Japan Press Weekly

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2013 February 20 - 26 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Nuclear accident victims demand free medical checks for radiation exposure

Victims of the Fukushima nuclear accident on February 20 requested the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to give all victims free medical examinations for possible exposure to radiation.

This action was taken part in by 180 people from 10 organizations, including pollution victims groups, lawyers groups, and Fukushima residents’ groups.

They also demanded that the government and the crippled plant operator pay full reparation for damages caused by the nuclear accident, complete radiation decontamination work, provide medical treatment to victims, and help them restore their lives.

A woman who evacuated with her child from Ibaraki to Okinawa said that radioactive cesium was found in the child’s urine. “It shouldn’t be difficult to give urine tests to all the victims,” she stressed.

Referring to a recent poll showing that 75.4% of Fukushima citizens want all 10 nuclear reactors in the prefecture decommissioned, a representative of residents’ group in Fukushima’s Iwaki City urged government and TEPCO officials to permanently shut down those reactors.

Japanese Communist Party Lower House members Kasai Akira and Takahashi Chizuko participated in the action.