence among exiled residents, top soil and other debris was scooped up intro trash bags in the name of “cleanup”. However, all this achieves, if the bags are ever “disposed of,” is to move the radiation somewhere else.
The story is one small example — but nevertheless a poignant one — of the extent to which the Japanese public are being subjugated, silenced and even threatened into an acceptance of the widespread radioactive contamination of their country.
Here is the original October 30, 2017 blog post from Fukushima 311 Voices, published in English and Japanese.
Newspaper changes an “annoying” photo
When we are outside of Fukushima, or of Japan, it is difficult for us to realize to what extent it has become difficult to speak of radio-contamination and the risk of exposure.
To illustrate this, we are reporting on the case of a photo replacement in the Mainichi Shimbun. This took place only in the Japanese edition. The original photo seems to have remained in the English edition.
At left is the original picture (used also in the Japanese 1st version) with the caption : “A train leaves Tomioka Station in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, after services on the JR Joban Line were resumed between Tomioka and Tatsuta on Oct. 21, 2017. (Mainichi)”.
As you can see, the picture clearly tries to attract the attention of the readers to the black bags containing contaminated waste. In fact, the Japanese caption mentions also: “In the foreground, a temporary storage site of bags containing decontamination waste”. You can see other pictures here by the same photographer.
Here is the link to the togetter (in Japanese) through which you can see in what kind of language these people protesting against the first picture express themselves. They are pointing out crudely “the malicious intention” of the Mainichi Shimbun to devalue the event and the reconstruction of Fukushima.
Join the mobilisations to Strasbourg, where the European Parliament will vote on the new taxonomy, in the week of the 4th of July.
Where? A base camp is planned in GUNDERSHOFFEN (exact address: 1 chemin de la Scierie, 67110 GUNDERSHOFFEN) from Saturday the 2nd until Thursday the 7th of July in the region.
It is a meadow on which commodities will be set up and with a barn, so make sure to bring camping gear, sleeping bags and mats, as well as toiletries and other camping gear you may need. There will be possibilities for public transport as well as shuttle buses between the camp and Strasbourg.
If you are coming in a larger group, let the coalition know by emailing mobi-strasbourg@riseup.net so that they have an overview of how many people will be coming. This will help the logistics team make sure to provide enough facilities, such as tent space, food, etc.
When? Action days will take place between July 4th and 6th, depending on when the vote and debate about the taxonomy will take place; this will be announced the week before. It is advised to arrive at the very latest on Sunday the 3rd of July afternoon, and plan your travel back for Thursday, July 7th after noon or in the evening ideally.
How to get there?
There will be buses coming to Strasbourg and the base camp from different parts of Europe. Otherwise, the GUNDERSHOFFEN local train station is situated a mere 5 minutes by foot from the campsite.
Are you and your groups interested in organising a bus? Please get in touch with the mobilisation team via mobi-strasbourg@riseup.net.
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