Despite having several major municipalities within the prefecture very eager to accept disaster debris in defiance of him, Hirohiko Izumida, Governor of Niigata Prefecture, is not about to cease his attack on the nuclear policy of the national government.
After Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda declared on June 8 that he would restart Ooi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture to "protect the people's living", Governor Izumida issued his statement lambasting the prime minister.
His prefecture has Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by TEPCO. The plant has 7 reactors on site.
As Asahi Shinbun reports (6/8/2012):
新潟知事「国民生活を人質」 首相の再稼働説明を批判
Governor of Niigata criticizes Prime Minister for his explanation of the need to restart [Ooi nuke plant], says PM is "taking the people's living hostage"
関西電力大飯原発の安全性に関する野田佳彦首相の説明について、東京電力柏崎刈羽原発を抱える新潟県の泉田裕彦知事は８日夜に談話を発表した。
After Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda explained about the safety of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant operated by KEPCO, Hirohiko Izumida, Governor of Niigata Prefecture that has Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by TEPCO, issued a statement at night on June 8.
泉田知事は「『福島を襲ったような地震や津波が起きても事故を起こさない』と限定付きでの『安全宣言』で、福島を襲ったものとは異なる直下型地震の場合は再び『想定外』との言い訳が通る説明になっている」と指摘。
Governor Izumida pointed out, "It was a limited 'declaration of safety' that 'the plant won't have an accident even if the earthquake and tsunami that struck Fukushima strikes Ooi'. But if it is a different kind of earthquake, such as an epicentral earthquake, they will be able to make an excuse of 'beyond expectation'."
新たな原子力規制機関ができていないことにも触れ、「万が一の事態が生じた場合の対策も固まっていない中で、新たな『安全神話』を創造することになり、極めて無責任。国民生活を人質にして安全を軽視した宣言となっている」と痛烈に批判した。
He also mentioned that a new nuclear regulatory organization was not in place yet, and made a scathing criticism by saying, "There are no countermeasures firmly in place for an emergency situation. If the plant is restarted, they are creating a new "safety myth". It is extremely irresponsible. [Prime Minister's] declaration takes the people's living as hostage, and disregards safety."
His concern for an epicentral earthquake seems well justified. Two university researchers just released their studies on June 8 that raised the possibility that Ooi Nuclear Power Plant is (also) sitting on top of an active fault. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency chief immediately issued a statement denying the possibility. I couldn't find any information on the education background of the current NISA chief Moriyama (whether he is a liberal arts major or science major).
Governor Izumida is another former career bureaucrat turned politician. He is from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (today's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), still considered the most powerful ministry in the Japanese government.
FYI, this is Ooi Nuclear Power Plant's aerial photo, from Yomiuri. Reactor buildings are lined up against the mountains that face the ocean, and the turbine buildings are behind the reactor buildings. One smart site planning...(not). Unlike TEPCO's Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, KEPCO's Ooi plant does not have the building that would reasonably withstand a strong earthquake and could serve as disaster headquarters on site.
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11 comments:
Stop the nuclear madness NOW! This will really be the end of Japan!
WAKE UP! These people are INSANE! To hell with all the money spent building these things, the future is yours with the right action NOW!
Izumida san's comments are most welcome. Thank you for posting.
Izumida-san could also greatly motivate and empower the protesters if he could stand beside them at a demonstration in front of the prime minister's residence or at the Ooi plant when they begin to restart it.
There are a lot of people against nuclear power. They need a strong leader to show them how to direct their anger and frustration. If Izumida-san believes the people should protest, then he should please join them on the streets.
When leaders like Izumida-san join the effort, the ranks of the demonstrators will grow. More people will come out to the streets and perhaps we can eventually make Noda and the DPJ see just how strongly we all feel about his nuclear war against the Japanese people.
Japanese people do not need so-called leaders. They need to be the leaders themselves in their own ways.
Elected officials joining the anti-nuclear demonstrations would give the anti-nuke message more credibility among moderates, and more media attention. Either effects could be enough to start the now teetering snowball down the mountain.
Want to stop nuclear power? Now is the time for everyone to hit the streets, including the politicians who have taken an anti-nuke posture.
I agree, the movement need a voice. This is Japan and they will follow. History had never seen a country bombed by two nukes and then find themselves bombed by their own energy policy. Step up people with a mic. Yanamoto Taro threw his career away to help expose the insanity. Take actions Japan as there is only one road ahead if not - Japan follows Greece.
Go people go! The Nuclearists won't stop at anything. Their game is lie, cheat, steal and kill. Wait one minute, and repeat ad infinitum.
Their hollow boasts are wearing thin. Their lies are the rope from which they will hang. These poisons bio-concentrate forever. Did they forget this inconvenient truth?
"All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest" ... thank you Paul Simon.
Fear: the nuke must be restarted to "protect the people's living" rather than the truth
Uncertainty: Deny everything. No earthquake faults here!
Delay: While you folks argue about this, we're restarting the nuke.
Add in little to no media coverage for antinuke voices, never mention that Japan experiences more tsunamis than any other country, and there's the whole Fuku/Tepco link.
Tepco= EPIC FAIL. Why trust them again?
Why trust them again? No we won't. Because will be a new one, KEPCO (Kansai Electric). After that, it may be HEPCO (Hokkaido Electric).
just wondering if the restart will power the solar-panel making factory *rests head on table*
One could not make this shit up.
He has either been offered a massive payout by the utility or is simply insane. Perhaps both. In either case, my western view also sees his efforts at manipulating the public on this issue as the height of arrogance.
He must travel with a security detail. I would think there are millions of people in Japan who are ready to bleed this guy in the town square.
Anonymous at 3:18: Japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world. This more than anything has saved him so far. It's not that his security squad is so good.
That said, police do have handguns. Carefully vetted hunters have rifles. And of course there are the self-defense forces (Japan's military) and the organized crime groups who sometimes use firearms and hand grenades.
As we see the children and families of these gun-owners begin to show the physical effects of radiation contamination, I do wonder if some one of them will snap and seek violent revenge.
The reactor containments were supposed to have a million to one chance of every leaking. I suspect that the probability of one of these Japanese gun-owners eventually snapping will be far lower than this.
Of course, the perpetrators' sincere apologies (if evidenced by actions to permanently decommission reactors, fully compensate ALL victims, permantently relocate anyone who want to relocate - regardless of "mandatory vs. voluntary evacuation zones", and earnestly clean up ALL of the hot-spots, ...) the sincere apologies accompanied by strong actions that demonstrate honest contrition, then it is possible that the people could forgive them their mistakes.
However, so long as the powerful continue their arrogant drive to manipulate public opinion, ignore contamination risks, spread debris around the country, restart reactors,... so long as they continue to add insult to injury, then they will be forever villified in the minds and hearts of the public.
Time will tell 3:18.
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