Dr. Shunichi Yamashita: I thought, "Oops..." After Seeing the SPEEDI Simulation Map on March 23, 2011

Right after the start of the nuclear accident on March 11, 2011, the Japanese national government, then under the Democratic Party of Japan headed by Naoto Kan, initially said they didn't know about SPEEDI. What was SPEEDI? Then they said SPEEDI failed to work. Then on March 23, 2011, Nuclear Safety Commission reluctantly made several SPEEDI simulation maps available to the public. Full disclosure didn't come until early May, 2011. (WSPEEDI disclosure was even later, in mid May 2011.)

By that time, it was too late for the residents in Fukushima Prefecture and areas in Miyagi Prefecture and northern Kanto, and it was apparently too late for Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, thyroid expert and special advisor to Fukushima Prefecture at that time.

According to Asahi Shinbun's still on-going "Trap of Prometheus", Dr. Yamashita was caught off guard when the SPEEDI simulation maps were finally made public. He had confidently persuaded the officials of Fukushima Medical University in the preceding days that there was absolutely no need to distribute potassium iodide pills because the spread of radioactive materials from the accident, compared to the Chernobyl accident, would be so miniscule.

But the SPEEDI simulation maps showed the areas with 100 millisieverts or more equivalent dose at thyroid (effective dose for the whole body is 100x0.04=4 millisieverts) extended far beyond the 30-kilometer radius evacuation zone.

I guess Dr. Yamashita was basing his assertion on his hope. Or he truly believed there was no SPEEDI simulation. Or he was a medical doctor not nuclear scientist. Or all of the above.

Oops.

From "Trap of Prometheus" on November 7, 2013, on Dr. Yamashita prevailing on potassium iodide pills and speaking about the "fate" of Japan as an earthquake-prone country with many nuclear power plants:

大阪空港経由で山下が福島に入ったのは１８日午後。午後６時からの県立医大の職員向け講演会に登壇した。同僚教授の松田尚樹（５６）、高村昇（たかむらのぼる）（４５）も一緒だった。

Yamashita arrived in Fukushima in the afternoon of [March] 18, via Osaka Airport. He appeared in the lecture for the staff at Fukushima Medical University on the same day at 6PM. He was accompanied by the fellow professors [at Nagasaki University], Naoki Matsuda (age 56) and Noboru Takamura (age 45).

大会議室で行われたこの講演会には３００人の職員が集まった。多くの職員が放射能対策のマスクをつけたまま、話に耳を傾けた。

There were 300 people who attended the lecture held in the large conference room. Many were wearing masks to block radioactive materials.

山下は最後にマイクを握った。

Yamashita spoke last.

話の要点は安定ヨウ素剤が必要か否か。山下はチェルノブイリ事故も例に出し、不要論を展開した。

The talk was about whether potassium iodide pills were necessary. Citing the Chernobyl accident, Yamashita said there was no need:

（１）安定ヨウ素剤で甲状腺がんが防げるという誤解が広がっているが、「ヨウ素剤信仰」にすぎない。日本人が放射性ヨウ素を取り込む率は１５～２５％。４、５割を取り込むベラルーシとはわけがちがう。

(1) Many believe that potassium iodide pills will prevent thyroid cancer, but it is nothing but "iodine religion". For the Japanese, the intake of radioactive iodine would be 15 to 25%, unlike 40 to 50% for people in Belarus.

（２）２０キロ圏、３０キロ圏以西の被曝（ひばく）量はおそらく１ミリシーベルト以下。チェルノブイリと比べて被曝量が微量なので、日本政府も安定ヨウ素剤服用の指示を出さない。

(2) The amount of radiation exposure west of the twenty, thirty kilometer radius [from the plant] will probably be less than 1 millisievert. [Not clear whether he meant effective dose for the whole body or thyroid equivalent dose.] Compared to Chernobyl, the amount of radiation exposure will be so small that the Japanese government will not issue instruction to take potassium iodide pills.

（３）服用マニュアルは数々の欠点がある。使われないことを祈る。

(3) The dosing manual has many defects. I hope it won't be used.

最後、こう職員を鼓舞した。

In conclusion, Yamashita tried to raise the morale of the staff:

「ぜひ逃げ出すことのないように。事故による被曝は地震国で原発立国を進めてきた日本の宿命です」

"I beg that you do not escape [desert your post]. Radiation exposure due to a nuclear accident is a fate of the quake-prone Japan that has nonetheless been promoting nuclear power plants."

Well, his last remark is, sadly, spot on. People in Japan had failed to see it, or refused to see it, until the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident.

From "Trap of Prometheus" on November 8, 2013, on "Oops...":

討議の結果、骨格を固めていた最寄り薬局利用案を踏襲することにした。（１）最寄りの薬局で安定ヨウ素剤を渡す（２）大人には錠剤、乳幼児には粉末を分包にして渡す（３）苦いので、乳幼児にはジュースに溶かして飲んでもらう。

After discussion, they [Fukushima Medical University staff] decided to adopt the plan they had been fleshing out, which was to use the neighborhood pharmacies. (1) People receive potassium iodide at the neighborhood pharmacies; (2) pills for adults, power for small children; (3) for small children, powder was to be dissolved in juice, since the powder was bitter.

山下の了解が出れば、この案を県に提案する予定だった。県は十分な在庫を持っており、県には服用を指示する権限もある。このときがヨウ素剤が行き渡るチャンスだった。

If Yamashita OKed, this plan was to be suggested to the prefectural government. The Fukushima prefectural government had ample stock [of potassium iodide] and had the authority to instruct people to take it. This was an opportunity to distribute potassium iodide pills to the residents.

しかし同日、山下はこの案を却下した。理由は以下の通り。

However, Yamashita rejected the plan, for the following reasons:

（１）原子力安全委員会のマニュアルから逸脱する（２）服用量を誤る危険もあるし、副作用が出た際に対応が困難（３）飲み物と混ぜた場合に効き目があるかどうかわからない――。

(1) The procedure was not in the manual by the Nuclear Safety Commission; (2) There was a danger that people would take a wrong dosage, and it would be hard to respond to the side effect; (3) there was no knowing if it was effective if mixed with drink.

日本甲状腺学会理事長をつとめる山下の意見は絶対だった。３月１２日以降、医大で話し合われてきた配布案はこれで尻すぼみとなった。

As the president of Japan Thyroid Association, Yamashita's opinion carried weight. The plan to distribute potassium iodide that had been discussed at Fukushima Medical University since March 12 tapered off.

ところが……。

However,

数日後、山下は想像を超えた事実に驚いたと明かす。以下、ことし６月に山下から取材した内容だ。

Yamashita reveals he was surprised by the fact that was beyond his imagination. The following is from our interview with Yamashita in June this year.

山下を驚かせたのは、１１年３月２３日に国が公開したＳＰＥＥＤＩ（放射能拡散予測システム）の計算図だった。当時のヨウ素剤服用基準は、甲状腺の被曝（ひばく）線量が１００ミリシーベルトになると予測されたとき。計算図では１００ミリを超える地域が原発３０キロ圏外にも大きく広がっていた。

What surprised Yamashita was the SPEEDI simulation maps that the national government disclosed on March 23, 2011. At that time, the standard for taking potassium iodide pills was when the equivalent dose at thyroid was expected to reach 100 millisieverts. In the simulation maps, the areas where the equivalent dose would exceed 100 millisieverts extended far outside the 30-kilometer radius from the plant.

「ありゃー、と思いました」

"I thought, 'Oops...'"

放射能汚染は山下の予想を大きく上回っていた。

Radiation contamination far exceeded Yamashita's expectation.

「日本の原発にはヨウ素とかを取り除くフィルターとかがきちんと付いているものだと思っていた。まさかこんなに広範囲に汚染されているとは思わなかった」

"I had thought a nuclear power plant in Japan was properly equipped with filter or something to remove iodine and other nuclides. I never imagined such wide areas were contaminated."

This particular segment of "Trap of Prometheus" reads like a hit piece to put all blame on Dr. Yamashita regarding the debacle over potassium iodide pills that were never distributed.

Distributing potassium iodide pills on March 19, 2011 may have helped somewhat to protect the residents in Fukushima (at least) from the fresh release of radioactive materials from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant from March 20 to 23, 2011. But what would have mattered much, much more is if the residents were able to take potassium iodide before the reactors exploded and dry vents were carried out, with the latter apparently releasing much more radioactive materials than the explosions.

And that was all before March 15, 2011, and Dr. Yamashita didn't even arrive in Fukushima until March 18.

Who was responsible for ordering the distribution of the pills? The national government, and the Fukushima prefectural government. Instead of distributing the pills, what did they do? They accused the town of Miharu that distributed the pills and ordered the residents to take them of acting on its own without the government order. They also used the media to educate the viewers on the "danger" of potassium iodide pills, instead of danger of radioactive iodine uptake. (They continue to do this even today, and enough people are so convinced of the danger of potassium iodide pills that they furiously try to refute anyone who touts the benefit of taking them in a nuclear accident.)

Unlike Dr. Yamashita who didn't see the SPEEDI maps until March 23, 2011 like the rest of us, the ministers of the Kan administration, bureaucrats at METI and Ministry of Education, the governor of Fukushima Prefecture and officials at the Fukushima prefectural government, and even the municipal government heads in Futaba, Okuma, and Tomioka in Fukushima had either SPEEDI simulation maps or TEPCO's simulation maps or both from the beginning of the accident. They all sat on the data. Or worse. In case of the Fukushima prefectural government, they deliberately deleted the emails that contained SPEEDI simulation maps.

There is one good thing I would say about Dr. Yamashita. He is honest. As Asahi reports, he readily admitted he had made a potentially grave mistake when he saw the SPEEDI simulation maps. No self-conscious and politically savvy scientist would say things like "Oops..." in an interview for a national paper. When he gave lectures to the residents in Fukushima Prefecture in the populous middle-third Nakadori region starting March 21, 2011, telling them the effect of radiation won't come to people who are smiling, his face and mannerism as he delivered the speech revealed he was at least uncomfortable, probably very worried.

That lecture series started right when there was something happening in Reactor 3 causing the release of a significant amount of radioactive materials, and spikes in radiation were observed in wide areas in Tohoku and Kanto (March 20 - 23, 2013). Dr. Yamashita continued telling the Fukushima residents there was nothing to worry about, after he saw the SPEEDI maps and realized his assumption was very wrong.

Dr. Yamashita has since returned to Nagasaki University, though he still is the special advisor on radiation risk management for Fukushima Prefecture.

Tweet

#Fukushima Health Management Survey Protocol, in Researchers' Own Words

Not much, unfortunately, due to the nature of the paper whose focus is on the protocol, not data analysis.

The Japan Epidemiological Association's official magazine "Journal of Epidemiology" has the paper titled "Study Protocol for the Fukushima Health Management Survey", by Seiji Yasumura et al (including Dr. Shunichi Yamashita).

It is about the health survey on Fukushima residents including children, from which some fantastic stories have been woven and disseminated, including "CONFIRMED: 36 Percent Of Fukushima Kids Have Abnormal Thyroid Growths".

Thyroid examination of children in Fukushima is discussed in some detail in the paper, as, the authors admit, the basic survey response rate is too low to form and present a credible opinion on the health issues. However, the paper does not have the children's thyroid test data, as the paper is clearly about test protocol and methodology.

From the paper's abstract:

Background: The accidents that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011 have resulted in long-term, ongoing anxiety among the residents of Fukushima, Japan. Soon after the disaster, Fukushima Prefecture launched the Fukushima Health Management Survey to investigate long-term low-dose radiation exposure caused by the accident. Fukushima Medical University took the lead in planning and implementing this survey. The primary purposes of this survey are to monitor the long-term health of residents, promote their future well-being, and confirm whether long-term low-dose radiation exposure has health effects. This report describes the rationale and implementation of the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Methods: This cohort study enrolled all people living in Fukushima Prefecture after the earthquake and comprises a basic survey and 4 detailed surveys. The basic survey is to estimate levels of external radiation exposure among all 2.05 million residents. It should be noted that internal radiation levels were estimated by Fukushima Prefecture using whole-body counters. The detailed surveys comprise a thyroid ultrasound examination for all Fukushima children aged 18 years or younger, a comprehensive health check for all residents from the evacuation zones, an assessment of mental health and lifestyles of all residents from the evacuation zones, and recording of all pregnancies and births among all women in the prefecture who were pregnant on 11 March. All data have been entered into a database and will be used to support the residents and analyze the health effects of radiation.

Conclusions: The low response rate (<30%) to the basic survey complicates the estimation of health effects. There have been no cases of malignancy to date among 38 114 children who received thyroid ultrasound examinations. The importance of mental health care was revealed by the mental health and lifestyle survey and the pregnancy and birth survey. This long-term large-scale epidemiologic study is expected to provide valuable data in the investigation of the health effects of low-dose radiation and disaster-related stress.

The entire paper is free to download (in PDF) from the Journal of Epidemiology site:

Full Text PDF [3173K]

I may finally finish writing about the "36% of Fukushima children with thyroid abnormalities". For now, I'll just say that the owner of the blog who started the story openly admitted that he/she had chosen not to mention certain facts about the past survey of children in the areas affected by the Chernobyl accident by Dr. Shunichi Yamashita. That deliberate omission ended up casting Dr. Yamashita in even worse light (if that's still possible), but that is of concern to hardly anyone at this point.

Tweet

Asahi's One-Year Anniversary Interview with Dr. Shunichi Yamashita

The good doctor's good words were all over Fukushima Prefecture as fresh radioactive fallout from Fukushima descended on the cities and towns in Fukushima on March 20 and 21, 2011.

"No effect on health below 100 millisieverts radiation exposure."
"If you laugh, radiation won't get you."
"Children can play outdoors."
"You're the proud descendants of Byakko-tai (suicide squad made of young men and boys in the battle in the beginning of the Meiji era), aren't you?"

His associates at Nagasaki University went to Iitate-mura in Fukushima and told the villagers:

"Not a problem if you continue to live here. Just wash your vegetables, that's all."
"If the radiation level is below 10 microsieverts/hour, it's safe for children."

As the result of this wonderful news, villagers with children who had evacuated came back, to be told few days later that they were not supposed to eat vegetables and drink water from their land and that they had to evacuate for a long time.

One year after, Dr. Yamashita defends himself in the Asahi interview (local Nagasaki version, 3/12/2012) by blaming the radiation phobia of the general public, and urge all Japanese to "share the pain and burden". To be expected from a reporter in a Japanese paper, there is no critical question to the doctor:

痛み分かち合う行動を　山下俊一氏に聞く

Interview with Dr. Shunichi Yamashita: "Actions needed to share the pain"

◇長大から福島医大副学長へ

From Nagasaki University to the Vice President of Fukushima Medical University

　今後の震災復興で長崎が果たすべき役割は何か。長崎大から福島県立医科大の副学長に転じ、福島県民とじかに接している山下俊一氏（５９）に聞いた。

What's the role of Nagasaki in the disaster recovery? We asked Dr. Shunichi Yamashita (age 59) who has been in direct contact with the residents in Fukushima Prefecture as the vice president of Fukushima Medical University where he moved from Nagasaki University.

　――福島の現状は

- What's the current situation in Fukushima?

　「当初は情報がなく、ひとことで言えば放射能恐怖症が横行したが、ずいぶん落ち着いてきたと思う。ただ、今も環境汚染、食の安全などのストレスがあり、不安は解消されていない。非常事態が続いている」

"Initially, there was no information, and the radiation phobia was rampant. But now things have settled down. But there is a stress from environmental contamination and food safety, and the fear of people is not dispelled. It is still in the state of emergency."

　――低線量被曝（ひばく）のリスクを軽視し、「安全」ばかりを強調する学者だとバッシングを受けたが

- You were criticized as someone who ignored the risks from low-level radiation exposure and emphasized "safety" too much.

　「１回に１００ミリシーベルト以上の放射線をあびなければ発がんのリスクは増えない、というのが私の基準だ。これは広島・長崎の被爆医療の経験やチェルノブイリ原発事故のデータがよりどころ。当初は情報がない中、正しく怖がらせるためにそういう話をした」

"My standard is, unless you are exposed to radiation at 100 millisieverts or more in a single episode, there is no increase in cancer risks. It is based on the experience of medical treatment of atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the data from the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident. There was no information initially [about the extent of radiation in Fukushima, I suppose], so I told them [residents in Fukushima] to scare them in a correct way."

　「だが、放射線に対する安全や防護の基準の考え方と、実際に健康影響を及ぼすリスクの話がごっちゃになってしまった。一般の人の平時の被曝限度は１年で１ミリシーベルトという数値だけが独り歩きした。１ミリを超えたら危ない、というふうに理解された。私は決して１００ミリシーベルトまで被曝していいと言っているわけではない。なのに突然、安全派と危険派に分けられた」

"But the talk of the actual health risks was confused with the standard for radiation safety and protection. 1 millisievert/year radiation exposure limit for non-radiation workers took its own meaning and spread. It was considered the safety limit, and that it was dangerous above that limit. I am not saying it's OK to get radiation exposure up to 100 millisieverts. But out of the blue [researchers] were grouped into the "safety" faction and the "danger" faction.

　――すべての福島県民を対象に中・長期的な健康調査が始まった

- Medium- and long-term health surveys for all Fukushima residents has started

　「健康調査は我々医療関係者の最大の責務だ。自ら選択して住み続ける人たちを見守っていかなければならない。今も２００万人近くの人が大変な生活をし、風評被害に耐えている。その方たちに危険をあおって、福島から出て行けという方が無責任だ」

"Health surveys are the largest responsibility of us in the medical field. We have to watch out for people who continue to live in Fukushima out of their own choice. Today, nearly 2 million people struggle to live in Fukushima, suffering baseless rumors. It is irresponsible to tell these people to leave Fukushima by fanning the danger."

　――被爆地・長崎の復興支援はどうあるべきか

- What should be the recovery support from Nagasaki, as [one of the two] sites that suffered atomic bomb attacks?

　「人的交流は大きな励みだ。継続した人材派遣だけでなく、長崎へ人材の受け入れもあっていい。福島産のコメや果物、酒を正規の値段で買うことも貢献の一つ。残留放射性物質は基準値以下であれば問題はない。法的な規制の問題と実際の健康リスクの違いをしっかり分けて議論するべきだ」

"Interaction between people in Nagasaki and Fukushima is very encouraging. We should consider receiving workers to Nagasaki, not just sending workers from Nagasaki to Fukushima. Another contribution is to buy Fukushima rice, fruits, and sake at regular prices. There is no problem if the residual radioactive materials are below the government standards. We should separate the legal, regulatory issues and the actual health risks."

　――今、私たちに問われることは何か

- What should we do now?

　「震災がれき一つとっても、とんでもないという反応は最初は当然だと思う。だが、乗り越えなければならないことだ。痛みを共有する、重荷を分かち合うという覚悟ができるかどうか、今度は行動力が問われる。そういう２年目、３年目にしなければならない」（聞き手・花房吾早子、江崎憲一）

"Take disaster debris for example. It is natural to have an initial reaction like "no way". But that has to be overcome. Our ability to take action is being questioned - whether we make up our mind to share the pain and burden. That's what we should do in the 2nd year, 3rd year [of the accident]."

So Dr. Yamashita was talking about a single, episodic exposure of 100 millisieverts? That's not how I remember. So I went to the original Japanese transcript of the lecture he held on March 21 in Fukushima City, in which he said:

事実は１ミリシーベルト浴びると１個の遺伝子に傷が付く、100ミリシーベルト浴びると100個付く。１回にですよ。じゃあ、今問題になっている10マイ クロシーベルト、50マイクロシーベルトという値は、実は傷が付いたか付かないかわからん。付かんのです。ここがミソです。

The fact is that if you're exposed to 1 millisievert, one DNA is damaged. If you're exposed to 100 millisieverts, 100 DNA are damaged. At one time, mind you. 10 microsieverts or 50 microsieverts we're talking about now causes hardly any damage. Hardly any. That's the point.

So he did say "one time" exposure. It's not clear what 10 or 50 microsieverts exposure he was talking about, or whether he was saying that was all people in Fukushima was exposed to. At that time (March 21, 2011), people would not or could not differentiate between the episodic radiation exposure and the chronic radiation exposure. So people came away thinking unless they were exposed to 100 millisieverts total, there would be no problem. That's misleading to say the least, deceptive at worst.

Share the pain and burden. Spread the radioactive debris, spread the contaminated foods, firewood, fish, mushrooms, leaf compost, garbage ashes, used cars, let's all get sick so that people in Fukushima wouldn't feel so bad for staying (the decision they have supposedly have made). Is that it, Doctor?

There is something very sick about the Japanese psyche.

Tweet

(Updated) Max 23 Millisieverts External Radiation Exposure for Fukushima Residents in the First 4 Months of the Nuke Accident

From Jiji Tsushin (2/20/2012):

東日本大震災から４カ月間の外部被ばく量調査で、福島県と福島県立医大は２０日、調査した約１万人の県民のうち、放射線業務従事者を除く一般住民の最高値は２３．０ミリシーベルトだったと発表した。

The Fukushima prefectural government and Fukushima Medical University announced on February 20 that the maximum external radiation exposure in the first 4 months after the March 11, 2011 accident was 23.0 millisieverts among the residents who are not radiation workers. Total 10,000 residents of Fukushima have been surveyed.

The survey, with Dr. Shunichi "Damashita" Yamashita in charge, consists of detailed questions for the residents in order to estimate the radiation exposure. The residents have to fill out the pages with information on their whereabouts, on what day, for how long, what they were doing, etc. Dr. Yamashita's group considers the information with the SPEEDI simulation done specifically for Fukushima Prefecture to figure out the radiation doses in Fukushima in the early days of the nuclear accident.

The press conference is on-going in Fukushima right now, and the information has not been uploaded on the Fukushima government website yet.

(UPDATE) Jiji has filled in more details:

• 10,468 residents in Namie-machi, Iitate-mura, Kawamata-machi Yamakiya District

• Highest (23 millisieverts) from a woman who lived in the planned evacuation zone [no mention of which town]

• 2 people exceeded 20 millisieverts

• 58.0% of people tested: less than 1 millisievert

• 99.1% of people tested: less than 10 millisieverts

• 71 people exceeded 10 millisieverts

• Max for radiation workers: 47.2 millisieverts

• "It is difficult to imagine there would be an effect on health", says the Fukushima prefectural government.
  

If you recall, over 30% of 3,765 children from the same towns tested for thyroid abnormalities were found with lumps/nodules and/or cysts.

Tweet

1143 Children (Over 30%) of 3765 Tested for Thyroid Abnormalities in Fukushima Had Lumps or Cysts (Updated)

(UPDATE: The document issued by the Fukushima Prefecture's expert committee is here (PDF, in Japanese).

Total number of children tested: 3765
No. of children found with lumps [nodules] 5.1 millimeter or larger: 26
No. of children found with lumps [nodules] less than 5.1 millimeter: 56
No. of children found with cysts 20.1 millimeter or larger: 0
No. of children found with cyst less than 20.1 millimeter: 1086
No. of children with no lumps [nodules], cysts: 2622

There are children who have both lump [nodule] and cyst.

============================================


Waaaiiit a minute...

I was looking for more information on the post I wrote about the lumps on the thyroid 5.1 millimeters or bigger in diameter found in 0.7% or 26 children out of 3765 children tested in Fukushima Prefecture. I was specifically looking for information on the number of children who had any lump at all.

I've just found it in an unlikely place: Fukushima Minpo, local Fukushima newspaper. I thought they would obfuscate, but they have the details. The article looks like it is a part of a longer article; it is possible it is abbreviated from the article in the print version of the newspaper.

It turns out,

Total number of children tested: 3765
No. of children found with lumps 5.1 millimeters and larger: 26 (0.7% of total)
No. of children found with lumps smaller than 5.1 millimeters: 1117 (29.7% of total)

1143 children, or 30.4% of children tested, were found with lumps of varying sizes.

From Fukushima Minpo (1/25/2012):

検討委員会では、浪江、飯舘両町村、川俣町山木屋地区の１８歳以下を対象にした甲状腺検査の結果が報告された。３７６５人のうち、「直ちに二次検査を要する」と判断された県民はいなかった。

At the expert commission, the result of the thyroid test was reported. The test was done on the children below the age of 18 in Namie-machi, Iitate-mura, and Yamakiya District of Kawamata-machi [all planned evacuation zone]. Of 3765 children, there was no one who was deemed necessary to immediately go through further testing.

直径５・１ミリ以上のしこりなどが確認され、二次検査の対象となったのは２６人（０・７％）だったが、検討委座長の山下俊一福島医大副学長は「原発事故に伴う悪性の変化はみられない」と説明している。二次検査が不要の３７３９人（９９・３％）のうち、１１１７人（２９・７％）は５・０ミリ以下のしこりなどが確認されたが、県は「良性」と判断している。

26 children (0.7%) have been found with lumps with 5.1 millimeters or larger in diameter, and will go through further testing [at some time]. However, Shunichi Yamashita, the head of the commission and the vice president of Fukushima Medical University explains, "There is no malignant change due to the nuclear plant accident". Of 3739 children who will not need further testing (99.3% of children tested), 1117 children (29.7%) have been found with lumps 5.0 millimeters or less in diameter. But the prefectural government has decided they are "benign".

甲状腺検査は県民健康管理調査の一環で、浪江、飯舘両町村、川俣町山木屋地区で先行して行われた。他の地域では順次、実施している。

The thyroid testing is part of the Fukushima residents health management survey, and was carried out in Namie, Iitate-mura, and Yamakiya District of Kawamata-machi first. For the other areas, it has been on-going.

It decidedly does not look totally OK to me, and the explanation by the Fukushima officials sounds suspect.

Tweet

Thyroid Abnomalities in 0.7% of Fukushima Children, According to Prefectural Government

(UPDATE: See my latest post. Total 1143 children out of 3765 tested had lumps on the thyroid.)

============================

(Let's repeat the refrain: "It has nothing to do with radiation".)

From Jiji Tsushin (1/25/2012):

１８歳以下０．７％、５ミリ超のしこり＝放射線の影響「考えにくい」－福島県

0.7% of children under the age of 18 have developed lumps [on the thyroid] more than 5 millimeters in diamater: "Hard to believe" there is any effect of radiation, says Fukushima prefectural government

　福島県は２５日、東京電力福島第１原発事故の発生時に１８歳以下だった県内の子ども全員を対象とした甲状腺検査の先行調査の結果を初めて公表した。超音波検査を受けた３７６５人のうち、０．７％に当たる２６人から５．１ミリ以上のしこりが見つかった。

On January 25, the Fukushima prefectural government announced for the first time the result of the early test of thyroid gland on the children who were in Fukushima Prefecture and were under the age of 18 at the time of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident. Of 3765 children who were tested with ultrasound, 26 children or 0.7% of the children tested were found with lumps that measure more than 5.1 millimeters in diameter.

　検査を担当した福島県立医科大は「良性のしこりで、以前から存在していた可能性が高く、放射線の影響は考えにくい」としているが、念のために超音波や採血などの追加検査を行う。

Fukushima Medical University, who conducted the test, says, "They are benign lumps. It is highly likely that these lump had existed before, and it is hard to believe there is any effect of radiation". However, just in case, the university will conduct additional ultrasound testing and blood testing.

　先行調査の対象は事故当時に浪江町と飯舘村、川俣町山木屋地区に住んでいた子ども。２６人の大半は６歳以上で、がんの疑いがあるケースはなかったという。

The early test was done on children who lived in Namie-machi, Iitate-mura, and Yamakiya District of Kawamata-machi at the time of the accident. Most of the 26 children are over the age of 6, and according to the Fukushima prefectural government there was no case of suspected cancer.

Fukushima Medical University, as you recall, has Dr. Shunichi Yamashita as the vice president. He and his associates are responsible for telling the residents in Iitate-mura and other high radiation cities and towns in Fukushima that it was safe to be outside, to eat vegetables, to drink water, when the radioactive fallout was falling heavily in Fukushima in March and April.

Of course these lumps are benign. They have to be.

Tweet

Dr. Shunichi Yamashita's March 21 Talk in Fukushima City (Part)

Professor Yamashita's speech on "Fukushima as Number One" was meant to cheer Fukushima City residents (he's from Nagasaki, and always prefaces his talk with the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombs).

As I've said before, it was a bad, bad timing. March 21 is where the second largest spike in air radiation took place in Fukushima, part of Tohoku and most of Kanto, thanks to a certain event at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant which hasn't been fully disclosed. (All we have from TEPCO is that there was a black smoke, then gray smoke, then white smoke rising from Reactor 3 on that day.) Fukushima City residents braved the rain to attend the lecture.

The doctor looks rather ill at ease.

(H/T Tokyo Brown Tabby)

(UPDATE) A Fukushima prefectural assemblyman tweeted a few days ago that Dr. Yamashita was "removed from the post", and some English sites may have misunderstood what he wrote. According to the later clarification by the assemblyman, Dr. Yamashita is no longer in charge of radiation protection, but still fully in charge of health monitoring and follow-up research of the Fukushima residents.

It seems he has simply moved on from preaching safety as a radiation protection advisor to health monitoring after the radiation exposure. There is no official word on Fukushima Prefecture's website at all.

Tweet

"Plutonium Brothers" and "Role of Specialists" Videos Now in German

Thank you, Viola.

"Plutonium Brothers" in German:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A2nbcOlgaI&feature=channel_video_title

"Role of Specialists - Professor Kodama vs Professor Yamashita" in German:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A90_4mg8yFc&feature=channel_video_title

****************************
In case you missed them, you can view the English version on this blog. Both are with the captioned video and the full transcript:

Three Plutonium Brothers of Japan: "They Are So Safe You Can Drink It" (Updated with Transcript)

(Updated with Captioned Video) The Role of Specialists: Dr. Kodama vs Dr. Yamashita

Tweet

#Fukushima "Special District for Medical Research" Planned by Japanese Government

From Nikkei Shinbun (full article is for subscribers only; 8/12/2011):

政府と福島県で検討を進めている医療特区制度の概要が明らかになった。薬事法の規制を県内に限って緩和し、医療機器の製造・販売への新規参入を促す。県内の病院に症例を集めたデータセンターや、再発ガンの研究所を設置し、医薬品や医療機器のメーカー、研究者などを誘致する。政府は2011年度第３次補正予算案で約100億円を計上する見通しだ。

Creation of the "Special District" system for medical research has been in discussion between the national government and the Fukushima prefectural government, and the outline of the system has been revealed. It includes: loosening the regulations of the Japanese Pharmaceutical Affairs Law only in Fukushima Prefecture and thus encouraging new entrants to the medical equipment manufacturing and sales; setting up data centers for medical cases and research centers for recurrent cancer at hospitals in Fukushima, which will attract pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment companies and medical researchers to Fukushima. The government is expected to allocate 10 billion yen (US$130 million) in the 3rd supplementary budget for the fiscal 2011.

10 billion yen to set up pharmaceutical research and data collection centers so that pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries flock to Fukushima. The government is clearly looking forward to a thriving medical industry in Fukushima with abundant (slightly over 2 million) research subjects of all ages.

From the above short description, it doesn't seem to be about treating people who will come down with radiation sickness. It is about collecting data and experimentation.

Since the national government is fiscally broke, the money will eventually come from the Japanese taxpayers, who will be made accomplice to this human experiment in Fukushima. Dr. Shunichi "Damashita (who conned, lied, tricked, duped, take your pick)" Yamashita must be so thrilled.

Tweet

(Updated with Captioned Video) The Role of Specialists: Dr. Kodama vs Dr. Yamashita

(Now Tokyo Brown Tabby has managed to put in the caption. Thank you readers for helping the cat in figuring out the downloader. 8/13/2011)

One is a scientist, the other like a politician. One has things to say, the other has things to un-say.

Tokyo Brown Tabby will put the caption as soon as Tabby figures out the captioning software glitch (anyone know of a good software compatible with the latest Youtube? Tabby's software (freeware) apparently cannot deal with the change). But in the meantime, you can view how these two specialists talk, how they look. That alone seems to speak volume on what they are.

First, Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, in a recent TV appearance:

From the viewpoint of specialists in genome science, like I am, we should not modify our conclusions in the face of the reality. Specialists should tell the truth as it is, no matter how difficult it is.

You know, ordinary Japanese people are not stupid. From what I've seen, they take things seriously and think them through. So, specialists should tell them the truth and discuss things based on the truth. Only then, specialists will be trusted by the public and risks can be avoided. If the public know the risks, such as the removal of radioactive cesium, they will be determined to solve the problems no matter how much effort it may take. No matter how hard the food inspection may be, they will be determined to pull together and...

MC: "carry it through."

That's right. So, the primary responsibility of specialists, specialists in medicine like us, is to tell the public what health damages could potentially occur. It a specialist assumes from the beginning, "If I say this here, it will cause problems there", he/she is a politician, not a specialist.

Responsibility of specialists manifested itself when the tsunami hit the Tohoku region. In Ishinomaki-City, specialists in disaster prevention were devastated when their disaster prevention measures had failed in the tsunami. But at the same time, they were delighted that children, whom they had taught, as part of the disaster prevention program, "When tsunami comes, run. Look around, help each other, and run to the higher ground at all cost", survived. They felt they had fulfilled their obligation as true specialists.

This incident has reinforced my belief on the role of specialists: if there is a real danger, inform the public that it's really dangerous, and tell them we will pull through together.

What people want from specialists is not the word of compromise that politicians are good at. They want specialists to call danger a danger...

MC: "...as it is."

I think the fundamental reason why the Atomic Energy Society of Japan [nuclear specialists] and Japan's nuclear policy have failed is because specialists have abandoned their pride and dignity as specialists. Because they've become politicians, or businessmen, by not telling the truth to the public. Without the self-examination of this fact, I don't think the rebirth of the University of Tokyo, or of Japanese scientists, would happen.

Next, Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, whom some Japanese have started to call Dr. Shunichi "Damashita" Yamashita - Yamashita "who tricked", Vice President of Fukushima Medical University. Get ready for an outrageous remark after another...

...at the lecture by Radiation Health Risk Advisor of Fukushima.

"Now that the national government has decided the safety exposure limit to be 20 millisieverts per year, we, as Japanese citizens, have an obligation to follow the government's decision."

Can the safety limit of 20mSv/yr really protect our children? After the lecture, we went to him to confirm that point.

"You should think of 20mSv/yr as a provisional level."

[In the lecture] You said you didn't know [about the health risk under 100mSv/yr]. Does it mean you cannot say it's safe, either?

"Of course I can't. That's why we are discussing where to draw the line in that gray zone."

You mean you're telling the people of Fukushima to put up with it?

"If they don't, they'll have to evacuate. Where would you evacuate them?... " [implying "Would you be willing to be responsible for evacuating the residents of Fukushima?" Clearly he wouldn't.]

After all, we couldn't hear the words of confirmation that he would guarantee the safety of children.

Tweet

Takashi Hirose Who Has Pressed Criminal Charges Against Government, TEPCO: "We remain unaware, we just want to believe everything is OK"

Journalists Takashi Hirose and Shojiro Akashi announced at a press conference on July 15 that they had pressed criminal charges against 32 people including TEPCO management, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Fukushima's Radiation Health Risk Advisors including Shunichi Yamashita.

17 people are charged with "bodily injury through negligence in the conduct of occupation", including Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, Fukushima's Radiation Health Risk Advisor, Ms. Shizuyo Kusumi, member of Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan and specialist in radiation
biology, and Mr. Yoshiaki Takagi, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and some other specialists in radiation.

15 people are charged with "death through negligence in the conduct of occupation", including Chairman Katsumata and Ex-President Shimizu from TEPCO, and Dr. Haruki Madarame, Nuclear Safety Commission Chief.

During the press conference on July 15 (youtube video here), Mr. Hirose, who has written extensively about nuclear energy and radiation issues for 30 years, had some shocking revelations regarding Fukushima, in addition to his sharp criticism of the government and the government researchers who have been preaching "safety up to 100 millisieverts". He said:

• Teachers at Fukushima Prefecture's public schools literally force children to eat food that has high probability of being contaminated with radiation (such as shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots); and

• Fish caught off Fukushima are being sold all over Japan as they are re-routed to ports far away from Fukushima, and people are eating them thinking they were caught in the safe (radiation-free) water.

All part of the "safety myth" that the government has successfully created since the accident, and he says "we remain unaware, we just want to believe everything is OK, and live each day."

Reality is too harsh, and betrayal by their own government is even harder to accept.

From his July 15 press conference:

広瀬：皆さんご存知の通り、事故が、3月11日に大地震が起こって事故がその日から始まりまして、でその20日からですね、長崎大学の山下俊一なる人物をですね、放射線健康リスク管理アドバイザーに迎えて、その翌日からもう安全宣伝のキャンペーンを始めて、それから4月に入りまして広島大学の神谷研二、それから長崎大学の高村昇も同じアドバイザーになって、この三人が揃って「100mSvまでは安全」とくり返して児童の被曝を強要させてきた。このことで彼らは全国から批判を浴びているわけですけれど、それは犯罪ではないんだろうかということをはっきりさせたいんですね。

Hirose: As you all know, the [Fukushima nuclear] accident started right after the earthquake hit on March 11. Then on March 20, one Shunichi Yamashita, of Nagasaki University, was installed as the radiation health risk management advisor. Right next day he started the campaign to preach "safety". Then in April, Kenji Kamiya of Hiroshima University and Noboru Takamura of Nagasaki University joined Yamashita as advisors. These three people have repeatedly said "It's safe up to 100 millisieverts", forcing children to be exposed to radiation. Now they are being criticized by citizens all over the country, but I want to make it clear that what they've done is criminal.

福島県では、こないだ聞いたんですが、学校で子どもたちがお父さんやお母さんが意識の高い方が子どもに「シイタケやタケノコが給食に出たら食べちゃいけないよ」といって、それで子どもが学校に行ってそれを取り分けると先生が来て「食え！」っていって食わせるんだそうです。ぞっとするんじゃないですか、皆さん。え？　こんなこと今起こってるんですよ、日本で。え？　どうするんですか、こんなこと。それやらせてんの山下でしょう。背後にいるんでしょう。さっきおっしゃったように、文部科学省がいるからこんなことになるんでしょう。どうしてこんなことほっとくんですか日本人は。子どもたちをみんなで殺してるんじゃないですか。許せないですよこれは。

I heard this story in Fukushima the other day. Informed parents tell their children, "Don't eat shiitake mushroom or bamboo shoot in the school lunch." So, the children take them aside. But then the teacher comes and orders them, "Eat!" Horrible, isn't it? This is what's happening now in Japan, you see. What are we going to do? Yamashita is behind this, isn't he? As someone said, this is happening because we have the Ministry of Education and Science. Why are we allowing this to happen? It's like killing our own children. I cannot allow it to happen.

質問：放射線核種でセシウムとかそういうのばかりが新聞をにぎわしてますが、やはり一番怖いのはプルトニウムだと思うんですが、その被害について、たとえば劣化ウラン弾の被害が出ているようなイラクだとかではプルトニウムとかのα線の被害が多いと思うのですが、この辺のことについてはどのようにお考えか。

(Question: In the media we hear a lot about radioactive cesium, but I think the most dangerous is plutonium. What do you think of the damage from the alpha-radiation from plutonium? In places like Iraq, there are damages from depleted uranium.)

広瀬：私はプルトニウムより今怖いのはストロンチウムだと思っています。これはセシウムとほぼ同量が原子炉の中にあったはずですし、それがほとんど出ていないというのは検出していないだけであって、とくに海洋に流れた海に流れているのはとてつもない量だと思います。だからそういうことで言いましても、今の状況で、何がどこにあるか私自身もわかんないです。で、とくに魚の場合は、福島に今回行ってほんとにわかったんですけど、もう日本中に流通しているんです。そういったものが九州に流れてるんですね。九州や何かで買ったり、そういうとんでもないところで買って、それを西日本の人は安心して食べてるわけです。だから今私もう、何が起こっているかはっきりいってわかりません。ただわれわれは何にも意識もなく、大丈夫と思いたくて、生きてるだけなんだろうな。現実派ですよ。今そういう状況です、はい。

I think strontium is more dangerous than plutonium right now. Strontium should have existed inside the reactor in about the same amount as cesium. It is hardly detected, but that just means it hasn't been measured. I suspect the amount of strontium that has leaked into the ocean is enormous. So, under the current situation, I have no idea what is where. Talking about fish, as I discovered this time in Fukushima, fish [caught off the coast of Fukushima] are sold all over Japan. They are being re-routed to Kyushu, for example. People in the western Japan are eating these fish, thinking they are safe. Honestly speaking, I haven't a clue what's going on. I suspect we remain unaware, we just want to believe everything is OK, and live each day. That's the reality. That's how it goes.

... and everybody knows.

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

(Leonard Cohen)

Tweet

#Radiation in Japan: How the Brainwashing Was Done in Fukushima

An article appeared in the local (Ishikawa Prefecture) version of Mainichi Shinbun on July 25. The article was about the anti-nuke demonstration in Kanazawa City in Ishikawa on July 24, and it contained this passage:

県内の参加者に交じって、国が計画的避難区域に指定した福島県飯舘村の村立草野小学校職員、愛澤卓見さんも発言。愛澤さんは「震災直後は情報がなく、国が 派遣した大学教授が『村で採れた野菜は、洗えば食べられる』と説明したことなどを機に、避難先から子どもらが村に戻り、被ばくした」と語った。

Among the participants was Mr. Takumi Aizawa, a school worker at Kusano Elementary School in Iitate-mura in Fukushima Prefecture, which has been designated as "planned evacuation zone" by the national government. Mr. Aizawa told the demonstrators, "After the earthquake there was no information. Then a university professor sent by the government came to the village and said, "You can eat vegetables harvested in the village if you wash them". Children, who had been evacuated, then started to come back [on that reassuring word] and they got irradiated."

What? And who was this professor? I suspected Dr. "100 millisieverts" Yamashita, but it turned out to be his younger sidekick, Dr. Noboru Takamura of Nagasaki University. The powerful duo was all over Fukushima Prefecture in March and early April, preaching "safety" of radiation and radioactive fallout to the worried residents of Fukushima as the official radiation advisors for the prefecture.

Dr. Takamura went to Iitate-mura on March 25, and told the concerned villagers these soothing words (from Iitate-mura flyer on March 30, in Japanese):

Thyroid cancer from radioactive iodine only affects children and young mothers. People over 40 do not need to worry. Wear a mask outside, and wash your hands when you come home, and you'll be OK. There will be no ill effect on health living in the village as long as you observe basic hygiene.

Then, he went back to Iitate-mura on April 6, and apparently told the villagers this (from a tweet by @rainbow3342):

長崎大学大学院教授の高村昇、4/6の飯舘村でのリスク説明会で｢雨、台風ですみやかに放射線物質はは流される。10マイクロシーベルト毎時を下回れば子供も大丈夫｣

Nagasaki University Graduate School Professor Noboru Takamura said during the April 6 meeting in Iitate-mura to explain the risk of radiation, "Rain and typhoon will quickly wash away the radioactive materials. If the radiation is below 10 microsieverts/hour, it's safe even for children."

So what else this good doctor and his boss Dr. Yamashita were saying back in March? The collection of tweets were found on this Japanese blog, and they paint a propaganda effort by the Japanese government that would make Goebbels and Edward Bernays proud.

震災後すぐに、福島市で行われた、県の発注で呼ばれたらしい大学教授は講演会で「100mSVまで安全」と言い、福島人は、皆安堵の表情を浮かべた。誰も それを疑わず、ラジオ、ビルの中、街中エンドレスでその録音が流されていた。情報の少ない田舎街では未だそれを信じている人間も、多数いるはず。

Right after the disaster, the professor who was probably asked by the Fukushima prefectural government said in the lecture in Fukushima City, "it's safe up to 100 millisieverts". People in Fukushima were relieved. No one doubted the professor. The recording of the lecture was played everywhere endlessly - radio, inside the buildings, on the street. There must be many in the countryside who still believe him. They don't have enough information.

私が福島へ戻った3/21、偶然その講演会の日でした。友人に電話すると、藁にもすがる想いでそれを聞きに行っていました。皆を安心させるような口調で、講演の端々に、大拍手が起こる。私共復興支援団体のビルでも、毎日ずっと流れてました。

I returned to Fukushima on March 21, the day of that lecture. I spoke with friends on the phone, and they had gone to that lecture, looking for any information. He spoke in a reassuring manner, and the lecture was dotted with loud applause. The recording was played every single day at the building where our recovery support group is located.

他の地域でも山下氏の安全説講演会の後はその内容が地域の広報誌に載せられたり、町内でチラシが廻ってきたり、学校からプリントで配られてきた、とか何とかTL上で色々見ました。

Outside Fukushima City, after Professor Yamashita's safety lecture, the content of the lecture was re-printed in the local PR pamphlet. There were also handouts distributed in the neighborhood, in schools..

３月中は24時間ユーストリームでも流されていました。山下教授の講演と同じく安全、安心というもの。野菜は洗えば食べられるなども。今でも野菜を洗って食べている人が沢山おり、内部被ばくが危惧されます。

The message was played by USTREAM 24 hours a day during March. Just like Professor Yamashita's lecture, it's safe and secure. Also, you can eat vegetables if you wash them. There are many people who still believe the message and eat vegetables after washing them. I worry about internal radiation for them.

昨夜NHKに出演した山下俊一長崎大大学院教授は『チェルノブイリでの教訓が活きようとしている』と飯舘村が自分の研究の実証の場であるかのような主張を した。村民はモルモットではない！

Professor Shunichi Yamashita of Nagasaki University appeared on an NHK program last night and said "Now the lessons from Chernobyl are about to be applied", as if Iitate-mura is his experiment. We're not his guinea pigs!

飯舘村民は疲弊している。もう安心安全を主張する学者の偏った言葉にしか耳を傾けない村民が増えてきている。村民は弱い。その弱さにつけ込んで一方的に安心を押しうる国や県の誘導に心地よさを求めている。真実に依らない安心の代償は大きい。

Iitate villagers are tired. Increasing number of them now only listen to the words of the scholars who insists it's safe and secure. The villagers are weak. They want to find comfort in the words of the national government and the prefectural government that pushes safety. The price to pay for the safety without fact [truth] will be high.

24/7 streaming message of the duo that it's safe, it's safe, it's safe, trust us, just wash your hands and vegetables. Repeat the same message over and over again, and never mind that the message is not based on reality. Tell them what they want to hear. The subjects will get tired anyway and won't remember the details, but they will remember the message.

Well, it has worked.

(h/t Tokyo Brown Tabby)

Tweet

#Radiation in Japan: Dr. Shunichi Yamashita Will Become Vice President of Fukushima Medical University

The diabolical country on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean (no it's not North Korea) that is what Japan seems to have morphed into will have Dr. Shunichi "100 microsieverts/hour radiation is safe" Yamashita of Nagasaki University as the vice president of the Fukushima Medical University in charge of setting up an organization to conduct research on effects of radiation on the Fukushima residents.

Well, those in Fukushima and elsewhere who wanted to remove the professor from the Fukushima radiation advisor sort of got their wish. He just made a lateral move. Or maybe he will continue to be the advisor. Criticism? What criticism?

Note the article below is the Western Japan Edition. I do not know if the Eastern Japan Edition, which covers Kanto and Toku regions including Fukushima Prefecture, has the same article. Herr Professor is not very popular over in the Eastern Japan.

(UPDATE: the same news appeared on Mainichi's National Edition, one day later, 7/9/2011. For the National Edition, they added a mention to citizen's group movement to remove the professor from the Fukushima's radiation advisor position, noting the sentiment in the eastern part of Japan.)

From Mainichi Shinbun Japanese, Western Japan Edition (7/8/2011; link added):

東京電力福島第１原発事故を受け、福島県の放射線健康管理リスクアドバイザーを務めている長崎大大学院の山下俊一教授（５９）が１１日付で長崎大を 休職し、今月中旬にも福島県立医科大に出向し副学長に就任する見通しになった。６日、長崎大大学院医歯薬学総合研究科の教授会で内定した。

Professor Shunichi Yamashita (age 59) of Nagasaki University, who has been the advisor for the Fukushima Prefecture on radiation health risks in response to the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, will take a leave of absence from Nagasaki University as of July 11 and become the vice president of the Fukushima Medical University sometime in mid July. It was decided on July 6 in the faculty meeting at Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. [Professor Yamashita is the dean of the school.]

　山下教授は長崎市出身の被爆２世。８６年の旧ソ連チェルノブイリ原発事故の医療支援に当たった。世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）の緊急被ばく医療協力研究センター長などを務める。

Professor Yamashita is from Nagasaki City, a "Hibaku Nisei" (2nd generation sufferer of atomic bomb radiation). He was active in medical support when the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant accident took place in 1986. He was also the head of the research center for emergency radiation exposure under the WHO.

　原発事故直後の３月１８日に福島県知事に請われ現地に入り、放射線について「正しく怖がる」大切さを講演して回っている。同県が県民約２０２万人 を対象に実施する被ばく線量調査にも参加。同県立大では調査を継続的に行う他、放射線の影響を研究する組織の設立に携わる予定。

He was invited to Fukushima by the governor of Fukushima on March 18 right after the plant accident, and has been giving lectures on the importance of "being properly afraid" of radiation. He will participate in the radiation exposure survey of all 2.02 million residents of Fukushima. At the Fukushima Medical University, he will continue the radiation surveys and will be involved in setting up an organization to study the effect of radiation.

The media (and Professor Yamashita) never fails to mention that he is a "Hibaku Nisei" (second-generation of the people who were exposed to radiation from atomic bombs). There are many others who go about their lives without advertising it or wearing it as some kind of credential for their work (like Professor Yamashita does all the time).

An anonymous reader of my Japanese blog sent the link to this article, along with his comment:

さぞ研究対象が目の前に溢れるほどいて笑いが止まらない事でしょう。

"He will be all smiles with such a great number of research subjects right in front of him, I suppose."

To review Professor Yamashita's remarks in front of a worried Fukushima City audience, go to my post. There's a youtube video with English subtitles, linked below. Just look at his mannerism as he blatantly lies to the audience when he assures "internal radiation is far less damaging than external radiation".

The funny and immensely sad thing about the video is not so much of the video itself, but the comments left on the site that has this video. Instead of attacking the professor, they attack the persons who created and uploaded the video for being an America's agent (because English is used, supposedly) or for using a junior high school level English and speculate the creator probably can't even read the Times. (I don't know which Times they mean - NYT or the British paper - but they probably don't even know the difference.)

(What's wrong with a junior high school English? That's all I use...)

Tweet

Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, Radiation Advisor to Fukushima: "Fukusima Will Be World-Famous! It's Just Great!"

Dr. Shunichi Yamashita is a professor at Nagasaki University (molecular medicine and radiation research), who became one of the two advisors to Fukushima Prefecture in order to "educate" the residents throughout Fukushima about radiation after the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident.

He is still the radiation advisor, though a movement started by irate Fukushima residents is gathering steam to demand the prefectural government to remove him from the position. Why are they angry at him now?

Because he epitomizes the government and government scholars who told them all along that the radiation from Fukushima I Nuke Plant was at a totally safe level, there was nothing to worry about, it was all in your head, foreign news media are lying, eat, drink, play, live as normal. It turned out to be anything but normal for Fukushima.

Immediately after the accident, he was sent by the government to major cities in towns in Fukushima to address the concerns of the citizens. He addressed them by saying radiation was nothing to worry about, it was all in their heads, Fukushima would be world-famous so they shouldn't miss this great opportunity, and the residents should stay put.

Some of his incredible remarks have appeared in the US media, including this one in Democracy Now (6/10/2011):

He says that mothers, even mothers exposed to 100 millisieverts, pregnant mothers, will not have any effect, health effect. Remember the number 100. Compared to that, the Soviet Union required a mandatory evacuation during Chernobyl at five millisieverts. This doctor is quoted as saying, “The effects of radiation do not come to people that are happy and laughing. They come to people that are weak-spirited, that brood and fret.”

Well, that and so much more.

The reference that the Democracy Now guest made in the program is part of his hilarious lecture about radiation and its effect on health, delivered on March 21, 2011 in front of the large, and worried audience in Fukushima City, 60 kilometers from Fukushima I Nuke Plant, 2 days after he was appointed as the official radiation advisor to Fukushima Prefecture.

Fukushima City is the same city where Greenpeace detected cobalt-60 on June 7.

Also recall that March 21 was is one of the days that saw a large spike in air radiation throughout Kanto and Tohoku region, for reasons still not disclosed.

From the lecture on March 21 in Fukushima City, toward the end, before the Q&A session:

Original Japanese audio
Japanese transcript of the event

　これから福島という名前は世界中に知れ渡ります。福島、福島、福島、何でも福島。これは凄いですよ。もう、広島・長崎は負けた。福島の名前の方が世界に冠たる響きを持ちます。ピンチはチャンス。最大のチャンスです。何もしないのに福島、有名になっちゃったぞ。これを使わん手はない。何に使う。復興です

The name "Fukushima" will be widely known throughout the world. Fukushima, Fukushima, Fukushima, everything is Fukushima. This is great! Fukushima has beaten Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From now on, Fukushima will become the world number 1 name [when it comes to radiation/nuclear incident]. A crisis is an opportunity. This is the biggest opportunity. Hey, Fukushima, you've become famous without any efforts! [a chuckle from the audience] Why
not take advantage of this opportunity? For what? Recovery.

まず。震災、津波で亡くなられた方々。本当に心からお悔やみを申し上げますし、この方々に対する対応と同時に、一早く原子力災害から復興する必要があります。国の根幹をなすエネルギー政策の原子力がどうなるか、私にはわかりません。しかし、健康影響は微々たるものだと言えます。唯一、いま決死の覚悟で働いている方々の被ばく線量、これを注意深く保障していく必要があります。ただ、一般の住民に対する不安はありません。

First off, my sincere condolences for people who died in the earthquake and tsunami. We need to deal with the loss, and to recover from this nuclear disaster. I don't know how it [the nuke accident] will affect the nuclear energy policy of the national government, as the nuclear energy is the core of the national energy policy. But I can tell you this; the health effects are minimal. The only thing we need to keep an eye on is the amount of exposure of plant workers who are working with a do-or-die resolution. But we don't have to worry about the health effects of ordinary people.

　しかしながら、それでも不安はある。誰に不安がある？女性、妊婦、乳幼児です。次の世代を背負う子供達に対し、私たちは責任があります。だから、全ての放射線安全防護基準は、赤ちゃんの被ばく線量を基準につくられています。いいですか。子供を守るために安定ヨウ素材の投与、あるいは避難・退避ということの基準は作られています。大人は二十歳を過ぎると放射線の感受性は殆どありません。もう限りなくゼロです。大人は放射線に対して感受性が殆どないということをまず覚えてください。そのくせ、一番心配するのは大人。これは間違いです。特に男は大間違い。我が身を省みれば、自分はタバコを飲んだり、酒を飲んどるのに、放射線より遥かにリスクが高いのに。男はまず心配いらないです。守るべきは女性、女子供、妊婦、乳幼児です。もし、この状態が悪くなるとすれば、逃げるのは妊婦と子供でいいんです。男は戦わなくちゃ。復興に向けてここで福島県民として、会津の白虎隊でしう。それくらいの覚悟はあって然るべきです。

And yet you are worried. Worried about whom? Women, pregnant women, and infants. We are responsible for the future generation. So, every radiation protection safety limit is based on the amount allowable for babies. Administering potassium iodide, deciding on the evacuation, they are all based on protecting children. Adults over 20 years old have very little sensitivity to radiation. Almost zero. That's the first thing you have to remember. Still, adults are the ones who worry the most. This is wrong. Especially wrong if you are male. You smoke and drink, and worry about radiation? Men don't have to worry. All we need to do is protect women, children, pregnant women and infants. If the situation deteriorates, pregnant women and children should escape. Men should stay put and fight for recovery. You [as Fukushima residents] are the descendants of people who produced the proud Byakko-Tai. You should have such a resolution.

　放射線の影響は、実はニコニコ笑ってる人には来ません。クヨクヨしてる人に来ます。これは明確な動物実験でわかっています。酒飲みの方が幸か不幸か、放射線の影響少ないんですね。決して飲めということではありませんよ。笑いが皆様方の放射線恐怖症を取り除きます。でも、その笑いを学問的に、科学的に説明しうるだけの情報の提供がいま非常に少ないんです。是非、今の私の話を聞いて、疑問が沢山あると思いますから沢山質問してください。これは講演会でも講義でもないんです。皆様と私のキャッチボールなんですね

To tell you the truth, radiation doesn't affect people who are smiling, but those who are worried. This has clearly been demonstrated by animal studies. So, drinking may be bad for your health, but happy drinkers are less affected by radiation, luckily. I'm not advising you to drink, but laughter will remove your radiation-phobia. But there's precious little information to scientifically explain the effects of laughter. So, please ask all your questions. This is not a lecture, it's a dialog between you and I.

If you understand Japanese, go listen to the audio file. About 43 minutes and 40 seconds into the audio, you can hear him say these things.

"Byakko-tai" members were boys aged mostly 16 to 17 but as young as 13 who fought to defend their lord's land (today's Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture) but chose to kill themselves rather than to surrender in the civil war that ensued after the Meiji revolution that brought down the Tokugawa Shogun government. Fukushima was on the side of Tokugawa.

Professor Yamashita was telling the Fukushima City residents to be like them in the battle with radiation.

His "non lecture" preceding the above is full of misrepresentations and some outright lies. I may translate that later, if I'm not too disgusted.

So, imagine the Japanese, particularly those in Fukushima Prefecture, who have been bombarded by the messages like this since March. A veritable brainwash, and it may be working, despite the effort by "outsiders" like Greenpeace.

Throughout Japan, mothers continue to accompany their small children to kindergartens, and fathers are too busy working. Just like in Japan before March 11, before the nuke accident. They sometimes frown on mothers and fathers who are considering withdrawing their children from kindergartens, saying "How they overreact! How silly!"

Tweet