Takashi Hirose Who Has Pressed Criminal Charges Against Government, TEPCO: "We remain unaware, we just want to believe everything is OK"

Journalists Takashi Hirose and Shojiro Akashi announced at a press conference on July 15 that they had pressed criminal charges against 32 people including TEPCO management, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Fukushima's Radiation Health Risk Advisors including Shunichi Yamashita.

17 people are charged with "bodily injury through negligence in the conduct of occupation", including Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, Fukushima's Radiation Health Risk Advisor, Ms. Shizuyo Kusumi, member of Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan and specialist in radiation
biology, and Mr. Yoshiaki Takagi, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and some other specialists in radiation.

15 people are charged with "death through negligence in the conduct of occupation", including Chairman Katsumata and Ex-President Shimizu from TEPCO, and Dr. Haruki Madarame, Nuclear Safety Commission Chief.

During the press conference on July 15 (youtube video here), Mr. Hirose, who has written extensively about nuclear energy and radiation issues for 30 years, had some shocking revelations regarding Fukushima, in addition to his sharp criticism of the government and the government researchers who have been preaching "safety up to 100 millisieverts". He said:

• Teachers at Fukushima Prefecture's public schools literally force children to eat food that has high probability of being contaminated with radiation (such as shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots); and

• Fish caught off Fukushima are being sold all over Japan as they are re-routed to ports far away from Fukushima, and people are eating them thinking they were caught in the safe (radiation-free) water.

All part of the "safety myth" that the government has successfully created since the accident, and he says "we remain unaware, we just want to believe everything is OK, and live each day."

Reality is too harsh, and betrayal by their own government is even harder to accept.

From his July 15 press conference:

広瀬：皆さんご存知の通り、事故が、3月11日に大地震が起こって事故がその日から始まりまして、でその20日からですね、長崎大学の山下俊一なる人物をですね、放射線健康リスク管理アドバイザーに迎えて、その翌日からもう安全宣伝のキャンペーンを始めて、それから4月に入りまして広島大学の神谷研二、それから長崎大学の高村昇も同じアドバイザーになって、この三人が揃って「100mSvまでは安全」とくり返して児童の被曝を強要させてきた。このことで彼らは全国から批判を浴びているわけですけれど、それは犯罪ではないんだろうかということをはっきりさせたいんですね。

Hirose: As you all know, the [Fukushima nuclear] accident started right after the earthquake hit on March 11. Then on March 20, one Shunichi Yamashita, of Nagasaki University, was installed as the radiation health risk management advisor. Right next day he started the campaign to preach "safety". Then in April, Kenji Kamiya of Hiroshima University and Noboru Takamura of Nagasaki University joined Yamashita as advisors. These three people have repeatedly said "It's safe up to 100 millisieverts", forcing children to be exposed to radiation. Now they are being criticized by citizens all over the country, but I want to make it clear that what they've done is criminal.

福島県では、こないだ聞いたんですが、学校で子どもたちがお父さんやお母さんが意識の高い方が子どもに「シイタケやタケノコが給食に出たら食べちゃいけないよ」といって、それで子どもが学校に行ってそれを取り分けると先生が来て「食え！」っていって食わせるんだそうです。ぞっとするんじゃないですか、皆さん。え？　こんなこと今起こってるんですよ、日本で。え？　どうするんですか、こんなこと。それやらせてんの山下でしょう。背後にいるんでしょう。さっきおっしゃったように、文部科学省がいるからこんなことになるんでしょう。どうしてこんなことほっとくんですか日本人は。子どもたちをみんなで殺してるんじゃないですか。許せないですよこれは。

I heard this story in Fukushima the other day. Informed parents tell their children, "Don't eat shiitake mushroom or bamboo shoot in the school lunch." So, the children take them aside. But then the teacher comes and orders them, "Eat!" Horrible, isn't it? This is what's happening now in Japan, you see. What are we going to do? Yamashita is behind this, isn't he? As someone said, this is happening because we have the Ministry of Education and Science. Why are we allowing this to happen? It's like killing our own children. I cannot allow it to happen.

質問：放射線核種でセシウムとかそういうのばかりが新聞をにぎわしてますが、やはり一番怖いのはプルトニウムだと思うんですが、その被害について、たとえば劣化ウラン弾の被害が出ているようなイラクだとかではプルトニウムとかのα線の被害が多いと思うのですが、この辺のことについてはどのようにお考えか。

(Question: In the media we hear a lot about radioactive cesium, but I think the most dangerous is plutonium. What do you think of the damage from the alpha-radiation from plutonium? In places like Iraq, there are damages from depleted uranium.)

広瀬：私はプルトニウムより今怖いのはストロンチウムだと思っています。これはセシウムとほぼ同量が原子炉の中にあったはずですし、それがほとんど出ていないというのは検出していないだけであって、とくに海洋に流れた海に流れているのはとてつもない量だと思います。だからそういうことで言いましても、今の状況で、何がどこにあるか私自身もわかんないです。で、とくに魚の場合は、福島に今回行ってほんとにわかったんですけど、もう日本中に流通しているんです。そういったものが九州に流れてるんですね。九州や何かで買ったり、そういうとんでもないところで買って、それを西日本の人は安心して食べてるわけです。だから今私もう、何が起こっているかはっきりいってわかりません。ただわれわれは何にも意識もなく、大丈夫と思いたくて、生きてるだけなんだろうな。現実派ですよ。今そういう状況です、はい。

I think strontium is more dangerous than plutonium right now. Strontium should have existed inside the reactor in about the same amount as cesium. It is hardly detected, but that just means it hasn't been measured. I suspect the amount of strontium that has leaked into the ocean is enormous. So, under the current situation, I have no idea what is where. Talking about fish, as I discovered this time in Fukushima, fish [caught off the coast of Fukushima] are sold all over Japan. They are being re-routed to Kyushu, for example. People in the western Japan are eating these fish, thinking they are safe. Honestly speaking, I haven't a clue what's going on. I suspect we remain unaware, we just want to believe everything is OK, and live each day. That's the reality. That's how it goes.

... and everybody knows.

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

(Leonard Cohen)

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