An Appeal from Japan to worldwide civil organizations concerning stabilization of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel.

We ask your support for our appeal to Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

To civil organizations around the world:
Please support this effort by endorsing our letter to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dated 30 April 2012.
Deadline: 20 May 2012
Please send endorsement to: info@greenaction-japan.org
(Please include city and country of your organization.)

For full text of letter/endorsements/signatories, see: http://wp.me/p1FMPy-B6

We Japanese civil organizations* express our deepest concern that our government does not inform its citizens about the extent of risk of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool. Given the fact that collapse of this pool could potentially lead to catastrophic consequences with worldwide implications, what the Japanese government should be doing as a responsible member of the international community is to avoid any further disaster by mobilizing all the wisdom and the means available in order to stabilize this pool.
It is clearly evident that Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool is no longer a Japanese issue but an international issue with potentially serious consequences. Therefore, it is imperative for the Japanese government and the international community to work together on this crisis before it becomes too late. We are appealing to the United Nations to help Japan and the planet in order to prevent the irreversible consequences of a catastrophe that could affect generations to come. We are sending an urgent request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda as follows:

• The United Nations should organize a Nuclear Safety Summit to take up the crucial problem of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool.
• The United Nations should establish an independent assessment team on Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 and coordinate international assistance in order to stabilize the unit’s spent nuclear fuel pool and prevent radiological consequences with potentially catastrophic consequences.

30 April 2012
*72 Japanese civil organizations have signed this petition (as of 30 April 2012)

Contact:
Shut Tomari (Japan)
1-2, 6-4 Higashisapporo, Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo 003-0006 Japan
TEL: +81-90-26951937 FAX:+81-11-826-3796 email: kaori-izumi@ta3.so-net.ne.jp
Green Action (Japan)
Suite 103, 22-75 Tanaka Sekiden-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8203 Japan
Tel: +81-75-701-7223 Fax: +81-75-702-1952 email: info@greenaction-japan.org

Press Release——Fukushima

Coalition Sends Urgent Request for UN Intervention to Stabilize
the Fukushima Unit 4 Spent Nuclear Fuel

For immediate release: 2 May 2012

Kyoto, Japan―On 30 April, seventy-two Japanese NGO organizations lead by Shut Tomari and Green Action send an urgent request to the UN and Japanese government urging immediate action to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel. The letter was endorsed by experts from Japan and abroad.

The letter warned that the seriously damaged Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool contains Cesium-137 (Cs-137) that is equivalent to 10 times the amount released at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. If an earthquake or other event were to cause this pool to drain, this could result in a catastrophic radiological fire.

The letter urged the United Nations to organize a Nuclear Safety Summit to take up the crucial problem of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool. The letter stated that the United Nations should establish an independent assessment team on Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 and coordinate international assistance in order to stabilize the unit’s spent nuclear fuel and prevent radiological consequences with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Letters were sent to both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the latter asking that Japan ask immediately for the UN’s help.

Nearly all of the 10,893 spent fuel assemblies at the Fukushima Daiichi plant sit in pools vulnerable to future earthquakes, with roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl.

Kaori Izumi of Shut Tomari stated, “Fukushima Daiichi is no longer a Japanese issue but is an international issue. It is imperative for the Japanese government and the international community to work together on this crisis before it becomes too late.”

Nuclear experts from the US and Japan such as Arnie Gundersen, Robert Alvarez, Hiroaki Koide, Masashi Goto, and Mitsuhei Murata, a former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland, and, Akio Matsumura, a former UN diplomat have continually warned against the high risk of the Fukushima Unit 4 spent nuclear fuel pool.

Shut Tomari and Green Action are seeking endorsements from civil organizations abroad (deadline 20 May). More Japanese civil organizations are expected to sign on in addition to the seventy-two organizations. (Deadline for signatures: 20 May.)

For full text of letter/endorsements/signatories, see: http://wp.me/p1FMPy-B6

Press release issued by:
Shut Tomari (Japan),
1-2, 6-4 Higashisapporo, Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo 003-0006 Japan
TEL: +81-90-2695-1937 FAX: +81-11-826-3796 email: kaori-izumi@ta3.so-net.ne.jp
Green Action (Japan),
Suite 103, 22-75 Tanaka Sekiden-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8203 Japan
Tel: +81-75-701-7223 Fax: +81-75-702-1952 email: info@greenaction-japan.org

October 31, 2011

Opposing Japan-Vietnam Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in Promotion of Nuclear Export

~What must be exported instead is learning from Fukushima experience and not life-threatening nuclear power plants~

While Fukushima nuclear accident is yet to be brought under control, the fallout of radioactive material continues to contaminate the earth, nature and sea of Japan. Countless number of people including those in Fukushima is suffering from the crisis and devastation of their lives. And yet, the causes of the accident have not been fully investigated.

At the moment, Japan-Vietnam nuclear cooperation agreement is being signed to take another steps further to promote Japan’s nuclear export.

Presently in Vietnam, Japanese taxpayer-funded feasibility studies are being carried out for nuclear power plant construction in Ninh Thuan Province. The outcome of these studies, however, has not been committed for a full disclosure to the citizens of Vietnam and taxpayers in Japan.

The planned site for the plant in Vietnam is a land of scenic beauty, where residents make their living by fishery, farming and tourism. Thus, the construction will unquestionably threaten the lives of those depend on this land.

In case of another accident, radioactive contamination will reach Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and other neighboring countries of Vietnam. Just as the Governments of Japan and Vietnam have not fulfilled their accountability to their respective citizens, they have not even begun to fulfill their accountability to those in these neighboring countries.

We, the women gathered at the Ministry of Economy traveling from Hokkaido in the north and Kyushu in the south as well as the citizens deeply concerned with nuclear export, are vehemently against Japanese government’s nuclear export. What must be exported instead is a critical learning through pain and suffering in Fukushima and NOT nuclear power plants.

Based on the above, we demand the following from the governments of Japan and Vietnam.

• The Japanese government must clearly state a policy of non-nuclear export.
• The Japanese government must not waste any more tax for the purpose of nuclear export.
• The Japanese and Vietnam governments must terminate feasibility studies currently being conducted.
• The Japanese and Vietnam governments must fulfill their accountability to the citizens of neighboring countries.

Women across Japan for No More Nuclear Power / Friends of the Earth Japan / Green Action / Mekong Watch / No Nukes Asia Forum Japan / e-shift (Association for Nuclear Power Phase-out and New Energy Policies) / SuiGenRen (National Coordinating Committee for Water Resources Development Issues) / NINDJA (Network for Indonesian Democracy, Japan) / Mihama-no-Kai (Osaka Citizens Against the Mihama, Oi, and Takahama Nuclear Power Plants) / Fukurou-no-Kai (The Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants) / Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation / Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Emergency Action Network / Tatebayashi Citizens’ network for Climate-Change / Action In Front Of TEPCO

Contact: Kanna Mitsuta / 090-6142-1807

Opposing Japan-Vietnam Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in Promotion of Nuclear Export (PDF)

From FCCJ’s site:
Nakate, Aoki, Smith & Iwata, Voice of Fukushima Citizens
http://www.fccj.or.jp/node/6874

Time: 2011 Sep 09 15:30 – 16:30
Summary:
Press Conference
Seiichi Nakate, Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation
Kazumasa Aoki, Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants
Aileen Mioko Smith, Green Action
Wataru Iwata, Executive Director, Project 47

Excerpt:
On Sept. 11-12, 30 radiation and health experts from 14 countries will gather in Fukushima Prefecture for a Nippon Foundation-sponsored symposium on the health risks faced by Fukushima residents. But the symposium has drawn fire from local residents who note Fukushima citizens will not be allowed to directly attend the proceedings, which are ostensibly being held for their benefit.

See below for materials distributed at the FCCJ press conference.

Open Letter of Inquiry to the Organizing Committee for the International Expert Symposium in Fukushima ― Radiation and Health Risks (PDF)
September 10, 2011

Agreement Between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization (PDF)

Urine Analysis Result of Fukushima Children (PDF)
Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants
(Fukuro-no-Kai)
Radioactivity Monitoring Project
Kazumasa Aoki

Violation of the Human Rights of the Children of Fukushima (PDF)

PSR Statement on the Increase of Allowable Dose of Ionizing Radiation to Children in Fukushima Prefecture:

Fukushima Prefecture’s “Prefectural People’s Health Management Survey” (PDF)

The Fukushima-Daiichi Accident
-Questions of Motives of International Bodies Attending the Nippon Foundation Symposium (PDF)
Authors: Shaun Burnie and Frank Barnaby

Beyond Nuclear Press Release (PDF)
Japanese Fukushima eye-witnesses to speak in New York about disaster aftermath Delegation calls for an end to nuclear power in Japan and globally

As the nuclear crisis precipitated by the 2011 Great Eastern Earthquake unfolded, spewing radioactive material across northern Japan, Sachiko Sato of Fukushima sent her three children away to safety while she stayed behind. With clear information about fallout and radiation levels in short supply from the government, other families inside and outside the evacuation zones faced similar separation. Businesses continued as usual despite rising radiation levels, so parents, often fathers, were forced to stay at work as the wives and children left for Tokyo or western Japan.

While Sato’s children worried about their classmates who remained in Fukushima, the Japanese government, rather than arrange for wider evacuation, raised the legal radiation limit by 20 times. The new limit: 20 mSv per year, equivalent to some countries’ maximum-allowed dose for nuclear workers.

Meanwhile, Sato’s organic farm in Fukushima faced contamination from the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Many farmers like her may never be able to return to their land, and those who can grow untainted food are challenged with trying to sell it to a fearful public confused by lax government testing and regulation.

Sato and her 13- and 17-year-old children, Yuuki and Mina, plan to share their stories in New York City this month at a presentation with anti-nuclear activists. The Satos will talk about poor evacuation operations, the splitting of families and the impact of the nuclear meltdowns to lives and livelihoods.

Joining the Sato family are Yukiko Anzai, who will talk about the fate of farmers after the meltdowns, and activists Kaori Izumi, Aileen Mioko Smith and Kevin Kamps.

Kaori Izumi, director of Shut Tomari, will discuss the unhealthy and corrupting relationship between government, business, the media and pro-nuclear intellectuals and the judiciary. Aileen Mioko Smith, Executive Director of Green Action and a veteran anti-nuclear campaigner in Japan, will discuss her petition to the UN High Commission on Human Rights to recognize and address the plight of children in the Fukushima region. Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear will describe the “Freeze our Fukushimas” campaign, a first step in shutting down reactors in the U.S. identical to those at Fukushima Daiichi.

The organizers timed the meeting to coincide with a United Nations meeting that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is holding in response to the Fukushima catastrophe. The organizers hope that by drawing the UN’s attention to the human suffering caused by nuclear power, they can convince the UN to stop promoting its use.

When

Thursday, September 22, 12–2pm.
Brown bag lunch recommended. Soft drinks will be available.

Where

American Friends Service Committee Meetinghouse
15 Rutherford Place between 15th and 16th Streets, and 2nd and 3rd Avenues
New York City

RSVP

If you plan to attend, please email Kevin Kamps at Beyond Nuclear: Kevin@beyondnuclear.org.

For more information, call 301.270.2209 to speak to Kevin Kamps or Linda Gunter.

Who

Sachiko Sato, an organic farmer from Fukushima and her 13- and 17-year old children, Yuuki and Mina, will talk about poor evacuation operations, the splitting of families and the impact of the nuclear meltdowns to lives and livelihoods.

Kaori Izumi, director of Shut Tomari, Hokkaido, Japan, will discuss the unhealthy and corrupting relationship between government, business, the media and pro-nuclear intellectuals and the judiciary.

Yukiko Anzai, from near Tomari, Hokkaido, will talk about the fate of farmers after the meltdowns.

Aileen Mioko Smith, Executive Director of Green Action and a veteran anti-nuclear campaigner in Japan will discuss her petition to the UN High Commission on Human Rights to recognize and address the plight of children in the Fukushima region.

Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear will describe the U.S. “Freeze our Fukushimas” campaign, a first step in shutting down US reactors identical to those at Fukushima-Daiichi units 1-4 as part of a goal to phase out operation at all 104 US reactors.

The event is co-sponsored by: Abolition 2000 NY Metro ■ American Friends Service Committee ■ Beyond Nuclear ■ Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation ■ Granny Peace Brigade ■ Green Action ■ Nuclear Age Peace Foundation ■ Peace Action International, CT ■ Physicians for Social Responsibility, NY ■ Shut Down Indian Point Now ■ Shut Tomari ■ Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Download event flyer (PDF)

To sign-on the petition, please see the link below.
http://www.foejapan.org/en/news/110831.html

Best regards,

Eri Watanabe
Friends of the Earth Japan

—————————————————————–
*1st Deadline
September 9th 2011

*Online form
http://www.foejapan.org/en/news/110831.html

*Inquiry
Friends of the Earth Japan
Email: finance@foejapan.org
—————————————————————–
August 31, 2011

Urgent International Petition

To:
Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister
Minister of Finance
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Minister of Foreign Affairs

The Japanese Government Should Immediately Abandon its Policy of Promoting Exports of Nuclear Power Plants

It Should Take the Lead in Phasing Out Nuclear Energy Worldwide

*Our Demands
We strongly urge the Japanese government to take the following action:

To immediately abandon its policy of promoting exports of nuclear power plants;

To cancel all existing plans to export nuclear power plants;

To take the lead in realizing a worldwide phase out of nuclear power.

*Rationale

As a result of the March 11 th 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that followed, a major accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant caused massive radiation leaks into the environment. The accident still has not been brought under control and radiation leaks continue to contaminate Fukushima , and a huge area including the Tohoku (Northeastern) and Kanto (Eastern) regions of Japan , as well as the world’s marine environment.

Despite the experience of the accidents at the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plants, we were unable to prevent the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Even small doses of radiation cause damage to genes. In particular, the greatest danger is to children and pregnant women, who hold the fate of the next generation in their hands. It is now obvious that nuclear power and human beings cannot co-exist. While the people of Fukushima and others continue to suffer as a result of the accident, we believe that international society should stand by those affected, broaden the circle of support and, for the sake of future generations, together seek a worldwide phase out of nuclear energy.

The Japanese government has been proud of Japan ’s technological prowess. However, the accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has proven that technology cannot prevent severe accidents. After the accident, the former Prime Minister, Naoto Kan , proposed phasing out nuclear energy and the Japanese government declared its intention of reviewing national nuclear energy policy. The government stated, “While conducting a thorough review of the causes of the accident, taking into account the views of all sectors of the public, the government will advance the consideration of future energy policy, including whether to build new reactors.” (July 1 Cabinet Decision).

However, regarding the export of nuclear power plants, on August 5 th the Japanese government approved a cabinet decision indicating a continuation of its policy of exporting nuclear power plants. The cabinet decision declared, “Importing countries are primarily responsible for assurance of the safety of nuclear power plants” and “If other countries desire to adopt Japanese nuclear power technology, bearing in mind recipient countries’ wishes, we believe we should provide those with the highest safety standard in the world.” Without completing the review of the causes of the accident and without conducting sufficient nation-wide debate, the Japanese government’s promotion of nuclear exports is clearly a double standard and a mistake. Furthermore, it is unethical for the Japanese government to continue to export nuclear power plants when the accident has not been brought under control and many people still live under very difficult circumstances, lacking adequate support. Indeed, it could even lead to the expansion and spread of devastation.

It is also clear that, without even including the cost of responding to accidents, the cost of nuclear power is enormous. To export nuclear power plants is to impose that cost on ordinary people in the importing country. From the perspective of business or international cooperation, promoting technology for energy saving and renewable energy is more promising than nuclear power.

Japan experienced nuclear devastation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and also from the Fukushima nuclear accident. We sincerely hope that the government of Japan will lead the way to a worldwide phase out of nuclear energy and show an example of building a sustainable and peaceful society that is not dependent on nuclear power, so that human beings need never again suffer a catastrophe caused by nuclear power.

(End)

*Sponsoring organizations
Friends of the Earth Japan
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES)
Network for Indonesian Democracy Japan
The Takagi Fund for Citizen Science
Mekong Watch
Citizen’s Nuclear Information Center
Green Action

2 June 2011
To: Foreign Media in Japan

Japanese Utility Still Committed to New Nuclear Reactors

Amid calls to halt all nuclear development in Japan, following the unprecedented disaster in Fukushima, Hiroshima-based utility Chugoku Electric is pushing ahead with a total of three new nuclear reactors in Matsue and Kaminoseki, the latter despite three decades of opposition by local island residents, and recent warnings on the need to safeguard biodiversity in Kaminoseki’s “Kiseki-no-Umi” – “Sea of Miracles.”

Chugoku Electric Power Co. Inc. (head office, Hiroshima city) has a new reactor (No. 3) nearing completion at the Shimane Power Plant, close by Matsue city. Two more reactors are planned for the new Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Plant, located on the Seto Inland Sea coast 70 km south-west of Hiroshima, a project which has been actively opposed by nearby islanders for the last 30 years.
Iwaishima is a small island 3.5 km offshore from the site of the plant. Its residents, mostly grandmothers and grandfathers now, have refused to accept 1 billion yen as compensation. In weekly protest demonstrations, they have used their boats and their own bodies to try to block construction. Many young people from around Japan have come to support them, including a kayak team working with the local people trying to prevent planned landfill from proceeding. The company has retaliated by obtaining a Supreme Court ruling setting a penalty of 5 million yen per day if work is obstructed.
International academics and scientists have expressed deep concern over the plant’s threat to the biodiversity of the nearby sea, and recent documentaries have depicted the islanders’ hard-fought campaign against the plant, and highlighted the island’s beautiful environment.
On March 17th, the governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture requested Chugoku Electric to temporarily suspend the project. However, parties opposed to the construction of Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Plant demand its complete termination. The triple meltdown and resulting emissions of high levels of radioactivity into the air, land and ocean in Fukushima has proved beyond doubt that the safety of nuclear power cannot be guaranteed, and its threat to the environment cannot be ignored.
The grandfathers and grandmothers of Iwaishima are not interested in the company’s promises of safety and financial prosperity. They understand real wealth. All that they want is to pass on to their successors the traditional cultural heritage and unspoilt natural environment that they have known all their lives. They want the Kaminoseki Nuclear Plant project terminated, permanently.

■Information available in English
●Chugoku Electric Power
http://www.energia.co.jp/e/energia/profile/profile.html
(Head Office)
4-33 Komachi,Naka-ku,Hiroshima-shi,Hiroshima
730-8701,Japan
Tel: +81-82-241-0211 Fax: +81-82-523-6185
★General meeting of stockholders is scheduled for June 29, 2011. Local citizen’s organizations (“Iwaijima-citizens against building the Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Plant ” and “the Anti-Nuclear Citizens of Kaminoseki”) along with the anti-nuclear shareholders of the Chugoku Electric Power Co. Inc. have been organizing sit-ins in front of the Chugoku Electric Power Co. Inc. headquarters building and writing up appeals to the shareholders every year.
●English leaflet from Iwaishima islanders
“No Nuclear Power Plant in Our Community! Iwaishima says no to nuclear power”
http://shimabito.net/200907english.pdf
●Kaminoseki: Nuclear Power Plant, Human Rights and Biodiversity
http://hotspotkaminoseki.soreccha.jp/
English Blog by ANKEI Yuji, Professor of area studies in Yamaguchi Prefectural University. Head of the Comittee for Conservation of Kaminoseki Biodiversity, Ecological Society of Japan. A member of the Amnesty International. Sc. D., Ecological Anthropologist.
●Recent blog post at Ten Thousand Things
“Amidst hopeful signs, activists continue impassioned efforts to stop nuclear power plant in gorgeous Seto Inland Sea”
http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com/2011/05/amidst-hopeful-signs-activists-continue.html
●Recent news article in Japan Times
May 15, 2011 “Utility and opponents lock horns over planned N-plant”
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110515x3.html
●Recent news article in LA Times
May 5, 2011 “Japan islanders oppose proposed nuclear plant, year after year“
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/05/world/la-fg-japan-nuclear-protest-20110504
●Recent article in Yale Environment 360
17 Mar, 2011 “Japan’s Once-Powerful Nuclear Industry is Under Siege”
http://e360.yale.edu/mobile/feature.msp?id=2383
●CNIC Newsletter
http://cnic.jp/english/newsletter/nit133/nit133articles/kaminoseki.html

■Recent Movies on Iwaishima
●”Houri no Shima (HOLY ISLAND)”
Director: HANABUSA Aya
2010/JAPAN/105 minutes
English page: http://www.hourinoshima.com/english/
Trailer: http://www.hourinoshima.com/予告編/
★HANABUSA Aya and KOIDE Hiroaki, Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, will hold a seminar on June 11 in Kobe.
http://civil-society-forum.com/?p=546
●”Ashes to Honey: Toward a Sustainable Future” (2010)
Director KAMANAKA Hitomi
Trailer: http://888earth.net/888tv.html
from same director
“Rokkasho Rhapsody” (2006)
Trailer: http://www.rokkasho-rhapsody.com/en/_preview/trailers
■Main Information in Japanese
●祝島島民の会blog (Blog of Iwaishima Islanders)
http://blog.shimabito.net/
★The list of movie clips of protest movements
http://shimabito.net/siryou%20200909100922.htm
●Nuclear reactors under construction / plan on Chugoku Electric Power website (Japanese only)
島根原子力発電所3号機（建設中　営業運転開始　平成24年3月予定）
http://www.energia.co.jp/atom/atom13-1.html
上関原子力発電所（準備工事中）
http://www.energia.co.jp/atom/kami_menu.html
●長島の自然を守る会 (Association to Protect the Nature of Nagashima)
http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~haguman/nagasima.htm
●カンムリウミスズメ国際シンポジウム (International Conference on Japanese Murrelets, April 10, 2011 at Hiroshima)
https://sites.google.com/site/nagashimanoshizen/

Japanese Utility Still Committed to New Nuclear Reactors

Download PDF(471KB)

[English translation]
28 March 2011
Radiological Impact of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster
Petition following negotiations with Japanese Ministry of Health,
Labour, and Welfare

Issued by: Participants of the March 28, 2011 meeting with the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare

[Summary]

1. The Ministry’s call for the “active voluntary evacuation” of residents living within a 20 km to 30 km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations is irresponsible. Immediately issue a directive to evacuate and enlarge the evacuation zone commensurate with radiation doses.
2. Calculate and publicize regularly the total cumulative radiation dose local residents receive collectively.
3. Repeal the upward revision of the maximum permissible radiation dose (250 milliSieverts) for emergency-response workers at the Fukushima plant.
4. Expand the scope of radiation monitoring and publicize the results.
5. Undertake immediately a comprehensive survey of the radiation exposure and current state of health of local residents and provide for their long-term health care.
6. Do not relax the provisional standards governing the maximum permissible levels of radionuclides in food.
7. Provide compensation for damages to farm and dairy producers and to people who are forced to relocate.
8. Generally, take all measures necessary to ensure that members of the public do not receive radiation doses greater than 1 milliSievert per annum.

---

Full text of petition (PDF)

For original Japanese petition see:
総理大臣と厚生労働大臣宛：3月28日厚生労働省との交渉を踏まえた要望書

Green Action (Japan) and Mihama-no-Kai

Urgent Statement Concerning Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident
23 March 2011

High Levels of Radiation Detected in Vegetables, Unprocessed Milk, Water, and Soil

Unnecessary Radiation Exposure Imposed Due to Japanese Government’s Lack of
Evacuation plan and “Declaration of Safety”

• Immediately evacuate infants and pre-school age children and pregnant women who are within the 20-30km radius (“stay indoors” zone) to locations farther from the
  Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
• Extend the evacuation zone radically to avoid further exposure
• Discontinue the “declaration of safety” that states, “there is no immediate harm to human health”. This message is not properly transmitting the dangers of internal exposure and late–onset radiation damage (cancer, leukemia, etc).

Due to the catastrophic accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, high levels of radioactive contamination have been detected in a variety of vegetables, unprocessed milk, water and soil. The contamination has spread outside of Fukushima to neighboring prefectures and has been detected on several leafy vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, komatsuna/Japanese mustard spinach, broccoli, as well as in unprocessed milk.

Radioactive iodine 131 was detected in tap water in Tokyo (approx. 200Bq/l), and the Tokyo government officially announced that people should “refrain from giving tap water to infants under 1 year of age”. Tap water in Iidate village, approx. 40km away from the nuclear plant, measured 965Bq/kg, three times higher than the limit considered safe (300Bq/kg).

In the same Iidate village, the soil has also been contaminated, showing high levels of radioactive cesium137 (163,000Bq/kg). The half-life of cesium is approximately 30 years, resulting in contaminated soil for an extended period of time. A measurement of 1,170,000Bq/kg of radioactive iodine 131 was also detected. This cesium level is equivalent to levels detected some 10 to 150km from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident.

Due to the high levels of radioactive contamination, the government has issued a “shipping restriction” and “consumption restriction”. However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano has repeatedly stated that consumption “in the short term, will not do any harm to human health.” And that the restriction is “just precautionary.” The government is trying to do one thing: downplay radioactive contamination and its influence on people’s health as much as possible. Those infants and pregnant women told to stay indoors within the 20-30km area have been left abandoned. Under these conditions, residents are forced to receive unnecessary radiation exposure due to the government’s “declaration of safety” and lack of an evacuation plan.

Newscasters have finally begun asking experts what the phrase “no immediate harm to health” means, but the experts have only replied that, “There is no immediate harm. However, people should avoid drinking contaminated water in the long term”, and have failed to explain the effects of late-onset radiation damage, such as cancer and leukemia.

• We demand the government extend the evacuation area immediately!
  In particular, evacuate infants and pregnant women within the 20-30km area to locations farther outside of the zone!
• The government should retract its statement that “there is no immediate harm to human health” which does not convey the dangers of internal exposure and the latent effects of radiation exposure (such as cancer and leukemia), and erroneously declares “safety”.

23 March 2011 [Issued at 21:30 Japan time]

Aileen Mioko Smith,
Executive Director
Green Action
Suite 103, 22-75 Tanaka Sekiden-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8203 Japan
Tel: +81-75-701-7223 Fax: +81-75-702-1952 email: amsmith@gol.com

Hideyuki Koyama,
Director
Osaka Citizens Against the Mihama, Oi, and Takahama Nuclear Power Plants (Mihama-no-Kai)
3F., Seiko Building, 4-3-3 Nishi-Temma, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan
Tel: +81-6-6367-6580 Fax: +81-6-6367-6581

February 24, 2011: 174 organizations worldwide sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Japan and key Cabinet officials warning that funding for the South Texas project from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation would be an extraordinary financial risk. Sign-on letter to Japanese Prime Minister and Cabinet.

NIRS press release:
http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/stexas/jbicpr22411.pdf

---

February 24, 2011

Mr Naoto Kan

Prime Minister of Japan

Honorable Prime Minister,

We are writing to urge you to prevent a loan guarantee from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the proposed atomic reactor project at the South Texas site in the U.S. state of Texas. Such a loan would entail extraordinary financial and social risk for the JBIC and the Japanese people.

All currently proposed reactor projects in the United States face a challenging economic environment caused by unfavorable market conditions; escalating projected construction costs; decreased electricity demand growth; low natural gas prices and increased competition from safe, clean renewable energy sources. With a deregulated, competitive power market and some of the lowest wholesale electricity prices in the country, Texas is a particularly risky U.S. state in which to invest in expensive new reactors.

The projected cost for the two South Texas reactors has increased from $5.6 billion in 2006 to as much as $18 billion today.¹ Last year, the City of San Antonio reduced its investment in the project by 85 percent because of the rising cost estimates. San Antonio’s municipal utility, CPS Energy, sued their partner NRG Energy (the loan guarantee applicant) for $32 billion, alleging fraud, illegal conduct, and conspiracy over cost estimates and citing NRG’s deals with outside partners. NRG has been desperately pursuing other municipal utilities to commit to purchase electricity from the proposed reactors by promising fixed priced energy and other incentives that would further undermine the economic viability of the project.

New nuclear reactors in Texas would produce energy at far higher costs than the market price of power in the state. An independent assessment conducted for Texas’ main grid operator ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) found that the cost of the South Texas reactors would exceed the revenue they would generate in the market by 33 to 52 percent.²

Texas has a host of lower-cost alternatives, especially wind and natural gas, that will continue to meet the need for electricity. Texas is the number one wind market in the United States with more than 8,000MW in service. Natural gas reserves are adequate for 100 years, thus assuring low-cost energy for a long time. A 2010 analysis done for ERCOT projects per kilowatt capital costs for solar power to already be cheaper than nuclear power in Texas―a cost advantage that is projected to grow wider under every possible scenario envisioned.³ Currently, the average wholesale cost for electricity in Texas is 3.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, while electricity from new reactors with capital costs in South Texas’ range is estimated to cost between 12 cents to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour. Moreover, the large projected increases in electricity demand made just a few years ago – which served as the basis for many new reactor proposals – are now highly unlikely to be reached for another decade or more. This is partly due to the U.S. recession, of course, but also due to increasing energy efficiency throughout the U.S. economy.

Due to Japanese corporate involvement in the proposed South Texas reactor project, it might appear that it would make a good investment. The reality, however, is that the projects involving Japanese companies will suffer the same delays, design problems, financial difficulties and determined public opposition as other proposed nuclear projects.

Moreover, the history of U.S. nuclear reactor construction does not provide room for optimism. According to a 1986 study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average cost overrun of the first 75 U.S. nuclear reactor projects was 207 percent – or more than triple the original estimated cost.⁴ The cost overruns of the last 50 reactors built in the U.S. were even higher, reaching as much as 800% over-budget. Such extraordinary cost overruns led to multi-billion-dollar bond defaults, utility bankruptcy, and significant financial losses by utilities. Nothing in the U.S. experience suggests that new reactor projects will be any more successful at containing costs than past projects.

Just as we have warned American taxpayers and elected officials about these very serious financial risks, we also urge you to very carefully consider these risks before deciding to invest in new reactors in the United States. We respectfully suggest that Japanese taxpayers would not want to lose money on a U.S. reactor project. Nor would U.S. taxpayers want to bail out JBIC when the predictable losses occur. Such outcomes would obviously be uncomfortable on both sides of the Pacific.

cc:

Mr Banri Kaieda
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

Mr Yoshihiko Noda
Minister of Finance

Mr Koichiro Gemba
Minister for National Policy

For a list of signatories, please see PDF:
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/internal/110224_japanstexasletter.pdf

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References

1. Nuclear Expansion could cost $18.2 billon, San Antonio Express-News, December 23, 2009

2. Potomac Economics, LTD., Independent Market Monitor for the ERCOT Wholesale Market, 2009 State of the Market Report for the ERCOT Wholesale Electricity Markets, July 2010,
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/wmo/documents/annual_reports/2009annualreport.pdf.

3. ERCOT Scenario Development Working Group, Scenario Assumptions Spreadsheet, , September 2010.
http://www.ercot.com/calendar/2010/09/20100910-SDWG

4. An Analysis of Nuclear Power Plant Construction Costs, January 1, 1986, Energy Information Administration, Technical Report DOE/EIA-0485