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11 years on: Fukushima governor wants all evacuation orders to be lifted

Mar 11, 2022

Fukushima – The government should lift all evacuation orders issued after the March 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture, Gov. Masao Uchibori said in an interview.

Uchibori welcomed the central government’s pledge to ensure that all evacuees from the triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may return home by the end of the decade, if they wish.

“However, there are many challenges such as handling land and housing of residents who do not intend to return, and working out details of decontamination methods,” Uchibori said Monday.

“The situation differs by area. We will urge the central government to carefully listen to the intentions of each municipality and act in a responsible way to lift evacuation orders in all difficult-to-return areas and reconstruct such zones,” he said.

When asked about the central government’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the nuclear plant into the ocean, he said that he will urge the government to carefully give explanations to all people concerned and to give out more information to prevent any more harmful rumors.

“There are opinions in Japan and abroad opposing the water release and calling for the careful handling of the matter,” he said.

On the handling of contaminated soil from Fukushima, Uchibori said that it is the central government’s obligation to move it out of the prefecture for final disposal by 2045.

On last summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics dubbed the “Reconstruction Games,” the governor said that the event became a legacy although there were some restrictions.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was different from what we had imagined, but the prefecture’s products, such as peaches, were highly evaluated by people related to the Games,” he said.

“By utilizing the connections we gained at the Games, we will work to expand exchanges through sports, such as by hosting large-scale events and having children and athletes interact with each other.”

“We also want to further share Fukushima’s attractiveness both domestically and internationally through exchanges,” he added.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/03/11/national/fukushima-governor-evacuation-orders/

March 13, 2022 Posted by | Fuk 2022 | , , , | Leave a comment

IOC President welcomes Governor of Fukushima Prefecture to Olympic House

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October 10, 2019
Governor Masao Uchibori gave an update on progress in the Fukushima Prefecture, where the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are playing a key role in the reconstruction of the area affected by the 2011 tsunami.
 
He informed the IOC that the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium is already being used. It will host baseball and softball competitions for Tokyo 2020, including the tournament opening matches. Football games will be played at nearby Miyagi Stadium.
The IOC President and Governor Uchibori also discussed the visit by a group of students from Fukushima to Lausanne on the occasion of the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020.
The Governor also gave reassurances on the safety issues with regard to food and radiation.
 
He emphasised the evaluation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), which said: “Measures [taken by the Japanese authorities] to monitor and respond to issues regarding radionuclide contamination of food are appropriate, and the food supply chain is controlled effectively by the relevant authorities.” The Governor explained food safety is being constantly monitored by the FAO and that these levels can be considered as safe for all visitors.
Governor Uchibori explained that the radiation levels in 97.5 per cent of the Fukushima prefecture do not pose a risk and could, in fact, be compared to those found in major cities around the world. The remaining 2.5 per cent, where there is higher radiation, is fenced off and not accessible to visitors.
 
President Bach visited the tsunami-hit area of Fukushima in November last year with Prime Minister Abe. He met young athletes, toured some venues and witnessed the progress of reconstruction. He also saw there a number of students from the region whom he later welcomed to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. President Bach invited them to join him at a softball game to be played in Fukushima during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. These young people are part of the “Support Our Kids” programme in which the Swiss Embassy in Japan is involved, and which supports children affected by the 2011 tsunami.
 
The IOC President will welcome a second group of students to Olympic House in Lausanne in January 2020 during the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Many cities in the region affected by the 2011 earthquake will be a point of international sports exchanges as a “Host Town”. They will welcome teams from different countries and regions ahead of and during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
In another symbolic gesture, Fukushima will also stage the first leg of the Olympic Torch Relay in the run-up to the Olympic Games next July.
https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-president-welcomes-governor-of-fukushima-prefecture-to-olympic-house

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October 20, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , , , | Leave a comment

Fukushima governor ‘pushes safety of prefecture’s food’ on Europe tour

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Attendants of a reception held at the Japanese Embassy in London on Thursday are served sake from Fukushima Prefecture.
 
LONDON – Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori on Thursday kicked off a tour of Britain and France with the goal of publicizing the safety of food from the prefecture.
In London, Uchibori met with officials of British importing companies to promote Fukushima products and develop sales channels.
 
He also paid a courtesy call to Mark Field, the United Kingdom’s minister of state for Asia and the Pacific. Uchibori told Field that the people of Fukushima are profoundly grateful for the warm, generous support received from Britain since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Before the meeting, Field enjoyed dried peaches from Fukushima given by the governor.
 
During a Thursday evening reception at the Japanese Embassy in London, some 200 Japanese and British guests tasted foods and drinks from Fukushima, including the prefecture’s specialty Ten no Tsubu rice dishes with wagyu, locally brewed sake and peach juice.
 
Uchibori’s tour was planned after the European Union in December lifted its restrictions on imports of some foods from Japan, including rice grown in Fukushima. The restrictions were imposed due to concerns over radioactive contamination from the nuclear disaster.
 
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/23/national/fukushima-governor-pushes-safety-prefectures-food-europe-tour/#.WrUSiOYiHrd

March 23, 2018 Posted by | Fukushima 2018 | , , , , | Leave a comment

Fukushima Pref. Governor Irked at Abe’s Omission During 3/11 Memorial Speech

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech at a government-sponsored memorial event on March 11 for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami six years ago.

Fukushima Pref. governor criticizes Abe’s 3/11 memorial speech

FUKUSHIMA — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been criticized by the governor of Fukushima Prefecture for not using the term “nuclear accident” during his speech at a Great East Japan Earthquake memorial service in Tokyo, on March 11.

Masao Uchibori, who has been governor of Fukushima Prefecture since 2014, expressed his criticism of Abe during a news conference on March 13. Specifically, Uchibori stated, “To Fukushima residents, it felt strange that Abe left the phrase ‘nuclear accident’ out of his speech. One must not ignore important terms such as ‘nuclear plant accident’ or ‘nuclear disaster'” when referring to what has happened in Fukushima.

The government-sponsored memorial service for the Great East Japan Earthquake, which Abe spoke at on March 11 2017, has taken place every year since 2012. Until last year, Abe spoke about the “nuclear accident” during his speeches.

Uchibori also pointed out during the news conference that, “There has been considerable damage as a result of the nuclear accident, which is globally unprecedented in terms of its brutality. The repercussions of the accident are still having an impact today, not something of the past.”

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170313/p2a/00m/0na/007000c

SIX YEARS AFTER: Fukushima governor irked at omission in Abe’s speech

FUKUSHIMA–Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori expressed his frustration at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s failure to mention the nuclear accident in Fukushima during a speech on March 11 on the sixth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

“This is an accident that does not exist in the past tense, but in the present progressive form,” Uchibori said at a regularly scheduled news conference on March 13. “It is not possible to avoid using the important and significant terms of the nuclear plant accident or nuclear power disaster.”

He added that the prime minister’s failure to use such terms in a memorial event speech to remember the victims of the March 11, 2011, disasters left Fukushima residents with a sense of discomfort.

“Fukushima Prefecture has experienced enormous damage from a terrible nuclear accident that is unprecedented in the world,” Uchibori said in the news conference.

While Abe did not mention the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which was triggered by the earthquake and tsunami, he did not forget the prefecture completely in his speech at the National Theater in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward.

“I feel that the rebuilding process in Fukushima has entered a new stage with the lifting of evacuation orders for various parts of the prefecture,” Abe said.

The government-sponsored event has been held annually on March 11 since 2012. Abe has spoken at the commemorations from 2013 until 2016 and mentioned the fact that many Fukushima residents could not return to their hometowns due to the nuclear accident.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201703140048.html

March 15, 2017 Posted by | Fukushima 2017 | , , | Leave a comment

At UN Seminar, Fukushima Governor Appealed that Fukushima is Safe.

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On October 19, 2016, Governor Masao Uchibori, the Fukushima prefecture governor, took part in a seminar at the United Nations headquarters in New York, a seminar about the reconstruction of Eastern Japan  from the 2011 earthquake.


He declared that though there were rumors saying that many people can’t live anymore in Fukushima since the nuclear accident in March 2011, it was not fact. The evacuation zone was  only 5 % of the Fukushima prefecture. He also emphasized that life in Fukushima was back in the same way as it was before the 2011 earthquake in 95 % of the prefecture.

 

October 25, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , | Leave a comment

Fukushima Governor to Pitch Local Attractions in U.S.

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Washington, Oct. 18 (Jiji Press)–Visiting Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori said Tuesday that he will pitch in the United States specialties and attractions of the northeastern Japan prefecture, such as sake and hot springs.


At a press conference, Uchibori said he wants many people to visit the prefecture from the United States and take first-hand looks at the current situation there.


If such visitors disseminate information about the prefecture in their own words, that will be a significant step toward reconstruction, he added.


Fukushima was hit hard by the March 2011 nuclear reactor meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. following a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami.


The evacuation area due to radioactive contamination caused by the nuclear disaster now accounts for only 5 pct of the prefecture’s land area and people live normal lives in the remaining 95 pct, Uchibori explained.

http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2016101900394

October 19, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , , | Leave a comment