Boy-Wonder Mayor of Osaka City Tells Citizens: "I Don't Need to Listen to You!" on Disaster Debris Burning in the City

He (the right one in the photo) will make an excellent successor to Prime Minister Noda, I can tell right now.

(The man on the left is the boy-wonder's sidekick, governor of Osaka.)

The same boy-wonder said he would like to have the younger generation to experience rolling blackout, right before he flipped (yet again) to pro-nuclear and pro-restart of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant.

Now that Ooi has restarted, he is flipped (again) to "anti-nuclear" because that's what will get him and his party the votes in the coming national election.

The dictatorial boy-wonder mayor of Osaka held the first and the last (or so he intends) meeting to explain things to unruly residents of Osaka City that they will have to accept potential radiation contamination from the disaster debris burning because... because... he says so. I don't think Osaka residents take this meekly.

From Mainichi Shinbun (8/31/2012):

大阪市は３０日、東日本大震災で発生した災害廃棄物（がれき）の受け入れに関して、市中央公会堂（同市北区）で市民向けの説明会を開いた。反対する市民らの怒号で会場が騒然とする中、橋下徹市長が安全性を強調し、受け入れへの理解を求めた。

Osaka City held a townhall meeting for the city's residents on August 30 at the central city hall (in Kita-ku, Osaka) to explain about the acceptance of disaster debris from the March 11, 2011 disaster. In the contentious meeting with angry residents opposing the plan shouting, Mayor Toru Hashimoto emphasized the safety and asked for understanding.

市は６〜７月、がれきを埋め立てる此花区で区民限定の説明会を３回開いたが、全市民対象は初めて。約４２０人が出席した。

The city held three meetings in June and July only for residents in Konohana-ku, where the disaster debris will be [burned and] buried. But the August 30 meeting was the first for all residents in the city. About 420 residents attended the meeting.

市の担当者らが「日常で浴びる放射線量より低い」と強調したが、会場の内外で反対派の市民らが「放射能はいらない」「橋下やめろ」などと叫び、緊迫した雰囲気に包まれた。橋下市長はいらだちを隠せない様子で「皆さんの意見で市の方針を決めるのではない」「あなたたちの何倍もの市民が賛成している」などと述べた。数人の男性が壇上に詰め寄り、警察官らに制止される場面もあった。

In the meeting, city officials emphasized that the radiation exposure [from burning disaster debris] would be lower than that of background radiation exposure, but people opposing the acceptance of the debris inside and outside the hall shouted "We don't want radiation", "Hashimoto, resign", in a tense exchange. Mayor Hashimoto, unable to hide his irritation, said, "The city policy is not decided by your opinions", "Citizens several times more than you here are in favor". At one point, several men rushed toward the mayor on the podium, and were stopped by the policemen.

同市中央区の主婦（５９）は「納得できる説明はなかった。結論ありきで、なぜ説明会を開いたか分からない」と興奮気味に話した。

A housewife (age 59) from Chuo-ku in Osaka City said excitedly, "They didn't explain to my satisfaction. It's a foregone conclusion, and I don't know why they bothered to hold a meeting."

市は１１月に試験焼却し、来年２月に岩手県から受け入れを始める計画。今年度は約６１００トン、来年度は約３万トンを処理する予定。

The city plans to conduct the test burn in November, and start accepting the debris from Iwate Prefecture in February next year. In the current fiscal year [that ends in March 31, 2013], about 6,100 tonnes will be disposed [burned and buried], and 30,000 tonnes will be disposed in the fiscal 2013.

I hear from Osaka City residents that umbrellas and bottled water were banned from the meeting.

Mayor Hashimoto scurried off from the stage after the incident, according to the media reports. Osaka residents on Twitter say they are not surprised at the mayor's behavior.

The prefectural government in Iwate freely admits that they can totally take care of the debris within Iwate, but since Osaka City insists, they cannot say no. I don't quite understand why not.

Konohana-ku has a landfill that features a huge incineration plant designed by a famous Austrian anti-nuclear architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. If he were alive, I wonder what he would think; whether he'd be happy with the prospect of disaster debris that has been contaminated with radioactive materials out of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant being burned at the plant he designed.

I still remember the angry residents of Kyoto City in front of the JR Kyoto Station, shouting down Goshi Hosono, "Go back! Go Back to where you belong!", when Mr. Hosono and his entourage tried to convince what a wonderful thing it would be to help Tohoku people if only Kyoto residents allowed the burning of the debris in their midst.

I hope Osaka people will outdo the Kyoto residents.

Tweet