Japan Press Weekly

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2017 July 19 - 25 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

NPP workers and local residents together enjoy gathering held in Fukushima’s Naraha town

On July 23, workers engaged in the ongoing decommission and decontamination work and local residents who returned home after the forced evacuation order was lifted held a social gathering in Fukushima’s Naraha Town which was severely affected by the 2011 nuclear meltdowns at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Iwabuchi Tomo took part in the event and had friendly conversations with participants.

On behalf of the organizing committee, Yabuki Michinori, who heads a local organization of the Japan Health and Welfare Co-operative Federation delivered an opening speech.

Yabuki stressed that nearly six years and four months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, but Fukushima, where the death of 2,154 people were counted as related to the earthquake and the nuclear accident, is still on the road to recovery. Yabuki went on to say that it will take a long time to reconstruct Fukushima because of the NPP decommissioning project which entails a high risk of workers being exposed to radiation. He added that the committee organized the event as a first step to strengthen solidarity and friendship with NPP workers engaged in the hazardous work.

At the event venue, lawyers including Hirota Tsuguo, who works for the plaintiffs in lawsuits filed by Iwate citizens against TEPCO, provided free consultation on labor, legal, and livelihood problems to participants.

The participants enjoyed watching a Japanese classical dance and Japanese drum performance by local groups, thanking them with cheering and the clapping of hands. Curry and rice made of potatoes, onions and rice harvested in Naraha Town were served to the participants.