Japan Press Weekly

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2016 March 9 - 15 [JCP]

Shii releases statement on 5th anniversary of Fukushima nuclear disaster

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on March 10 published a statement on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Shii in the statement pointed out that about 100,000 Fukushima victims are still taking refuge in shelters inside and outside Fukushima Prefecture and that at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the amount of radioactively-contaminated water is growing at a pace of 550 tons a day. In addition, nobody knows the exact conditions of the melted reactors. “The current situation at the plant is far from the claim that the situation is under control,” said Shii.

The JCP chair criticized the government led by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo for attempting to abandon Fukushima victims by acting as if “normality” were restored while pushing forward with the reactivation of offline nuclear power plants.

Shii said that this attempt was found in the Abe government’s policy to lift the evacuation order in defiance of the actual status of the victims and approve the Fukushima NPP operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company’s plan to terminate compensation for damages.

Shii pointed out that after the government in the guideline for nuclear accident recovery, which was revised in June 2015, allowed TEPCO to discontinue paying compensation to the Fukushima sufferers, the power company outrageously notified some of the victims of its intent to end compensation payments and slashed the amount of payments to others. Furthermore, the JCP chair said, TEPCO in many damage claims has refused to accept the settlement proposed by the Alternative Dispute Resolution.

The chair went on to say that the government and the utility should continue providing financial support to all the sufferers, regardless of whether they wish to go back to their hometowns, until they can assure them success in rebuilding their lives and livelihoods.

Shii stressed that the Abe administration’s stance to cling to nuclear power generation has severely conflicted with the demand of the general public as shown in the fact that the majority of the respondents in various opinion polls said “No” to the restarting of nuclear power plants, that the people have become aware of the hazards of an extraordinary nature associated with nuclear power generation, and that the people have got used to a “zero” nuclear life.

Citing that continual dependence on nuclear energy would lead to the regular use of aged reactors and a constant increase in nuclear waste, Shii said that PM Abe’s insistence on nuclear energy has reached an impasse.

Shii in conclusion expressed his party’s determination to work together with the general public to stop PM Abe from rushing toward the reactivation and export of nuclear power plants and create a Japan without nuclear power.

Past related articles:
> Evacuation order for radiation-hit Naraha Town lifted, but evacuees hesitant to return home [September 6, 2015]
> JCP efforts pressure TEPCO to continue compensating affected businesses for Fukushima nuclear damage [February 26 & March 4, 2015]