Mayor of Naraha-Machi Wants Fukushima II Back Online

Now that Fukushima I Nuke Plant went bust, Fukushima II is all we've got, says Mayor Takashi Kusano of Naraha-machi, Fukushima Prefecture where Fukushima II Nuke Plant is located. He says "We'd better get the best use of it."

Naraha-machi is located in Futaba-gun ("gun" is a bigger region), which has both Fukushima I and Fukushima II.

A brief interview with the mayor that appeared on News Post Seven (7/24/2011):

人口約7700人の福島県双葉郡楢葉町は福島第一原発の南側に位置し、周辺20km内の「警戒区域」にあたる。町内には、原発事故への対応拠点であるJヴィレッジや現在運転停止中の福島第二原発が立地する。町民たちは、県内のいわき市や大沼郡会津美里町での避難生活を余儀なくされている。だが、遠く離れたところから、口先で「脱原発」を叫ぶのは容易い。草野孝・町長（76歳）が切実な事情を語る。

Naraha-machi in Futaba-gun in Fukushima Prefecture, population 7,700, is located south of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and within the 20-kilometer no-entry zone. J-Village, the staging area for the power plant work, and Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant are located in town. The town's residents have been living in shelters in Iwaki City and Aizu Misato-machi in Onuma-gun. Mayor of the town is Takashi Kusano (aged 76), who thinks it is easy for people who are far away from a nuclear power plant to call for "no nukes".

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――都心などでは「脱原発」「反原発」を掲げるデモ行進も多い。

--In places like Tokyo, there are many demonstrations for "beyond nuke" and "no nuke".

「遠くにいて“脱原発”なんて言っている人、おかしいと思う。我々は必死に原発と共生して、もちろん我々もその恩恵でいい暮らしをした。だが同時に、東京の人たちに電気を送ってきたわけだ。何十年先の新しいエネルギーの話と、目の前の話は違う。あるものは早く動かして、不足のないように東京に送ればいい。我々地域の感情としてはそうなる」

"I don't understand anyone who says "beyond nuke" from a distance. We have tried our best to co-exist with the nuke plant, and yes of course we have benefited from it and have had a good life. At the same time, we've been sending electricity to people in Tokyo. New [alternative, renewable?] energy several decades in the future doesn't serve the need of today. What we have now [Fukushima II] we should operate, and send electricity to Tokyo. That's how we feel about it."

――とはいえ、第一原発であれだけの事故が起きた。第二原発についても不安は覚える。

--However, Fukushima I Nuke Plant caused such a big accident. People are fearful of Fukushima II also.

「もちろん、津波防御のための工事やチェックは必要だ。国がしっかりと第一原発の教訓を生かしていくべきところ。第二原発は崖と崖の間に位置していて、真っ平らなところにある第一原発とは地理条件が違う。今回の津波の被害も第一より軽微だった。

"Of course it is necessary to guard against tsunami. The national government should apply the lessons learned from Fukushima I. But Fukushima II is located between the cliffs, geographically different from Fukushima I which is on the flat land. Fukushima II wasn't affected by tsunami as much as Fukushima I.

　そうした違いがあるのに、“脱原発”ばかり。結局“復興”が二の次になってはいないか。双葉郡には、もう第二しかないんだ……。

So Fukushima II is different, but all we hear is "beyond nuke". "Recovery" comes the second. All that's left for Futaba-gun [his town is located within Futaba-gun] is Fukushima II.

　正確に放射線量を測り、住民が帰れるところから復興しないと、双葉郡はつぶれてしまう。第二が動けば、5000人からの雇用が出てくる。そうすれば、大熊町（第一原発の1～4号機が立地）の支援だってできる。

Futaba-gun will cease to exist unless the radiation level is accurately measured and the residents return where it's possible. If Fukushima II becomes operational again, that will create 5,000 jobs. Then we will be able to help out Okuma-machi (where Reactors 1-4 of Fukushima I Nuke Plant are located).

　それなのに、国も県も、何の情報も出さないし、相談もしてこない。新聞やテレビのニュースで初めて知ることばかり。町民の不満は限界に近づいている。言ってやりたいよ。“ばが（馬鹿）にすんのもいい加減にしろ”――と」

"But both the national government and Fukushima prefectural government don't give us information, they don't consult us. We learn things from newspapers and TV news. Frustration of the town's folks is reaching the limit. I wish I could say to the governments, "Stop taking us for fools!""

■聞き手／ジャーナリスト・小泉深

Interviewer: Shin Koizumi, journalist

I wonder if the mayor knows radioactive fallout from Fukushima I Nuke Plant has gone very far and affecting those people in the distance. I doubt it. But even if he does know, he would say that's just the price to pay for having received electricity from the nuke plant.

I also wonder if he thinks of other cities and towns within Fukushima Prefecture which may have even higher radiation level than his hometown thanks to Fukushima I Nuke Plant. They didn't have any say when Naraha-machi (Fukushima II) and Okuma-machi/Futaba-machi (Fukushima I) invited the TEPCO's nuke plants. Not that he should, but it would be nice if he at least thinks of his fellow Fukushima residents, while scoffing at people making the anti-nuke noise from a distance.

By the way, this same mayor wanted to invite Japan's first final processing plant for highly radioactive waste products from the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, back in 2009. Asahi Shinbun reported on March 15 in 2009 about the mayor's plan (no link to the original article at Asahi any more, but the full article has been copied at this site).

According to the article, just for applying as a candidate, the town would get 1 billion yen (US$12 million). If it is selected as the location for the final processing plant, total 160 billion yen (US$2 billion) in tax revenue and 1.7 trillion yen (US$22 billion) economic effects would be expected.

The town's revenue for 2007 was 6.1 billion yen (US$77 million), thanks to special tax revenue from Fukushima II Nuke Plant. Very rich for a town of 7,700 people.

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