Blogs | Link TV

Fukushima Rebuilding Effort Stalls Despite Promises

Regions:

Comments (0)

JULY 20, 2012, 12:00 PM

(LinkAsia: July 20, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
In Fukushima, the Noda administration is making all sorts of promises to revitalize the area after last year's nuclear accident. But as NHK report shows, progress is hard to see.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: July 13, 2012

Mayuko Ambe, Reporter, NHK World:
Fukushima is a shadow of its once vibrant self. Towns and villages surrounding the nuclear plant appear deserted. The ghostly figures of decontamination crews dot the landscape. Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to live in temporary housing.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says fixing the problems in Fukushima is his number one national policy. His cabinet approved a plan to revitalize the prefecture. It says his government will continue to be active in decontamination work. The plan sets a goal of reducing residents’ exposure levels to 1 millisievert per year or lower in the long term. That’s in line with international standards. The plan addresses the mounds of toxic top soil that are piling up because of the clean-up effort. It says government officials will consider temporarily storing the contaminated dirt on state-owned property.

The impact of radioactive material on public health is one of the major concerns in Fukushima. Noda is promising to subsidize thyroid tests for children to check for signs of symptoms of exposure.

The plan doesn’t mention raising subsidies for businesses operating in the prefecture even though Fukushima authorities strongly requested the addition. However, it does reflect the prefecture’s goal of creating communities that don’t depend on nuclear power. The prime minister wants to promote the introduction of renewable resources. His goal is for green energy projects to create jobs.

The problems in Fukushima seem to pile up with each passing month. 160,000 people still can’t go home. A significant number of residents don’t have work. Some people in the prefecture say the new plan lacks concrete details. They want the government to work harder and work faster, so they can restart the lives they were leading before the disaster changed everything.

--

Yul Kwon:
Japan’s environment ministry estimates that the total cost of cleaning up the soil could exceed 14 billion dollars.

Topics:

Japan Speaks: A Look at How Japan Marked March 11

Regions:

Comments (0)

MARCH 19, 2012, 12:00 PM

Topics:

Swept Away on March 11: A Father Seeks Closure

311,

Regions:

Comments (0)

MARCH 12, 2012, 12:00 PM

(LinkAsia: March 9, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
Last March, a terrible earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale hit Japan, triggering a massive tsunami and leading to a disaster at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant. More than 15,000 people died, and about 3,300 other people are still missing. As part of our series on the fallout from the Fukushima disaster, we bring you this story from Miyagi prefecture, where more than 300 people are still unaccounted for. NHK follows the story of one man who struggled with a difficult decision after the disappearance of his son.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: March 5, 2012

Reporter:
On a cold day in February, Shun Makino shows us where he once lived.

Shun Makino, Noritaka's Father:
There was a bathroom here. And my son's house was over there.

Reporter:
A house that sheltered generations of his family. Now, just a foundation. But, Makino lost much more on that day. His son, Noritaka, who was a town official in Minamisanriku. The March 11th tsunami swept Minamisanriku. Noritaka was a man with the officials at the local government disaster control center, helping with rescue operations. The water started to flood the three-story building. The officials ran to the roof, but the tsunami swallowed the structure whole. It swept away Noritaka and about 30 others.

Masami Chiba, Neighbor:
Noritaka was honest, sincere and modest.

Reporter:
He could be called courageous as well. Noritaka wasn't even supposed to be at the disaster center. He'd been in the hills around Minamisanriku conducting a forest survey when the quake hit. He descended immediately and went straight to the disaster control center. He wanted to help any way he could.

Shun Makino:
He probably felt responsible as a town official. But I believe he shouldn't have run toward the tsunami.

Reporter:
Makino, along with other families, searched daily for any information on the whereabouts of the missing after March 11th.

Shun Makino:
I read the inquiries of about 5,000 people. Soon I was overwhelmed. I felt helpless and finally gave up.

Reporter:
He gave up, but he still hoped that authorities would find his son's body. However, days and months passed without any news. So in February, Makino made the difficult decision to hold a funeral. He wanted to honor his son ahead of the first anniversary of his disappearance. Noritaka's wife put songs and letters written to him by his children into an urn in place of his ashes.

Shun Makino:
How depressing, to honor my son, I have to hold a funeral without his ashes. But if I don't, I feel my son cannot rest in peace.

Reporter:
And so, reluctantly, Makino said goodbye to his son, but he's still waiting for closure.

Shun Makino:
I am hoping DNA tests identify my son soon. I'm expecting that will happen. I cannot bear to think my son's body is lying somewhere unattended.

Reporter:
Makino, like many others in the northeast, will continue to do what they've done for months now. Wait. And perhaps reflect on all that they lost one year ago. Daisuke Azuma, NHK World, Minamisanriku.

Topics:

Dispatch from Japan: Rebuilding the Northeast

Regions:

Comments (0)

Economic Development / Poverty,

MARCH 8, 2012, 12:00 PM

Topics:

Globalization,

Japanese Government Takes Heat in Fukushima Report

Regions:

Comments (0)

MARCH 6, 2012, 12:00 PM

(LinkAsia: March 2, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
An independent report slams the Japanese government's handling of the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster. It also concludes that the reactor's owner, Tokyo Electric Power, as well as the agency that's supposed to regulate it, failed in their responsibilities both before and after the accident. Here's NHK with the story.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: February 29, 2012

Reporter:
They spent months studying the response to the Fukushima accident, which happened after last year's March 11th earthquake and tsunami. They tried to interview authorities at Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the plant, but TEPCO turned down their request.

Koichi Kitazawa, Committee Chairman:
The direct causes of the nuclear accident were the unpreparedness of Tokyo Electric Power for a serious accident and the government's lack of a sense of responsibility.

Reporter:
The report blames the government's response on its failure to anticipate the combined impact of a quake and tsunami. That rendered its crisis management manual useless. The report says the problem was compounded by politicians' lack of basic legal knowledge. The document also points to delays in providing the prime minister's office with accurate information, as well as insufficient support by advisors. It urges immediate debate on improving the situation. The report condemns the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency for failing to give professionals proper safety training. It says the agency could not draw up plans to put the Fukushima plant under control because of a lack of skill and personnel. The report blames TEPCO for initially making things worse at the facility, not better. TEPCO workers did not immediately switch to an alternative cooling system after realizing the emergency condenser was not working. Then, they took too long to start the venting procedure to avert a major crisis. The committee chairman says the investigation has revealed what was going on inside the prime minister's office and elsewhere at the time of the accident. The chairman also says Japan's organizations are ill-prepared to deal with a crisis, a problem that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

Yul Kwon:
The report also details some other failures. For example, bureaucrats never told politicians about a monitoring system that had been set up to predict the spread of radiation after the accident.

Topics:

Fukushima-Daiichi,

TEPCO,

Tokyo Electric Power,

Backstory: Japan, Since March 11

Regions:

Comments (0)

By Elizabeth Cabrera

MARCH 2, 2012, 12:00 PM

Topics:

Economic Development / Poverty,

Globalization,

Japan's Fishing Industry Still Struggling to Recover

Regions:

Comments (0)

FEBRUARY 16, 2012, 12:00 PM

(LinkAsia: February 10, 2012)
Yul Kwon:
It's not just the nuclear industry that's having trouble restarting. Japan's fisheries still can't shake off the effects of last spring's earthquake and tsunami. First, the disaster damaged seafood processing plants. Now, NHK says the industry is facing another hurdle that's preventing it from restarting operations.

--

NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: February 6, 2012

Reporter:
The disaster last spring left its mark on Ishinomaki. It took the lives of nearly 3,300 residents and left the city in ruins. Factories that process seafood were so badly damaged, they couldn't operate. Now the industry is trying to get back on its feet, but it's proving difficult. Takashi Yokoyama owns a seafood processing company. He's building a new plant where the old one stood. He expects to get production rolling again in August. He offered jobs to his former employees, but many turned him down. A lot of them had found other jobs.

Takashi Yokoyama, Suishin:
Some now live with relatives in Tokyo. Others have moved to Sendai, the nearest big city. They found new jobs. At least my former employees are not coming back to work for me.

Reporter:
He's found it impossible to hire new employees to replace the former ones. He's not alone. Many other seafood companies in the devastated region face the same problem. This company started processing seafood again last October, at a factory that had not suffered major damage. But the firm was only able to re-hire seven former employees, half the number working there before the disaster. Noriyuki Hobara owns the company. He asked the local employment agency for seven workers. He waited by the phone. But after four months, no one had applied.

Noriyuki Hobara, Hobara Company:
I thought I would get at least a few calls. But there hasn't been a single one. I simply cannot start a business without workers.

Reporter:
Hobara says people have found higher paying jobs in the building industry, booming now that re-construction has started. Many people need the higher paying jobs to make up for lost wages.

Noriyuki Hobara:
I hear that construction jobs are paying about $130 a day. The truth is that jobs in the seafood industry pay less. We pay about USD$80 a day.

Reporter:
Hobara again asks the employment agency for workers. This time, he offered higher wages, even though his business might lose money.

Noriyuki Hobara:
I decided to raise the wage from USD$80 a day to USD$130.

Reporter:
That's equal to the salary plant managers receive.

Noriyuki Hobara:
I would appreciate it if you could find me one or two people. Obviously, you can't do anything at all without workers. All I want is to hire people and get the business running again.

Reporter:
First, it was the earthquake and tsunami that stopped the plants' operations. Now, it's the rebuilding. Unless the seafood companies find employees, it will take longer for this devastated city to recover.

Topics:

Economic Development / Poverty,

Mayor of Village Near Fukushima Calls for Residents to Return

Regions:

Comments (0)

FEBRUARY 7, 2012, 12:00 PM

(LinkAsia: February 3, 2012)

Yul Kwon:

Now to Japan, where last spring's earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster. Seventy-eight thousand people fled the area surrounding the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. And this week, the mayor of one village called on residents to return home. But are they safe from radiation? Here's NHK with the story.

NHK World NEWSLINE

Airdate: January 31, 2012

Reporter:

Kawauchi village is located about 20 kilometers southwest of the plant. It was evacuated last year following the March 11th earthquake and nuclear disaster. All 3,000 residents were forced to leave. The evacuation advisory was lifted in September, but only about 200 people have returned.

Yuko Endo, Kawauchi Mayor:

I am making this declaration to ask and encourage residents to return home. I am determined to overcome hardships. Let's create a safe village together.

Reporter:

Endo announced on Tuesday he will return to Village Hall in March. He says elementary and junior high schools will re-open in April. The nuclear accident forced a complete evacuation of nine municipalities in Fukushima. Kawauchi will be the first to have residents return home, but many are worried. They say decontamination work is behind schedule.

Resident:

My child wants to go home, but I'm worried about radioactivity. I have mixed feelings.

Reporter:

Another concern is jobs. There were 95 businesses in the village, but only 35 have re-opened since the quake.

Yuko Endo, Kawauchi Mayor:

The declaration is only the beginning. I'm not expecting results soon. I hope villagers come home after all radioactive substances have been removed, maybe in two or three years.

Topics: