May 10, 2011
Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo in Fukushima on May 9 called on the government to provide a clearer outlook in regard to the settlement of the ongoing nuclear crisis and for the possible return of evacuees to their hometowns.
On that day Shii visited the prefectural government and three municipalities in Fukushima and ended his four-day tour of northern Japan devastated by the March 11 disaster and the following nuclear accident.
At a press conference in the Fukushima prefectural office, Shii stated, “Residents we talked with said that they don’t think they can return home over the next 30 years. Many of them said they have no hope for their future. The state needs to give them a tentative timetable on when the nuclear crisis will be settled and when they can go back to their homes.”
Shii also raised the need to accurately measure the extent of radiation contamination and release the findings.
The government designated part of Fukushima’s Kawamata Town as an “emergency evacuation preparation zone”. However, the town’s own radiation monitoring revealed that the radiation level in the designated area was lower than other parts of the town. Shii called for a more accurate radiation monitoring to be conducted by the central government.
Shii also proposed that as long as residents’ safety is guaranteed, their entry into emergency evacuation preparation areas needs to be considered flexibly in order to help them improve their desperate living conditions.
The JCP chair urged the government to have Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) fully compensate victims for damages caused by the nuclear accident, stating that this was something that was strongly demanded by municipal heads and residents he talked to. TEPCO must immediately provide compensation to evacuees whose homes are just outside the 30-km zone around the Fukushima nuclear power station as well as to local business owners, he stressed.
Lastly, Shii pointed out the need to provide long term healthcare services to residents even after the Declaration of a Nuclear Emergency Situation is lifted. He said, “The government must be responsible for checking on the health conditions of all Fukushima people on regular basis and providing them with necessary medical care.”
On that day Shii visited the prefectural government and three municipalities in Fukushima and ended his four-day tour of northern Japan devastated by the March 11 disaster and the following nuclear accident.
At a press conference in the Fukushima prefectural office, Shii stated, “Residents we talked with said that they don’t think they can return home over the next 30 years. Many of them said they have no hope for their future. The state needs to give them a tentative timetable on when the nuclear crisis will be settled and when they can go back to their homes.”
Shii also raised the need to accurately measure the extent of radiation contamination and release the findings.
The government designated part of Fukushima’s Kawamata Town as an “emergency evacuation preparation zone”. However, the town’s own radiation monitoring revealed that the radiation level in the designated area was lower than other parts of the town. Shii called for a more accurate radiation monitoring to be conducted by the central government.
Shii also proposed that as long as residents’ safety is guaranteed, their entry into emergency evacuation preparation areas needs to be considered flexibly in order to help them improve their desperate living conditions.
The JCP chair urged the government to have Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) fully compensate victims for damages caused by the nuclear accident, stating that this was something that was strongly demanded by municipal heads and residents he talked to. TEPCO must immediately provide compensation to evacuees whose homes are just outside the 30-km zone around the Fukushima nuclear power station as well as to local business owners, he stressed.
Lastly, Shii pointed out the need to provide long term healthcare services to residents even after the Declaration of a Nuclear Emergency Situation is lifted. He said, “The government must be responsible for checking on the health conditions of all Fukushima people on regular basis and providing them with necessary medical care.”
