Former Career Bureaucrats-Turned Politicians in Kawasaki, Kanagawa and Oita Eager to Ignore the Residents' Opposition, Want to Burn Disaster Debris

They are both graduates from Tokyo University Law School. After their career in the national government bureaucracy, they "descended from heaven" and landed on political careers.

Mayor Takao Abe of Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture was actually the first to declare war against citizens who do not want to have disaster debris that has been contaminated with the fallout from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant to be burned in their midst (literally) and buried. On April 6, 2011 he declared his city would accept disaster debris from FUKUSHIMA (not Miyagi or Iwate) and burn it in the city's incineration plant.

Mayor Abe says he will simply ignore the opposition when it comes to disaster debris processing in his city, and he will be willing to go it alone without the prefecture-wide consensus in Kanagawa (because there won't be any).

From Sponichi Annex (2/20/2012):

川崎市の阿部孝夫市長は２０日の定例記者会見で、東日本大震災で発生したがれきを受け入れると表明した神奈川県に反対意見が相次いでいることについて「（川崎市は）筋の通らない反対意見は無視する」と述べ、市単独でも受け入れる考えを示した。

During the regular press conference on February 20, Mayor of Kawasaki City Takao Abe indicated that his city would consider accepting the disaster debris over the opposition [from the residents] against the Kanagawa prefectural government that declared it would accept the disaster debris. He said, "(Kawasaki City) will ignore any opposition that is unreasonable."

　阿部市長は昨年４月、岩手、宮城、福島各県に災害廃棄物の受け入れ支援を申し出たが、量が多いため国が主導するよう求めたまま計画は進んでいない。がれき受け入れの具体的な計画を問われると「まだめどは立っていない」と述べ、明言を避けた。

Mayor Abe had offered to accept the disaster debris from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima last April. However, since the amount of the debris is too large, the plan to process the debris have stalled due to the lack of leadership from the national government. When asked if there's a concrete schedule for accepting the debris, Mayor Abe avoided being specific by just saying "It is not established yet."

　反対意見については「（安全だと）客観的なデータを示してもただ反対したい人はいる」と批判し「誰かが最終判断して責任を持って実行しないといけない」と述べた。

He criticized the opposition by saying, "There are people who oppose no matter what, even with the objective data that vouches safety. In the end, someone has to make the final decision and carry it out in a responsible manner."

　神奈川県は川崎市などでがれきを焼却し、同県横須賀市の県最終処分場に埋め立てる計画を示したが、住民の反対を受けて調整は難航している。

The Kanagawa prefectural government has come up the plan to burn the debris in Kawasaki City and other locations and bury it [the ashes, non-flammable debris] in the final disposal site in Yokosuka City. But the plan has stalled at the opposition from the residents.

Kanagawa Governor and former TV personality Kuroiwa cried on camera the other day to appeal to the Kanagawa residents. He wants Kawasaki, Yokohama, and Sagamihara to burn the debris and dump it in the final disposal site in Yokosuka, where the local residents have suffered enough from the poor management of the site.

I would love to hear how Mayor Abe is going to take responsibility if a negative consequence from the debris burning ever occurs.

The mayor's declaration last April (April 6, 2011 to be exact) that he was going to bring Fukushima debris to Kawasaki and burn it alarmed the residents so much that they immediately organized themselves into opposing the mayor's unilateral move.

Mayor Abe was born in today's Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture, is a graduate of the prestegious Tokyo University Law School and a former career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Home Affairs (which was re-integrated into the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2001) with a stint in the Environment Agency (which has become the Ministry of the Environment) before he successfully ran for mayorship in Kawasaki City in 2001.

Now, on to Oita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, which has been largely spared from the contamination from Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Governor Hirose, a former super-elite bureaucrat, wants to help out Tohoku so much that he's willing to subject the prefecture to potential contamination from radioactive materials that deposited on the disaster debris, not to mention arsenic and the host of other toxic substances.

From Oita Godo Shinbun (2/20/2012):

大分県の広瀬勝貞知事は２０日の定例記者会見で、東日本大震災で発生したがれきの受け入れについて「（福島第１原発から離れている）放射性物質の心配のないところについては、全国的な視点で考えてみる必要がある」と述べ、前向きな姿勢を示した。

Governor of Oita Prefecture Katsusada Hirose held a regular press conference on February 20 and said he wanted to move forward on accepting the disaster debris. "We need to consider from a nation-wide perspective [when it comes to disaster debris] from locations that are far away from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and there's no need to worry about radioactive materials", he said.

　広瀬知事は、がれき受け入れをめぐり市町村と協議を始めていることを明らかにした上で「時間をかけて住民の皆さんにご理解をいただきたい」と訴えた。

Governor Hirose disclosed that he had been in negotiation with the municipalities over the disaster debris, and appealed to the residents by saying "Over time, I would like the residents to understand."

　受け入れの際の放射性物質の検査は「出口で確認する、入ってくるときに確認するなどの態勢を十分にとることが前提になる」と強調した。

As to the inspection of radioactive materials on accepting the debris, he said emphatically, "It is a matter of course that we will thoroughly check at the exit [after the debris is burned], and check at the entrance [before the debris is burned]."

The elite governor and former top bureaucrat at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry thinks the radiation contamination lessens by the distance. I guess he believes in contamination in concentric circles just like the Kan administration officials. I guess he's never seen the radiation contour map by Professor Hayakawa. Or even the map by the Ministry of Education.

Mayor Abe pales in comparison with Governor Hirose in terms of achievement as a career bureaucrat. Mr. Hirose was the highest-ranking bureaucrat as the Administrative Vice Minister at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the most powerful ministry of the Japanese government. The position is as the highest as a career bureaucrat can rise to, in the Japanese government system. Then he descended from heaven to succeed the governorship from his predescessor who had become the governor after successful career at the Ministry.

If Governor Hirose gets his way, there goes the very thriving business by the farmers in Oita who have had brisk sales of their radiation-free produce to the consumers in eastern Japan. Oita is famous for shiitake mushrooms. Bye bye to them also. Call it "baseless rumors", but it is a defense mechanism left for consumers as the governments at all levels side with the producers of Tohoku (and to a lesser degree, of northern Kanto).

Governor of Tokyo Ishihara told the Tokyo residents to "shut up", and will burn the radioactive debris from Miyagi Prefecture in the incineration plants in the populous 23 Special Wards. Mayor of Shimada City Sakurai proudly declared he is subjecting the residents of Shimada to an "experiment".

It continues to be a rude shock to many in Japan that their elected officials do not listen to them, as they are supposed to. People still think the public officials should put the welfare of the residents first and foremost, as they are supposed to.

It is hard for them to accept that these elected officials and unelected bureaucrats behave the way they've behaved since March 11, 2011.

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Ministry of Education's Radiation Map for Tokyo and Kanagawa

"Radiation? What radiation?" must be the message from the Ministry which has been doing the aerial survey of radiation in Tohoku and Kanto.

They did Tokyo and Kanagawa from September 14 to 18, using one helicopter that flew 10 times over the area. The radiation detection device on board the helicopter measured gamma radiation from the radioactive materials deposited on the ground from 150 to 300 meters off the ground. The measurement of about 300 to 600 meters radius below the helicopter is then averaged out. Here's the report by the Ministry (PDF).

As far as I know, there is no plan for the national government to conduct the ground-level measurement outside Fukushima Prefecture.

First, let's take a look at Tokyo.

Air radiation level at 1 meter off the ground:

Many residents have been measuring the radiation on the ground level in Tokyo, so have many organizations. Their measurement suggests much lighter blue colors for the eastern most one-quarter of Tokyo.

Cesium-134 and-137 deposition:


And Kanagawa.

Air radiation level at 1 meter off the ground:


Cesium-134 and -137 deposition:

Yokohama residents must be laughing at the Ministry's map, after over 100,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected on top of an apartment building.

What matters more in places like Tokyo and Kanagawa is the identification of hot spots and ultra-hot spots, which can only be done on the ground level. Measuring from the air and averaging out doesn't make sense, but then, that's how the government wants it done. It is not interested in details. The Tokyo Metropolitan government isn't interested in knowing the details either. Residents there are on their own.

The areas that have been mapped by the Ministry of Education so far:

Air radiation level at 1 meter off the ground:



Cesium-134 and -137 deposition:



Again, here's Professor Hayakawa's map:

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Update on #Radioactive Beef in Kanagawa: Beef Sold in June in Fujisawa City Tested 3,240 Becquerels/Kg Cesium

On June 3, a meat shop in Fujisawa City in Kanagawa Prefecture bought 304.5 kilograms of beef from a cow raised in the same cattle farm in Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture whose meat tested 3,200 becquerels/kg cesium on July 9. The meat shop sold some to their retail customers, but most of it was sold to shops in other cities including Kawasaki City and Sagamihara City. The meat also went to Minami-ku in Yokoyama City, and some unnamed locations in Tokyo.

The beef contained 3,240 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium.

So, the entire meat from this one cow, 304.5 kilograms of it, could have contained 986,580 becquerels of radioactive cesium. (I hope the meat shop owner and employees didn't get the secondary radiation from the meat, if that's ever possible. Would anyone care to figure out what kind of surface radiation would this have measured?)

As I reported in the previous post, Yokohama City fed the school children with beef from Fukushima until July 11.

From Asahi Shinbun Kanagawa version (7/13/2011):

藤沢市保健所の調査では、市内の肉店が６月３日、問題の牛肉を１頭分（３０４・５キロ）購入。一部を店頭で小売りし、大半を川崎市や相模原市などの肉店に卸した。残っていた肉から１キロあたり３２４０ベクレル（基準値は５００ベクレル）のセシウムが検出された。

According to the Fujisawa City Health Center, a meat shop in the city bought the beef (304.5 kilograms) from a cow [from the same cattle farm in Minami Sanriku City, Fukushima Prefecture]. Part of it was sold at the shop to the retail customers, and the bulk of it was sold to meat shops in Kawasaki City, Sagamihara City, and other places. From the remaining meat, 3,240 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected. The provisional limit is 500 becquerels/kg.

　相模原市保健所は１２日までに、同市南区のスーパーやレストランなど３店への流通を確認。計７７キロ分すべてが販売済みだった。市は今後も確認を続けるが、「健康被害を生じる水準ではない」（生活衛生課）と静観の構えだ。

By July 12, the Sagamihara City Health Center confirmed that the beef had been sold to 3 locations in one of its wards, Minami-ku. They are supermarkets and restaurants. 77 kilograms of beef had already been sold. The city will continue to investigate, but they are not very concerned, as "it is not the level to cause any damage to health".

　横浜市も南区の食肉店への流通を確認。約６４キロのうち約１１キロ分が残っており保存を指示した。

Yokohama City has also confirmed that it was sold to a meat shop in Minami-ku. Of 64 kilograms of the meat that the shop bought, 11 kilograms of the beef still remains at the shop, and the city has instructed the shop to keep the meat.

　川崎市も市内の卸売業者への３８・８キロの搬入を確認した。都内にも販売されており、市は買い取った業者名を都に報告した。

Kawasaki City has confirmed 38.8 kilograms of the meat to a wholesaler in the city. The wholesaler sold the meat to shops in Tokyo, and the city informed the Tokyo Metropolitan government of the name of the wholesaler.

3,240 becquerels/kg cesium won't affect the health, declares the public health officials. I sure hope citizens of Sagamihara City will hold them accountable.

Only Fujisawa City has the press release of the radiation survey of the meat easily accessible from the homepage. The press release does not identify the shop:

• Amount that the meat shop in Fujisawa bought: 304.5 kilograms
• Amount the meat shop sold to retail customers: 73 kilograms
• Amount sold to shops outside the city: 123.9 kilograms (of which, 64.3 kg have been already sold to retail customers)
• Amount remaining at the shop: 107.6 kilograms

Fujisawa City's press release and Asahi Shinbun article give you headache, because the numbers don't match at all. If you believe Fujisawa City, 73 kilograms were sold to customers in Fujisawa, and 64.3 kilograms were sold to customers outside Fujisawa.

If you believe Asahi Shinbun, the meat shop in Minami-ku, Yokohama sold 53 kilograms and 3 outlets in Sagamihara sold 77 kilograms to retail customers in their respective cities.

None of the shops who sold the contaminated beef is named. The reason? Because "Even if you eat this meat, I don't think there is no immediate danger to one's life" (official in Yokohama City, as reported by Tokyo Shinbun), so there's no need to name the shop.

Already, many Japanese have finally stopped believing official words. If they see this kind of absolutely idiotic response, they will either stop buying any domestic beef entirely (or pork or chicken, for that matter, as many have evacuated from Fukushima), or demand that the meat shops, supermarkets that they buy from clearly tell them where the meat came from.

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#Radioactive Tea in France: Correction from Shizuoka, It Was Green Tea After All

and not the green tea blended with roasted rice. It was exported by the same tea merchant who was indignant that his tests never showed the level exceeding the limit (500 becquerels/kilogram).

From Yomiuri Shinbun (6:45PM JST 6/21/2011):

静岡県は２１日、フランスで欧州連合（ＥＵ）の規制値を超える放射性セシウムが検出された県産茶が玄米茶ではなく緑茶と訂正した。

The Shizuoka prefectural government announced on June 21 that it was not "Genmai-cha" (tea with roasted brown rice) but "Ryoku-cha" (green tea) that was found in France to contain radioactive cesium exceeding the limit of the EU.

　発表によると、緑茶は同県御前崎市の業者が玄米茶とともに輸出。ＥＵの規制値（１キロ・グラム当たり５００ベクレル）を上回る１０３８ベクレルを検出しており、県は回収して検査する。

According to the announcement, the green tea was exported along with the "genmai-cha" by the same tea merchant in Omaezaki City in Shizuoka. The tea measured 1,038 becquerels/kilogram cesium, exceeding the EU limit of 500 becquerels/kilogram. Shizuoka will test the tea.

"Aracha" (bulk tea before the final blend) from 3 tea-growing areas in Kanagawa Prefecture (east of Shizuoka Prefecture) is found with radioactive cesium exceeding 1,000 becquerels/kilogram. The Kanagawa prefectural government has asked the tea growers in these areas on a voluntary basis not to ship their teas, as Asahi Shinbun reports (6/22/2011).

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