Thursday, September 1, 2011

Fall Semester in Fukushima Starts with Glass Badges for Children

that quietly monitor the radiation levels. Their teacher hopes the badges "will protect the children".

(Oh boy...)

From NHK News Japanese (9/1/2011):

福島市の小中学校で、1日、2学期の始業式が行われ、子どもたちに線量計が配られました。

The fall semester started on September 1 in elementary schools and junior high schools in Fukushima City, and children received their glass badges.

福島市の小中学校では、1日から2学期が始まり、福島第一小学校でも午前7時すぎから子どもたちが登校し始めました。福島市では、一部の地域で高い放射線量が計測され、学校の校庭や通学路で放射線量を下げる対策が進められていますが、1日はマスク姿の子どもが目立ち、正門前には子どもを送る保護者の車の列が出来ていました。

At Fukushima Daiichi Elementary School, children started arriving at 7AM. High radiation has been measured in certain areas in Fukushima City, and the measures to lower the radiation levels in the school yards and on the routes to schools [children usually walk to school] are being taken. But on the first day of the school, many children wore masks, and many parents drove their children to school to the front gate of the school.

始業式では、福井一明校長が「みんなが元気に登校して2学期がスタートでき、うれしく思います。楽しい学校生活を送って下さい」とあいさつしました。福島県では、2学期から15歳未満の子ども28万人に放射線の線量計が配られることになっていて、始業式のあと教室に戻った子どもたちは担任の教師から線量計を受け取り、登下校の際に首からかけることなど使い方の説明を受けていました。

During the start of the school ceremony, Principal Kazuaki Fukui greeted the children, saying "I am glad that you are all here in good health to start the fall semester. Enjoy your school life". In Fukushima Prefecture, 280,000 children younger than 15 years are to receive the glass badges to monitor radiation. After the ceremony, children received the badges from their classroom teachers, and were told to wear the badge from the neck on the way to and from school.

線量計を受け取った子どもたちは「これで少しは安心できます」とか「首にぶら下げると少し変な感じがします」などと話していました。6年生の担当の教師は「線量計を子どもたちに身に着けさせるのは心苦しい気もするが、安全を確保するためのお守りだと考えています。例年よりも日焼けした子どもたちの姿が少ないように感じたので、2学期はなるべく外で遊ばせたいと思います」と話していました。

On receiving the badges, children said "I feel a bit safer now", or "it feels funny when I wear it around my neck". A teacher in charge of 6th graders said, "I feel sorry that children have to wear the glass badges, but I consider the badges as amulets that protect children. It looks to me that there are fewer children with sun tan this year, so I would like to have them play outdoors as much as possible."

DON'T!!! In the accompanying video at the NHK page, the teacher says he hopes "it will be the normal fall semester, just like last year".

Higher education doesn't necessarily mean higher intelligence, that's for sure. (Probably inversely correlated, when I look at Japan.) And trading on hope is not a viable strategy either.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"We don't need no stinking badges!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsVi2RqE7ek&feature=related

Anonymous said...

Any word on how often they will be checked?

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

@anon at 10:51pm, I've heard every 3 months. I've also heard every month, but I don't think it's every month, as it will cost too much. They will be sent to a company in Tokyo (Chiyoda Technol) who will download the data and create reports. The data and the reports will go to Dr. Yamashita, who will be given an award for his achievement in cancer research today in Japan.

Anonymous said...

Gosh. Japanese schoolkids can be salesmen of peaches AND guinea pigs. What a great education!

Is there something not right when a society uses 280,000 children for cancer testing when they could all be relocated to safer areas in other parts of Japan which has a LACK of kids and schools are CLOSING.
FFS just close Fukushima down. Cross it off the prefectural list and use it to dump all the waste, nuclear or not. Make some use of the place rather than spread it round Japan. Compensate the people. Save the damn children from future operations, for the love of god! What are the dumbfek TEACHERS thinking???? What a bunch of jobsworths.
All this because the government and Tepco cant afford to tell the truth.

Anonymous said...

''Enjoy your school life''

What a fucking prick. Meaningless, empty shite that is typical of Principals in Japan.

They need lobotomizing. Or maybe that is one of the qualifications...

Anonymous said...

"I consider the badges as amulets that protect children".

Lucky charm, eh? This teacher seems unable to distinguish science and superstition. What century are we in?

Anonymous said...

So these "badges" (and what's with this appellation? Why not call them what they are?) don't emit shrieking whistles if the radiation hits a certain level. They're checked every month or 3 months (no-one seems quite sure). Sounds like the children have to send their badges away to some institute. So. They protect children... how, exactly? AFTER they've been irradiated, someone somewhere will have the data. How comforting.

Anonymous said...

Japanese are very superstitious, so according to their thinking, the amulets WILL protect them. What you don't know won't hurt you. Of course, religion was introduced for just these kinds of purposes, most of modern Buddhism in Japan does not teach about enlightenment or the virtues of austerity, it is a tax write off scam like religious institutions in other countries. A nice side benefit is that people can be programmed to believe almost anything.

Anonymous said...

@Marc Sheffner

They really are called badges. Badge dosimeters, to be more precise. Of course, they do not protect anyone. But on the bright side, they allow very precise discrimination of the types of radiation and energies involved.

Anonymous said...

Why not try using the RAD Stickers available at several websites, such as KI4U? Small, can be placed on clothes or credit cards, licenses--they darken if exposed to radiation. Not rocket science, but the stickers give a fast readiing. Badges, which are sent away for reading, are great--IF the results are provided immediately to the victims. For some reason, I worry about the data being kept "hidden" from the public, or having the data be "cooked"..Just so sad this has all occurred. Mother Nature is in the drivers seat! Its not "saving face"..it is saving your families and your future citizens.

Anonymous said...

(cr here)

So Evil.


Makes my head hurt...

Atomfritz said...

Hope some clever hackers will manufacture cheap badge readers, so that people actually know when and how much radiation they were exposed to.
Mass produced, such could be in the range of $20.

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