Must Read: Asahi Shinbun "Trap of Prometheus" Series Part 1 - Men in Protective Clothing (2,3) "We Were the Only Ones Who Didn't Know"

(Installment 1, Installments 2 and 3, Installments 4 and 5, Installment 6, Installments 7 and 8, Installments 9 and 10, Installments 11 and 12)

In the first installment, two mysterious men in white protective gear told Mizue Sugano, resident of Tsushima Discrict in Namie-machi in Fukushima Prefecture, to flee the place. She had been taking care of the evacuees from the area near Fukushima I Nuke Plant all day.

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防護服の男（2）

Men in Protective Clothing (2)

　３月１２日夕、菅野みずえは自宅に駆け戻り、防護服の男たちの話を避難者に伝えた。議論が始まった。

Evening of March 12. Mizue Sugano ran back inside her house, and told what the men in protective gear just told her. Argument ensued.

　「本当に危険なら町や警察から連絡があるはずだ。様子をみよう」。やっと落ち着いたばかりで、みんな動きたくなかった。

"If it is really dangerous, the town or the police will surely tell us. Let's wait and see." People were just settling down, and didn't want to move.

　しかし深夜、事態が急変する。数台のバスが、避難所になっている公民館に入って行った。それに避難者の１人が気付く。バスの運転手は「避難者を移動するのだ」といったという。

But in the midnight, the situation changed. Several buses went in to the community center which was used as emergency shelter. One evacuee noticed the buses. One of the bus drivers told the evacuee that he was to "move the evacuees".

　当時、浪江町は、逃げ遅れた２０キロ圏内の町民たちを津島地区までバスでピストン輸送していた。しかし、みずえはそんなことは知らず、やはりここは危ないのではないかと思った。みずえは寝ていた人々を起こし、再び議論となった。

At that time, Namie-machi was shuttling the remaining residents within the 20-kilometer radius to Tsushima District. Mizue didn't know that, and concluded that this place was in danger, as the men had told her. She woke up the evacuees, and they discussed the situation again.

　多くは動きたがらなかった。しかし、一人の女性が「みんながいたら、菅野さん家族が逃げられないでしょう」といった。それで決まった。

Many still didn't move. But one woman said, "If we all stay, then Sugano's family cannot escape." That decided it.

　「車のガソリンが尽きるところまで避難しよう」

"Let's escape as far as the gasoline lasts."

　深夜０時すぎ、若い夫婦２組が出発した。２月に生まれたばかりの乳児や、小さい子どもがいた。

Just past midnight, two young couple with small children departed. They had a baby who was born in February, and small children.

　夫婦は最初、「こんな深夜に山道を逃げるのはいやだ」と渋ったが、「子どもだけでも逃がしなさい」とみずえがいい、握り飯を持たせた。

At first, they were reluctant. "We don't want to escape through the mountain route in the middle of night." Mizue persuaded them by saying "Let your children escape", and gave them rice balls.

　翌１３日の朝食後、再び話し合った。前夜「逃げない」といっていた若い夫婦連れが「子どものために逃げます」といった。年配の女性が、夫婦に自分の車を貸した。

They discussed again after breakfast on the next day, March 13. A young couple who had said they wouldn't escape now said "We will escape, for our child." An elderly woman let the couple use her car.

　「私は１人だから、避難所でバスに乗るわ」

"Since I'm alone, I can ride the bus at the shelter."

　夕方までには、２５人全員が福島市や郡山市、南相馬市などへそれぞれ再避難した。

By evening, all 25 evacuees at her house re-evacuated to Fukushima City, Koriyama City, and Minami Soma City.

　みずえは近くの家で避難している人たちにも、防護服の男たちのことを伝えた。１人が笑って答えた。

Mizue told what the men in protective gear had told her to the evacuees in the nearby houses. One of them said to her, laughing.

　「おれは東電で働いていた。おれらのつくった原発がそんなに危ないわけねえべ」

"I used to work for TEPCO. The nuclear power plant that I helped build cannot be that dangerous."

　男は原発事故からではなく、津波から逃れてきたのだ。みずえはこれで気が抜けた。みずえと長男の純一（２７）は避難を取りやめた。

The man had escaped from tsunami, not the nuclear accident. Mizue was relieved at his word. Mizue and her eldest son Junichi (age 27) decided not to evacuate.

　純一は避難所の活性化センターの炊き出し係で、握り飯をつくっていた。

Junichi was in charge of cooking for evacuees at the shelter, making rice balls.

　「おれだけ逃げるわけにいかないよ」。このとき津島地区から１０キロほどの地点で、３０マイクロシーベルト用測定器の針が振り切れていた。（前田基行）

"I cannot just escape by myself." At that time, the survey meter that could measure up to 30 microsieverts/hour went overscale 10 kilometers from Tsushima District. (Reported by Motoyuki Maeda)

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防護服の男（３）警察官、なぜあんな格好を

Men in Protective Clothing (3) Why are policemen dressed that way?

３月１３日に菅野家の２５人が出て行った後も、津島地区の避難者は大半が残っていた。

Even after 25 people at the Sugano's house evacuated on March 13, most of the evacuees remained in Tsushima District.

　避難指示は１２日午前５時４４分に１０キロ圏内に拡大。１号機が水素爆発した後、午後６時２５分に２０キロ圏内に広がった。

The evacuation order was expanded to 10-kilometer radius at 5:44AM on March 12. After the hydrogen explosion of Reactor 1, it was expanded to 20-kilometer radius at 6:25PM.

　しかし官房長官の枝野幸男は１２日夜の記者会見で、「放射性物質が大量に漏れ出すものではない。２０キロ圏外の地域の皆さんに影響を与えることにはならない」と語った。

However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said in the press conference on March 12 evening, "It is not that a large amount of radioactive materials is leaking. People outside the 20-kilometer radius won't be affected."

　要するに、たいしたことはないが念のため避難してくれ、という趣旨だ。人々は３０キロの津島地区は安全だと信じていた。

The gist of his message was, "It is no big deal, but please evacuate just in case". People believed Tsushima District, 30 kilometers from the plant, was safe.

　東電の社員が１２日と１３日に浪江町の津島支所を状況報告に訪れた。彼らは防護服ではなかった。「ここは危ない」ともいっていない。菅野みずえが会った男たちの様子とは大きく違っていた。

TEPCO employees came to the Tsushima branch of Namie-machi town hall on March 12 and 13 to report on the situation. They were not in protective gear. They didn't say "this place is dangerous". They were totally different from the men Mizue had met [on March 12 evening].

　役場職員も区長も、みずえの会った防護服の男を見ていない。しかし、みずえは見聞きしたことをしっかりメモに書きとめていた。

The branch officials and the district chief didn't see the men Mizue had met. However, Mizue wrote down what she had seen and heard.

　１５日早朝、前日の３号機に続いて、２号機で衝撃音がし、４号機が爆発した。政府は初めて２０～３０キロ圏内の「屋内退避」を要請する。

March 15 early morning, after Reactor 3 had exploded the previous day, there was an explosive sound in Reactor 2 and an explosion in Reactor 4. For the first time, the national government asked the residents to "evacuate indoors" for the area between 20 and 30 kilometer radius.

　津島地区の住民が避難したのはそのころだった。町長の馬場有らが１４日の３号機の爆発をテレビで知り、隣の二本松市に１５日から自主避難することを決めたのだ。

It was about that time the residents of Tsushima District started to evacuate. The Mayor Baba and his staff had learned of the explosion of Reactor 3 on March 14 on TV, and decided to evacuate voluntarily to the neighboring Nihonmatsu City starting March 15.

　福島第一原発の正門では、１５日午前９時に毎時１万１９３０マイクロシーベルトの高い放射線量が観測された。それでも枝野の発言は楽観的だった。

At the front gate of Fukushima I Nuke Plant, 11,930 microsieverts/hour radiation was recorded at 9AM on March 15. But Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano still sounded optimistic.

　「放射性物質の濃度は２０キロを越える地点では相当程度薄まる。人体への影響が小さいか、あるいはない程度になっている」

"The density of radioactive materials is significantly diluted past 20 kilometer radius, to the degree that it has only a small or no effect on humans."

　「１号機、２号機、３号機とも今のところ順調に注水が進み、冷却の効果が出ている」

"Water injection to Reactors 1, 2 and 3 is proceeding smoothly, and the reactors are being cooled."

　原子炉が１２日のうちにメルトダウンを起こしていたことが国民に知らされるのは、後になってからだ。

It would be some time before the Japanese were told that the reactors had had a meltdown on March 12.

　１２日朝、浪江町で交通整理などにあたる警官が、防護服を着用した。

On March 12 morning, policemen controlling traffic in Namie-machi were wearing protective clothing.

　「警官はなぜあんな格好をしているのか」

"Why are policemen dressed like that?"

　住民は不安を抱いた。浪江町議会議長、吉田数博（６５）は津島地区の警察駐在所を訪れ、「不安を与えるので防護服は着ないでほしい」と要請した。

The residents wondered and feared. Kazuhiro Yoshida (age 65) was the Chairman of the Town Assembly. He visited the police station in Tsushima District, and requested that the police stop wearing the protective gear as they were making the residents fearful.

　吉田はいう。

Yoshida now says.

　「知らないのはわれわれだけだったんだ」（前田基行）

"We were the only ones who didn't know." (Reported by Motoyuki Maeda)

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(Yukio Edano is the current Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. We should never forget what he said since the start of the accident, and hold him accountable for the lies he spewed "to prevent panic", supposedly.)

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