Hosono: "We All Have to Share the Pain of Fukushima"

Goshi Hosono, former assistant to ex-prime minister Kan Naoto, current minister in charge of the Fukushima nuclear accident and the new Minister of the Environment whose Ministry will have the regulatory agency for the nuclear industry and will be in charge also of the government "decontamination" and cleanup effort in Tohoku, declared on September 4 that the entire Japan must share the pain of Fukushima.

He might as well include the entire northern hemisphere, as this, as many in Japan outside Fukushima have taken to mean spreading the radioactive debris all over Japan to expedite the disposal so that "Fukushima can recover". Japan's favorite method of disposing the debris and garbage, as you now know, is to burn.

From NHK News Japanese (4:42PM JST 9/4/2011):

原発事故で放射性物質に汚染されたがれきや土壌の最終処分場について細野環境大臣は４日の会見で「福島の痛みを日本全体で分かち合うことが国としての配慮だ」と述べ、福島県以外に設けたいという考えを示しました。

Minister of the Environment Hosono said in the September 4 press conference that "it is the consideration of the national government [or as Japan as the nation] to share the pain of Fukushima by everyone [or everywhere] in Japan", reiterating his intention to create a final processing facility outside Fukushima Prefecture for debris and dirt contaminated with radioactive materials from the nuclear accident.

これは４日行われた就任会見で、細野環境大臣が明らかにしました。原発事故で放射性物質に汚染されたがれきや放射性物質を取り除く除染作業で出た土壌などの処分をめぐっては、先月、菅前総理大臣が福島県の佐藤知事に対し、一時的に管理する中間貯蔵施設を県内に整備する方向で検討していることやその施設を最終処分場にすることは考えていないという意向を伝えています。

The September 4 press conference was his first as the Minister of the Environment. Regarding the disposal of the contaminated debris and dirt removed by the decontamination work, ex-Prime Minister Kan told Governor of Fukushima Sato last month that the national government was proceeding with the plan to create a temporary storage facility in Fukushima but it had no intention of turning this facility into a final processing facility.

４日の会見で細野大臣は、中間貯蔵施設について「具体的な場所や保管しておく期間については地元の理解がなくては進めることができない」と述べ、施設を設ける場所などについては今後、地元と十分話し合ったうえで決めたいという考えを示しました。

In the September 4 press conference, Hosono said of the temporary storage facility, "We won't proceed without consulting the local people in deciding the specific location and the duration of the storage", indicating the details will be worked out after consultation with the local people.

また、最終処分場については中間貯蔵施設とは別だという認識を示した上で、「福島の痛みを日本全体で分かち合うことが国としての配慮ではないかと思っている。福島を最終処分場にはしないということは方針としてできる限り貫きたい」と述べ、福島県以外に設けたいという考えを示しました。

As to the final processing facility, he said he considered it separate from the temporary storage facility, and said further, "I believe it should be the consideration of the national government [or Japan as the nation] to share the pain of Fukushima by everyone in Japan [or everywhere in Japan]. It is my intention to stick to the plan that the final processing facility will never be built in Fukushima", reiterating his idea of creating the final processing facility outside Fukushima Prefecture.

From the Japanese word 国 (nation) as used by politicians like him, it's hard to figure which he means: national government, or the nation as a whole. In their mind, clearly they're one and the same.

How spreading the radioactive debris all over Japan to be processed and thus potentially contaminating all over Japan is supposed to ease the "pain" felt in Fukushima is simply beyond me. I would love to hear whether people in Fukushima feel their view is well represented by Minister Goshi. Maybe it is, though I hope it isn't. (Hope is not a good trading vehicle.)

The newly installed prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has already said, "Without the rebirth of Fukushima, there will be no rebirth of Japan".

I guess there will be no rebirth of Japan.

Those of you who are currently in Japan, you can share your views by leaving a message to Minister Hosono at the following numbers (from this tweet):

細野 豪志議員会館620号室電話03-3508-7116 FAX03-3508-3416 ■ 三島事務所 TEL055-991-1269 FAX055-991-1270 ■ 富士事務所 TEL0545-55-5411 FAX0545-55-5412

You can also send a message to him via his website: http://goshi.org/contact/

Mr. Hosono is the one who admitted on national TV that the Kan administration knew from the beginning that it was a core meltdown at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, but they (him included) "just did not feel like announcing it".

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