福島

Messages from women in Fukushima on the 15th anniversary of Fukushima

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As we do every year, we are publishing messages from Ms. Ruiko Muto and Ms. Akiko Morimatsu on the anniversary of Fukushima, which we have translated into English(English translation by Nos Voisins Lointains 3.11). These messages are also available in Japanese (original), in German and in French.

A major nuclear accident fading from memory

Ruiko MUTO Resident of Fukushima Representative of the group of plaintiffs in the criminal trial against three ex-executives of TEPCO

Don’t dump radioactive water in the sea! (Ruiko on the left)

Fifteen years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the narrative of “Reconstruction” attempts to obscure the multitude of problems caused by the accident. It is assumed that these actual problems
did not occur.


On March 5, 2025, the Supreme Court definitively acquitted the former TEPCO executives, rejecting the appeal of the criminal proceedings. No one will therefore bear criminal responsibility for the disaster that released enormous quantities of radioactive material into the environment, rendering land uninhabitable and preventing many evacuees from returning to their homes. This follows the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision, which set a legal precedent for all civil lawsuits, exonerating the State of all responsibility. Similarly, the appeal ruling in the lawsuit brought by TEPCO shareholders overturned the first-instance verdict ordering former executives to pay almost 83 billion USD. Since 2022, all rulings have therefore been unfavorable to the victims.


Meanwhile, along the coast, the acceleration of reconstruction is embodied by the “Fukushima Innovation Coast Plan.” Since 2015, a significant annual budget has been injected by the State into projects to develop cutting-edge technology companies. A research complex called “F-REI” is being built in the municipality of Namie, with a budget of around 637 million USD for the first seven years from 2023. F-REI plans to invite 50 teams of international researchers, and school facilities are being set up to host their families. However, some of the companies created on the site are already in financial difficulty. These projects, which could be described as “disaster capitalism,” are disconnected
from the real needs of the victims and do not seem to be providing any help to the disaster-stricken areas. Is this not disrespect for local democracy and the people of Fukushima?

At the same time, the authorities have decided, in the name of dismantling the crippled nuclear power plant and the reconstruction of the region, to discharge radioactive water stocked on the site into the
sea, and to reuse contaminated soil**. In other words, to re-disperse radioactive materials in sea and on land. The various ministries and the Fukushima Prefecture are deploying national propaganda to try to reassure the population, the younger generations in particular.

Major media outlets and communication agencies are fully engaged in creating and spreading this propaganda. By suppressing the victims’ concerns and questions, the authorities are violating the people’s rights,
especially concerning their health. After the accident, many of us developed various illnesses, including mental health issues, and some have died. But the only disease that is recorded is pediatric thyroid cancer, which is detected through the periodic health checks offered by the Prefecture, but only to those who were 18 years old or younger at the time of the accident. Even so, the authorities keep denying any health link to the nuclear accident.


In 2025, the government revised its basic energy plan, and nuclear power once again became a major source of electricity generation. A schedule for restarting the shut-down power plants was thus put in
place. The Onagawa plant in the neighboring Miyagi Prefecture had already restarted in 2024, and in another prefecture, Niigata, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant restarted in January 2026 but was
immediately shut down due to a technical problem. However, the operator TEPCO wants to restart it at all costs. Our region is therefore once again at risk of radiation exposure if / when a nuclear accident
occurs at these neighboring plants.


However, citizens are not giving up on protesting. In 2024, an investigative journalist revealed the close ties between large law firms, certain Supreme Court judges, and electric power companies (such as TEPCO) and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority. In fact, some judges came from large law firms that counted TEPCO among their clients. Since then, numerous groups of plaintiffs and lawyers have organized “human chains around the Supreme Court” to demand judicial independence. Others are suing the State and TEPCO to stop the discharge of radioactive water into the ocean. Citizens’ meetings are being held to demand the safe decommissioning of the damaged plant. Last but not least, citizens of the municipality of Miharu have published a manual on the distribution of stable iodine in the event of another nuclear accident. Faced with the steamroller of the government and pro-nuclear forces and despite their overwhelming financial resources and power, we are resisting and continuing to move forward, step by step, toward a world free of nuclear power.

  • The Fukushima Institute for Research, Education and Innovation
    ** Three-quarters of the approximately 14 million cubic meters of soil resulting from decontamination work with levels below 8000 Bq/kg, will be reused as fill material topped by uncontaminated soil.
    *** Miharu is one of only three municipalities that took the initiative to distribute iodine tablets to residents without
    waiting for Fukushima Prefecture’s orders. The tablets saturate the thyroid with stable iodine so that it won’t
    absorb radioactive iodine when it arrives from the accident.

Living free from exposure to radiation: a fundamental human right

Akiko MORIMATSU

Akiko, plaintiffs and supporters at the Osaka District Court

©Takezo Takahashi

In order to avoid exposure to radiation caused by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident which occurred in 2011, I still continue living in Osaka today, as an “internally displaced person*” with my two minor children. Immediately after the accident, we, as ordinary citizens, were not informed about radioactive contamination and thus suffered otherwise avoidable radiation exposure. We had no choice but to live on contaminated soil, breathe contaminated air, and drink contaminated water. I was breastfeeding my five-month-old daughter at the time, and it was only later that I realized I had exposed my children to radiation.

The authorities, who had assured the public that there would never be an accident, relaxed radiation exposure standards after the disaster to suit their own interests. Applying their economic logic, they imposed arbitrary boundaries to decide who would be recognized as a victim, thereby dividing the victims among themselves. However, fifteen years after the accident, many victims continue to suffer from its consequences, regardless of their victim status as determined by administrative zoning. The reason is simple: radioactive contamination remains. And because I do not want my children to be exposed to even one additional micro-sievert of unnecessary radiation, I continue to live as an internally displaced person without compensation.

We believe these fundamental rights of existence being violated: “not to be exposed to radiation” and “to enjoy good health.” Yet the Japanese justice system has endorsed the “safety standards” that the State unilaterally relaxed after the nuclear accident. And since the Supreme Court ruling in 2022, it has become extremely difficult for displaced people to obtain compensation in the civil lawsuits they file. This means that our human right to “avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation” is not respected in the Japanese judicial system.

The nuclear issue is above all a question of fundamental human rights. 

Eighty years after the end of World War II, and following the awarding of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyō*, and the statements made by hibakusha that have drawn international attention to the issue of radiation exposure, I believe that Japan, drawing on the experiences of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Fukushima, must now take a leading role in working to establish a universal fundamental right for all people to be protected from radiation exposure.

Around the world, many people are speaking out against the damage caused by nuclear use – victims of nuclear testing, people exposed to radiation due to uranium mining, and those affected by environmental pollution caused by nuclear waste and contaminated water discharge into the ocean. All of these situations are, in a broad sense, examples of the spread of nuclear damage. Having lived through the Fukushima experience, we know that, whether for military or civil use, no one is safe from becoming a nuclear victim.

By establishing the right to live free from exposure to radiation as a universal human right, it becomes possible to diminish, as much as possible, nuclear damage on a global scale.

This is the future we must strive for. That is why we believe it is necessary to build bonds of solidarity with all victims of nuclear use around the world, so that we can work together to establish this universal right. 

* According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, internally displaced people have been forced to flee their homes by conflict, violence, persecution or disasters, however, unlike refugees, they remain within their own country.

** Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, founded in August 1956.

Akiko Morimatsu is living as an internally displaced person since the accident, representing the group of plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit in Osaka. In 2018, she gave a speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva about the lives of internally displaced persons from Fukushima. She is a representative of the plaintiffs’ group of the lawsuits filed by victims of the Fukushima accident in the Osaka metropolitan area.

English translation : Nos Voisins Lointains 3.11

HIROSHIMA-NAGASAKI

World Nuclear Victims Forum Hiroshima Declaration on the Rights of World Nuclear Victims 2025

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The World Nuclear Victims Forum took place on the 5th and the 6th of October 2025 in Hiroshima.

https://mp-nuclear-free.com/Nuclear/2025_WNVF_01.html

The co-initiators of the Forum:

Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (HANWA)
Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World

And the following organizations have also promoted together:

日本原水爆被害者団体協議会 (Nihon Hidankyo)
原水爆禁止日本国民会議 (GENSUIKIN)
原水爆禁止日本協議会 (Gensuikyo)

In 2025, Hiroshima and Nagasaki mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings by the United States. The nuclear age began when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and human beings gained the power to wipe humanity from the earth. The atomic bombings instantly slaughtered countless innocent people, bringing unprecedented inhuman misery to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those who survived the horrors of this hell are still suffering from the effects of radiation. Reparation for victims of indiscriminate genocide as a result of state-provoked wars is yet to be fulfilled.

For more than 80 years, the nuclear industry and countries that have promoted the use of the nuclear cycle have trivialized or concealed the health effects of radiation and have created nuclear victims all over the world, regardless of whether it is used for military purposes or “peaceful” uses. Much of the nuclear impacts have been inflicted on Indigenous and colonized peoples. Even after the devastating nuclear disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima, these countries and the nuclear industry are trying to further expand their negative impact by parading nuclear energy as a climate solution.

We would like to create a place of international solidarity in Hiroshima for nuclear victims and their allies, aiming for the elimination of the nuclear cycle and a world in which no more hibakusha (nuclear victims) are created.Let’s deliver our messages from Hiroshima to the world!
Nuclear and humanity cannot coexist!
Establishment of human rights and support for nuclear victims!
Let’s gather in Hiroshima with nuclear victims around the world and forge bonds of solidarity!

Sayonara Nukes Berlin agrees to the Declaration and has decided to publish this declaration also in a German translation. The English version is made by the Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World.

Declaration on the Rights of World Nuclear Victims 2025

  1. Purpose of the Declaration

1) The Declaration of the Rights of World Nuclear Victims 2025 is a human rights declaration that aims to establish the rights and reparations of nuclear victims.

2) The Declaration demands accountability for nuclear actors, establishing rights and reparations for nuclear victims, and provides guidelines for the movement for the elimination of nuclear harm.
3) To establish rights and reparations for nuclear victims, the Declaration provides concrete policy proposals across multiple aspects and will advocate them to engage with the international community, governments, and parliaments.
4) The Declaration is prepared and confirmed in collaboration with nuclear victims and their allies to reflect the voices of nuclear victims in diverse nuclear-affected communities which are impacted by nuclear weapons, nuclear power plants, uranium activities, radioactive waste, and the entire nuclear fuel chain and related oppression.

  1. Definition of Nuclear Victims
    Nuclear victims are:
    All victims of radiation exposure and radioactive contamination, including victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; victims of nuclear testing; victims of human experiments using nuclear materials; not distinguishing between victims of military and civilian nuclear use, those impacted by uranium mining, milling and enrichment activities and those impacted by radioactive contamination from nuclear labor and environmental contamination of nuclear weapons-related activities and entire processes of nuclear energy and nuclear fuel such as nuclear development, use and waste; victims of nuclear power plant disasters; and victims of depleted uranium weapons that are produced from radioactive waste.
  2. Basic Rights
    Until we end the nuclear age, any person anywhere could at any time become a nuclear victim (hibakusha), and we confirm that “nuclear and humanity cannot coexist.”

Every person has the right to demand the following rights to prevent ongoing and future nuclear harm:

1 Not to be exposed to ionizing radiation other than that which occurs in nature or is for medical purposes under informed agreement.

2 Prohibition of coerced labor involving potential exposure to ionizing radiation, and when labor involving such potential exposure cannot be avoided, such exposure be minimized.

3 Minimization of medical exposure to ionizing radiation.

4 Accurate information, instead of that which is intentionally falsified, regarding the dangers of ionizing radiation exposure through school and community education be provided. This information includes the following: the fact that no level of radiation exposure is without health
risk and that children and fetuses are especially sensitive to radiation exposure relative to adults.
Furthermore, in terms of reproductive health, special consideration should be given to the effects of radiation exposure on maternal people who currently or in the future play an important role in pregnancy, childbirth, and neonatal care. Therefore, the standards currently adopted by the nuclear industry for the health effects of radiation exposure on the human body, based solely on the “adult male model,” are decisively inaccurate in that they do not consider the health effects
on children and women.

5 Not only in the event of an accident, but also in normal times, the environmental risk assessment of nuclear facilities must be transparently disclosed along with information on radiation protection measures and treatment methods.

6 To participate in the decision-making processes of relevant policies:

The participation of stakeholders and rights holders in the decision-making processes should be accessible, inclusive, non-discriminatory and transparent in the event of implementing relevant national plans and policies.

Informed consent (informed agreement with stakeholders and rights holders) must provide stakeholders with the knowledge and tools necessary to understand the nature and extent of the risks involved in relevant national and local policies, as well as opportunities for notification and public comment.

Agreements on policy decisions require monitoring and advocacy to ensure policy and the practice of nuclear justice, and that such consent should not be coerced.

Nuclear justice includes the disclosure of information on nuclear harm,
recognition as a nuclear victim, apology by the nuclear actors, pursuit of
accountability for the perpetrator, victim assistance and reparation for nuclear victims, environmental restoration of contaminated areas, prevention of recurrence, and nuclear abolition.

7 Recognize the legitimacy of the lived experiences and testimonies of nuclear-impacted individuals and affected communities and incorporate their findings into the public literature in addition to radiation and victim assistance policies.

8 Formulate relevant policies based on the precautionary principle and a humanitarian perspective.

9 Object to nuclear use, not distinguishing between military and civilian use. Object to the creation of additional high-level radioactive waste. Object to the construction, operation or restarting of nuclear facilities.

10 Prevent further nuclear harm to future generations.

  1. To ensure the health and livelihood of nuclear victims
    a. The right to medical care
    Regardless of whether the victims currently have health issues or not, if there are the fact of exposure (regardless of the dose of radiation exposure) and the possibility of health risks from radiation exposure, victims have the right to protect their health and receive medical care as a nuclear victim.

This is a standard based on p. 151 of the ruling by the Hiroshima High Court on July 14, 2021 of the Black Rain Lawsuit as an interpretation of Article 1, Item 3 of the Hibakusha Assistance Law (that recognized black rain victims as atomic bomb survivors), that decided that “it is sufficient to prove that the exposure was under a specific form of exposure and that the mode of exposure could not be ruled out that atomic bomb radiation caused health hazards.”

Ensure that victims are fully informed and free to give consent before receiving medical care.

If the research study is conducted during treatment, the code of ethics and research standards must be respected to protect those who are under such study.

b. Right to victim assistance
c. Right to life and health
d. Ensure the right to participate in the relevant policy decision-making processes.
e. The right to access to effective judicial processes or other appropriate assistance at both the national and international levels in the event of violations of the rights of nuclear victims.

  1. Rights of Indigenous Peoples
    a. To support the fight to eliminate discrimination, oppression, and colonialism against Indigenous Peoples, and based on the perspective that respect for the right to life and the right to self-determination are inalienable, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples presents the minimum standard in formulating the rights of nuclear-
    impacted Indigenous Peoples.
  2. Rights of nuclear workers
    a. Right to receive workers’ compensation, radiation protection and health management, and information on risks associated with radiation exposure.
    This includes the right to receive workers’ compensation for damage that has already occurred, management of daily radiation exposure and radiation protection measures and health management to minimize the exposure dose, education and training on radiation protection, and radiation exposure risk.

b. Right to radiation dose measurements and monitoring while employed and receive routine health checkups.
Be mindful of special circumstances where nuclear workers are regularly
employed while their radiation doses are measured and controlled. Nuclear workers should be provided with relevant information about the daily radiation doses and knowledge of the consequences and health effects of radiation exposure. In order to investigate the effects on health, workers have access to routine health checkups.

c. Right to receive radiation dose management and long-term health management.
Be mindful of the necessity of health management associated with
decommissioning, nuclear waste management, and other disposal-related activities such as “decontamination” and transportation, and that impacts on workers from exposure can be long-term. Nuclear workers have the right to health management, and access to medical care should last for a lifetime, even after leaving their jobs. They have the right to possess a certificate issued by a public authority certifying such rights.

d. Right to receive information on risks associated with tasks involving hazardous radiation exposure and the right to refuse certain nuclear tasks.
Nuclear workers have the right to be given sufficient information and knowledge in advance about the risks of work involving hazardous radiation exposure. Risks such as mortality and disability rates must be disclosed in advance if workers receive the “permissible” radiation doses. Whether or not to engage in such tasks must be freely chosen by workers on a case-by-case basis.

e. Right to refuse risky radiation-exposing work and the right not to be subjected to discrimination of any kind.
In the event of refusing to work in a radiation-exposed environment or reaching the radiation dose limit, guarantee work at an alternative workplace based on the request of the person concerned. Even if a worker refuses to work, they should not suffer a disadvantage under the labor contract. Regardless of their employment status, whether they are military or civilian, prime contractor or subcontractor, they have the right not to be discriminated against. In nuclear power plant labor, a
structure that imposes radiation exposure, such as a multi-layered subcontracting structure, is not allowed, and such a structure must be abolished. Until such a structure is abolished, the prime contractor must sincerely work to compensate for the right of low-end workers.

f. Ensure the right to participate in decision-making processes of relevant policies.
g. Ensure that workers are not subject to penalties such as repression, discrimination, dismissal, or retaliation for claiming their rights.
h. Operators of nuclear facilities are required to accurately record and store relevant data in the event of accidents that release radioactivity.
i. Operators of nuclear facilities are required to clearly identify the person responsible for the record-keeping and management of radiation exposure data and disclose such data at any time at the request of nuclear victims who were exposed to radiation.
j. An operator who employed a worker in violation of the above clause shall not be exempted from liability for civil damages or administrative and criminal penalties.

  1. Rights of residents (Radiation exposure to the general public. Include residents near uranium-related facilities and nuclear facilities, downwinders of nuclear tests, downwinders and those who reside near nuclear power plants or nuclear facilities in cases of grave disasters, etc.)
    All peoples exposed to ionizing radiation have the following rights:

a. Regardless of the dose of exposure, if a person receives additional exposure without their consent, except for the medical exposure described below, they should be recognized as a nuclear victim (hibakusha). In many cases, it is difficult to estimate the exact amount of radiation exposure dose of an individual, so if there is circumstantial evidence that the person was in a nuclear-impacted area, entered such an area, or received radioactive fallout, the person should be recognized as a nuclear victim.
b. Nuclear victims (hibakusha) have a right to information on the radiation dose they have been exposed to.
c. Nuclear victims (hibakusha) have a right to accurate information and knowledge related to the effects of their exposure on their physical, genetic, and psychological health.
d. Right to request the disclosure of relevant information. Regarding information on radiation safety, since it affects the life and body of peoples and future generations and such information impacts on the exercise of the right to life, the interests of the state, the military, and the nuclear industry must not take precedence over this, and everyone should be able to request the disclosure of information.
e. Right to information on risks. The mortality and disability risks, in the event that the general public receives the permissible radiation dose, must be disclosed in advance.
f. Right to seek advice from independent scientists and experts who have knowledge and experience in assessing the human health and environmental impacts of radiation exposure.
g. Right to seek risk-reduction and radiation protection measures to minimize future radiation exposure.
h. Right to receive routine health checkups and the best medical care at no cost to them for all diseases that may be caused by radiation exposure. Diseases are not limited to malignant diseases such as cancer and leukemia but also non-cancer diseases.
i. Nuclear victims (hibakusha) have the right to receive the best possible preventive care to overcome illnesses that may be caused by their radiation exposure.
j. Perpetrators have the burden of proof to show the lack of causation between illnesses and radiation exposure. Perpetrators should compensate if they cannot prove that the victims’ illnesses are not related to radiation exposure.
k. Based on the precautionary principle, recognize that any low-dose exposure carries the risk of late onset harm according to the dose, and a legal principle shall be established that a causal relationship is presumed between radiation exposure and the health impacts of the victims.
l. In the case of late onset or genetic disorders due to radiation exposure, the passage of time does not affect the right to seek compensation. The perpetrators must not claim the statute of limitations.
m. In the case of nuclear accidents at nuclear facilities (including nuclear reactor sites and uranium-related facilities) that release a large amount of radioactivity into the environment, states must recognize:

  • Right to preventative and protective measures to protect from exposure to toxic pollution, including ionizing radiation, the right to evacuate for evacuees and those who relocate, assistance to compensate for any loss due to environmental contamination, assistance to rebuild livelihoods, and the right to receive compensation for the damage or collapse of entire communities,
  • livelihoods and culture.
  • The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. Special consideration is needed for children, unborn babies, and pregnant people. No actors may prevent a relative from freely taking the fully informed risk of radiation exposure in order to rescue relatives.
  • Right to receive treatment and radiation recovery measures for residents of contaminated areas and those who choose to return to contaminated areas.
    This includes a guarantee to provide food, drinking water, health and medical care, housing, education and information, and recuperation opportunities.

n. Strengthen compensation laws of impacted states to meet the needs and interests of members of affected communities.
o. Right to evacuate and relocate from radiation-contaminated areas, and the right to choose to return or settle elsewhere with a sense of safety and dignity.
p. Rights under the UN Charter and core international instruments and related regional, national, or local instruments should be guaranteed when persons or peoples, including stateless or refugee peoples, are displaced by nuclear harm.

  • In regard to internally displaced persons who evacuated from radiation-
    impacted areas, there should be a right to receive assistance and reparation equally regardless of whether they are ordered to evacuate by the state or evacuate voluntarily. It is recommended that this be implemented in national laws, local ordinances, and administrative rules.
  • Displaced persons should be guaranteed the right to participate in decision-making processes of plans based on relevant policies regarding return, resettlement to another land, and family and community reintegration.

8. Exposure to ionizing radiation in medicine
a. All peoples have the right to demand minimization of medical exposure to ionizing radiation.
b. Patients have the right to make their own decisions after receiving a full explanation on the health risks of radiation exposure and the benefits to patients in protecting their lives and health. (Informed consent)
c. It is necessary to provide continuing education (re-training) to medical
institutions as well as medical and health professionals regarding
independent and up-to-date research and information on the health risks of radiation exposure, including risks associated with low dose radiation exposure, in order to prevent exposure harms of patients as well as medical and health professionals.
d. Do not prioritize the economic interests of the health care industry and private medical institutions.

    福島

    Closure of the Kansai region class action lawsuit for compensation for Fukushima nuclear accident victims

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    Introduction

    ©Takezo Takahashi

    To date, approximately 30 class action lawsuits have been filed against the Japanese State and TEPCO[1] throughout the country, involving more than 10,000 people. Three appeal judgments have recognized the liability of the State and TEPCO. These are the “Give us back our livelihoods, give us back our region” trial in 2020, the Chiba lawsuit and the Ehime lawsuit in 2021. However, since the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in June 2022 rejecting the State’s liability in four class action lawsuits (the three above plus the Gumma lawsuit[2]), lower courts have delivered successive rulings rejecting the State’s liability.

    The Kansai[3] region class action lawsuit, which serves as the “rear guard” among class action lawsuits has come to an end after a long run of more than 12 years since the complaint (first phase) was filed on September 17, 2013. During this period, all 79 plaintiff households were questioned. While in other lawsuits, interrogation of plaintiffs is often conducted only for some of them, the Osaka District Court followed a particularly thorough procedure, which is quite unusual. The interrogation of the plaintiffs took place at a monthly pace from May 2011 to September 2025. While the presiding judge often changes during proceedings, in the case of the Kansai region trial, there was no change and the same presiding judge conducted all the interrogation proceedings.

    The trial closed on December 24, and the verdict is scheduled for September 2, 2026.

    We are publishing here the closing statements of Akiko Morimatsu, the representative of the group of plaintiffs. Ms. Morimatsu is also a delegate of the federation of groups suing TEPCO and the Japanese State.

    [1] Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

    [2] Unlike the three appeals, Gumma’s appeal did not obtain recognition of the State’s liability at the Tokyo Court of Appeals in 2021.

    [3] The Kansai region includes six prefectures, including Osaka and Kyoto.

    The closing statements of Akiko Morimatsu

    I am Akiko Morimatsu, plaintiff number 1-1.
    Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present my closing statements in court.

    1. Family separation and loss of peaceful life

    I left the city of Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture and moved to Osaka with my two children. Even today, we continue to live as evacuees, just me and my children. 
    My husband stayed in Fukushima, and our family has now been separated for 14 years and 9 months.
    My children, who were 0 and 3 years old at the time of the earthquake, are now 15 and 17.
    They are currently in their third year of junior high school and second year of high school, a very sensitive time in their lives. Although their father is in good health, he cannot be there to give them advice and answer their questions about life. For 14 years, he has not been able to see his children grow up day by day, and we have not been able to share the joys and sorrows of raising children. They have lost everything that made up a peaceful family life, that is, “moments when all family members gather to spend pleasant times talking and relaxing.” This is an obvious damage caused by the nuclear accident.

    2. Sincere desire to avoid radiation exposure

    Despite everything, we continue to live in a state of evacuation of mother and children. This is due to the radioactive fallout over a wide area, including the city of Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, as a result of the accident that occurred on March 11, 2011, at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. We continue to remain evacuated because radioactive contamination “exists” in this region. We continue to live in evacuation because we want to avoid any unnecessary exposure to radiation.

    And it was precisely because it was not a “mandatory evacuation” that we made the difficult decision to self-evacuate without my husband, which was the last resort. According to the latest figures available from the Reconstruction Agency on December 5, 2025 – Number of people evacuated nationwide – 26,597 people are still in evacuation, including those who have self-evacuated from areas outside the mandatory evacuation zones. Despite this considerable number, the government has implemented virtually no systems or measures to protect evacuees over the past 14 years.
    We were constrained to self-evacuate using our own resources. This was not a voluntary evacuation. It placed us in a very difficult situation. The cause of this situation is clearly the radioactive contamination resulting from the nuclear accident, which is itself the result of national nuclear policy. However, despite this causality obvious to everyone, the authorities have made no effort to establish accurate statistics on the evacuation related to the nuclear accident or to understand the reality of the evacuation of mother and children. And we continue to be exposed to discrimination and harassment.

    3. Imposing radiation exposure: violation of the “right of self-determination”

    I did not evacuate in a state of panic.

    I decided to proceed with the evacuation based on the standards and rules in effect on March 11, 2011, and I declare that I intend to continue the evacuation taking into account the objective facts concerning the contamination.

    The radiation exposure limit for the general public was previously set at one millisievert per year, but it was raised to 20 millisieverts per year after March 11, 2011. Although we are told that this is not a problem, it is impossible to accept or tolerate such a measure. Why should Fukushima be the only place to accept high exposure doses, while the limit remains one millisievert for the rest of Japan? This is blatant discrimination.

    There is also a misconception regarding voluntary evacuation.
    It is believed that those who chose to do so had the choice between leaving or staying. It is believed that their decision to leave was made of their own free will and on their own responsibility, and that they therefore suffered no prejudice since they acted on their own initiative.

    This is clearly wrong. We weren’t given a choice between evacuation or not, but were forced to choose between two painful, undesirable options: “continue to be exposed to radiation” or “self-evacuate if we don’t want to be exposed.” This was a sudden, urgent decision disrupting our previously peaceful lives.

    I have no intention of resigning myself to suffering the damage imposed by the perpetrators themselves, who not only make no mention of it, but also unilaterally decide on the “acceptable level of exposure” “to be tolerated.”

    4. “Public communications” do not tell us the truth.

    During the interrogation, the lawyers of the defendant Tokyo Electric Power Company presented the “information leaflet” from the municipality we had left behind and repeated arguments such as “Didn’t you read the information leaflet?” or “It says it’s safe,” as if to make us understand that we should trust the leaflet.

    I would like to ask the judges a question. 

    Does promoting “festivals” and “school entrance ceremonies” in “information leaflets” make the radioactive contamination disappear? In voluntary evacuation zones, there are people who remain for various reasons. As long as there are people living there, festivals are held to admire the cherry blossoms, and fireworks are set off during summer festivities. With slogans such as “Ganbarō Tōhoku” (Let’s go, Tōhoku!) and the huge budgets allocated to reconstruction, it is possible to organize large events and create a festive atmosphere, as if the region had been completely “reconstructed.”

    “Public communication” consists of the State and administrations informing the people (citizens) of what they want them to know, using tax money. I am familiar with the terms “propaganda” and “communiqués from imperial headquarters” during the war, and I am aware of the role they played in history. “Public communication,” which consists of the State and administrations conveying only what they want the people to know, has not provided us with any of the truths that we, the evacuees, wanted to know.

    Moreover, in the city of Koriyama, which I fled, it was not until 2018 that outdoor school sports days resumed without time restrictions in the morning and afternoon ( that is, 7 years after the nuclear accident).


    At the time of the evacuation, it was estimated that thyroid cancer in children affected only one or two people in a million. However, according to the results of a health survey of residents in Fukushima Prefecture, which at the time had only 370,000 children under the age of 18, nearly 400 cases have been recorded to date, which is clearly a significant increase. Radioactivity does not stop at prefectural borders, but Fukushima is the only prefecture where large-scale medical examinations are carried out at the expense of the State. It should be remembered that children who were between the ages of 6 and 16 at the time of the accident filed a class action lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power Company, claiming that their thyroid cancer was caused by the Fukushima nuclear accident. The children’s testimonies show that they were exposed without any protection, whereas children are particularly vulnerable to radiation. Today, they regret not having been protected. They say that they “knew nothing and were exposed without any protection to the rain and wind” and that “their parents told them not to go outside, but they went out to play with their friends anyway.” 

    5. Questions to the judges

    Your Honors, I ask you to imagine the situation as human beings, putting yourselves in the shoes of the people affected in their daily lives. Would you really want to raise your children in a place where it is impossible to hold school sports days outdoors?
    I don’t know if you have children. But you too were once children. Do you remember having time limits imposed on outdoor play, including on school sports days? Have you ever thought about the burden of living every day in fear, wondering whether what you touch or eat is harmful to your health, whether there is a risk of radiation?
 Furthermore, if you were told that radioactive substances had been detected in the tap water you drink every day, would you be able to continue drinking it? Put yourselves in their shoes, imagine the faces of your parents who raised you, and think about it.
    Isn’t it the normal rational feeling of any parent not to want to expose their child to any unnecessary exposure, even in the order of microsievert?

    It is not a question of whether the radiation dose is low or high, but rather whether or not one is exposed.
    It is up to me to decide whether or not I will be exposed. Isn’t this a situation where one can exercise one’s “right to self-determination” guaranteed by the Constitution?

    6. Please put an end to this despair

    I am not saying that I want to evacuate blindly, nor that I want to continue evacuating at all costs.

    I repeat this again and again.
    The right to escape radiation exposure and enjoy good health is nothing less than the most important fundamental right concerning people’s lives and health.
    I believe that this right must be recognized equally for all.

    It is perfectly natural, as human beings, to want to avoid any radiation exposure, and this should be recognized equally for everyone.
    Furthermore, it is perfectly natural, as parents, to want to minimize potential health risks for children who still have their whole future ahead of them. I don’t think there is a single parent who does not want their child to grow up in good health.
    There should be no shadow of uncertainty, no fear of radiation exposure, no worry about health.

    During the trial, despite all the objective evidence presented regarding the contamination, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company, both responsible for the accident and wishing to minimize its significance, set the compensation criteria themselves, which influenced the court’s compensation decisions. Under these circumstances, it cannot be said that the court is truly impartial.

    Evacuation also involves costs. In the case of mother and children self-evacuation, a typical form of displacement following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, living expenses are doubled because families are separated into two geographically distinct households. The costs associated with family reunification must be borne by the families themselves. Reducing the costs associated with father-children reunification means imposing a heavy psychological burden on children by depriving them of their father’s presence. Without the nuclear accident, no one would have voluntarily chosen to relocate and break up their home. All of this clearly constitutes damage caused by the nuclear accident. For our family, this was the best possible solution—taken involuntarily—to escape radiation exposure, that is to say, it was a radioprotection measure.

    On June 17, 2022, the Supreme Court handed down an unjustified and logically unconvincing ruling, refusing to recognize the State’s liability. Since then, lower courts have delivered numerous unjustified judgments minimizing the actual damages. However, regardless of the sentence pronounced by the courts, the damages suffered by the victims of radioactive contamination due to the nuclear accident are not going to disappear. I am still forced to live in exile today, and it is with great pain that I make the decision to continue my exile. In other words, the damages caused by the nuclear accident continues uninterrupted, even as I speak to you now.

    Every time an unjust verdict is handed down, I am plunged back into despair by the judicial system itself. And all I feel is a sense of crisis, because humanity is giving up its right to avoid unnecessary exposure.

    President Matsumoto Nobuyuki, Judge Terada Kohei on the right, Judge Shimizu Kohei on the left, please do not plunge the victims of the nuclear accident further into despair.

    Do not deprive us of the right to be protected from radiation exposure and to enjoy good health.

    Is there anything more valuable than human life and health?

    I sincerely hope that the decision will confirm the principle that measures to avoid radiation exposure and protect life are paramount, and that this principle will be respected above all else.

    Akiko MORIMATSU

    Representative, Plaintiff Group of the Kansai Nuclear Disaster Compensation Lawsuit

    Representative, Association of Evacuees from the Great East Japan Earthquake “Thanks & Dream”

    Uncategorized

    Voices of Women from Fukushima on the 14th Anniversary of Fukushima

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    A message to everyone in the world

    While perplexed by rapid changes in the state of world affairs at the start of 2025, I am deeply appreciative of your various anti-nuclear activities around the world.

    Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit parts of the Difficult-to-Return zones in Fukushima. A hospital, where more than 50 patients died during evacuation efforts in the 2011 nuclear disaster, was now overgrown with dense trees and grasses. In a care home for older people, I saw disarrayed beds and scattered items, such as diapers, medicines and documents, all left untouched since the residents had to evacuate suddenly for safety. The meal plan for 11th March 2011 was still written on the whiteboard. At a nearby primary school, I found dictionaries placed on each small wooden desk. Pupils’ bags, shoes, brush washers, and even fallen bicycles as well as helmets were still there – everything was left behind. No sounds were to be heard except for the hum of cicadas. There is no doubt that people lived here until the disaster struck, but now, there is no one. These places remain abandoned even today.


    Only a very small number of people have returned to the areas where evacuation orders were lifted. Empty houses need to be demolished one by one. Grand gates and storehouses, seemingly with centuries of history, are being torn down. New homes have been built nearby for disaster-affected families, with some residents with children moving in from outside Fukushima. A resident told me that the current indoor radiation level was as high as 0.3μSv/h, five to ten times higher than the levels before 2011. Part of the Difficult-to-Return zone begins just behind the fences surrounding these homes. Such living conditions should never be called safe.


    Meanwhile, the Japanese government has removed its pledge to reduce reliance on nuclear energy from its Seventh Strategic Energy Plan, signalling their intention to revive the industry. To someone like me, who is acutely aware of the ongoing sufferings from the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the reality that local residents cannot safely stay or evacuate if a similar disaster were triggered by an earthquake in areas like the Noto Peninsula, the epicentre of a major earthquake in 2024, Japan’s continued reliance on nuclear energy seems inconceivably absurd.

    In 2022, Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that the government was not liable for the 2011 disaster, dismissing the claims of many evacuees and victims seeking fair compensation and accountability. Since then, it has been revealed by a journalist that there was a collusion between the judge and the executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The state of the judicial system in Japan is deeply concerning. Similar rulings in other Fukushima nuclear disaster related cases followed in lower courts, leaving those suffering in an incredibly difficult position.

    The extraction of 0.7 gramme of nuclear debris from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been recently reported, but the modest “success” was achieved only after repeated failed attempts.
    Harsh working conditions with high levels of radiation exposure and mismanagement by TEPCO — such as failing to send a company staff member to properly inspect a telescopic device — became evident during the process. No review of the plant’s decommissioning roadmap to account for the radioactive decay period has been carried out, even though no one believes the decommissioning process will be completed by 2051, as originally planned.


    Having released contaminated underground water from the plant into the ocean despite strong opposition, Japan is now distributing contaminated soil to wider areas, touting it as a “recycled” material for rebuilding works. In doing so, the Japanese government continues to propagate nuclear safety myths, particularly among younger people, while asserting that they alone have the authority to determine which evidence is scientific and which is not.

    Along the quiet Fukushima coastline, almost empty of people, lavish corporate facilities and state-of the-art laboratories have been built with generous subsidiaries under the guise of reconstruction efforts.

    A nuclear disaster not only devastates your life and home, but it also deprives you of basic human rights. Confronted with this harsh reality even 14 years after the disaster, I cannot help but feel a sense of despair about the future of Fukushima.

    With winter nearly gone and spring just around the corner, I long to be filled with good intentions and to see the world with discerning eyes. Encouraged by the knowledge that many friends around the world are tirelessly working to end nuclear energy production, I will continue to contribute as much as possible to this important cause.


    March 2025 in Fukushima
    Ruiko Muto
    Chair of the Complainants for the Criminal Prosecution of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
    Co-Representative of the Nuclear Accident Victims Group Liaison Committee

    (Translated from Japanese by JAN UK)

    Ruiko’s message has been translated into five languages and published on the website of yosomono-net.

    **************************************************************************

    Message to all those in the world
    who have a thought for the victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

    I am Akiko Morimatsu. I left Fukushima to avoid radiation exposure caused by the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, and I have been living as an internally displaced person.

    Fourteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 and the subsequent accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The accident is far from over and the crippled power plant continues to contaminate the oceans, air, and land connected to the rest of the world. The situation is anything but “under control”, and I am outraged that none of the leaders of the Japanese State have acknowledged this fact.

    Even after 14 years, many people continue to remain displaced. The number of evacuees registered with the government (Reconstruction Agency) is still approximately 29,000 people in all 47 prefectures of Japan (December 6, 2024, Reconstruction Agency, “Number of Evacuees in Japan.”), and they are in desperate need of government protection and relief. However, the exact number of evacuees has never been counted by the Japanese government. In fact, many more people than registered in official statistics have been compelled to flee their homes and are still in distress with no relief in sight, as they are not officially recognized as evacuees.

    I have two children. At the time of the disaster, they were a 5-month-old baby and a 3-year-old toddler. For the past 14 years, my husband (the children’s father) lived in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, and I was living with my children in Osaka City, far apart one from the other. Thus, people living in contaminated areas outside of the mandatory evacuation zones, made their not-easy-to-take decision to escape from the radiation source with only mothers and their children, who are more vulnerable to radiation. And this, without official aide or support. Even now, there are many people displaced living by their own means, and among them, a large number of households without fathers.

    Evacuated or not, we all need to protect ourselves from the radioactive contamination resulting from the Fukushima nuclear accident. “Evacuation” is a rightful act of a human being to avoid exposure to radiation so as to enjoy good health. In Japan, however, evacuees are subjected to discrimination and bullying, labeled as “rumor spreaders” since our very existence points out the dangers of radiation. Under this severe social pressure, we can barely express our rightful thought.

    To promote nuclear power and not to give up nuclear weapons is, in the first place, to force people to be exposed to unwanted radiation exposure. As an added problem, many people are not publicly supported in their evacuation efforts. Furthermore, our right to protest freely and without fear is under threat, given the social and personal discrimination that has befallen on many of us and our families.

    I would also like to strongly emphasize that this issue is not only a problem for the people of Fukushima. I would like to share with everyone in the world the following question: when threatened with nuclear damage, will you stand on the side of those who impose radiation exposure, or will you stand on the side of those who protect people’s lives and health from radiation exposure?

    If nuclear power is promoted as a national policy, fleeing will not be easily allowed, and the government can claim, as in Japan, that coexistence with radiation is possible, in order to preserve nuclear power. It is nothing but deception.

    The year 2025 will mark 80 years since the end of World War II. Last year, Nihon Hidankyô, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and hibakusha gave a speech to the world audience, drawing attention to the issue of radiation exposure.

    We believe that now is the time to connect with people around the world concerned about nuclear damage. Avoiding radiation exposure to protect lives should be a universally recognized principle. As a victim of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, I, too, have renewed my determination to continue to raise my voice and strive for the establishment of this universal right. Let us continue fighting together.

    March 11th 2025

    Akiko MORIMATSU

    Representative of the plaintiffs’ group in the Osaka metropolitan area filed by Victims of the Fukushima nuclear accident

    Co-chair of the national coordination of the plaintiffs’ groups
    of the lawsuits filed by Victims of the Fukushima nuclear accident

    (Translated from Japanese by Nos Voisins Lointains 3.11)

    脱原発の輪, 福島

    We protest against planned release of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean

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    Sayonara Nukes Berlin, together with Yosomono-net, a worldwide anti-nuke network of Japanese people living abroad , has issued the following statement of protest against the government’s decision to release of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.

     

    Fukushima, Japan: Radioactively contaminated water dumped into the Pacific Ocean?

    Japan is planning to dump diluted, filtered and still radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi (FD) nuclear power plant into the ocean this summer.

    What’s happening in Fukushima?

    After the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, a major nuclear accident occurred at the FDNPP, resulting in hydrogen explosions and core meltdowns. This resulted in a massive release of radioactive materials into the environment, contaminating air, soil, water, and food on land and sea, and continues to do so today.

    More than 12 years later, the nuclear emergency declaration issued at the time remains in place, and more than 20,000 people are officially registered as evacuees. The population of the mandatory evacuation zones of Fukushima are subjected to an annual exposure limit of 20 millisieverts, 20 times the former legal civilian limit. This is the same as the limit for nuclear workers and it also applies to children, young people, and pregnant women.

    What is to be discharged into the sea?

    The damaged reactors must continue to be cooled with water, although closed cooling circuits have been destroyed. Due to rainwater and groundwater pouring in, the amount of contaminated water is increasing every day. At present, more than 1.3 million tons of contaminated water are stocked in tanks. Japan wants to discharge this water, filtered and diluted, into the sea.

    What the Japanese government, IAEA and TEPCO say

    The water with radionuclides would be treated with the ALPS filtering system “up to the limit of harmlessness.” Mainly, only the isotope tritium would remain, which cannot be filtered out. All nuclear power plants in the world routinely discharge water containing tritium. All radionuclides contained would be treated to be below the relevant limit, and the water would be heavily diluted before discharge into the sea. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has given its blessing to this plan. TEPCO says it would soon run out of space for storage at the site.

    What problems and risks the project conceals

    The water stored at Fukushima Daiichi is liquid radioactive waste that has come in contact with melted fuel rods and cannot be compared to the tritiated water released during normal reactor operation. It is often said that tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, is the only nuclide that remains after treatment, but in fact, in addition to tritium, the water contains cesium-134 and cesium-137, strontium-90, cobalt-60, carbon-14, and iodine-129 and more.

    However, the effect of tritium on the ecosystem and the food chain is far too little studied, and the few existing study results are hardly taken into account. At what quantity may something be assessed as “harmless,” and by whom? For the release of radioactive substances into the environment, Japan has determined the activity concentration limit for each radionuclide, which is supposed to correspond to the concentration of that radionuclide at which the average dose rate of 1 millisievert per year would be reached if one ingested 2 liters of that water daily for 70 years. That means the estimates of long-term effects are not considered. Far too little research has been done on how individual radionuclides behave in seawater, accumulate in the food chain, and what damage they might do. Even if the concentration were diluted, tritium would be discharged into the sea at a total rate of 22 trillion becquerels per year. Whether diluted or dispersed, the amount would remain the same.

    The half-life of tritium is 12 years; Strontium 90, 28.8 years; carbon 14, 5730 years and iodine 129, 15.7 million years.

    Precautionary and preventive principles

    From the point of view of radiation protection, the water at FD must continue to be kept in tanks under strict control. In case of doubt, the principles of precaution and prevention should apply!

    One reason for concern is the increase in fish contaminated with cesium 134/137 caught in neighboring ports. In June 2023, a high contamination of 18,000 becquerels per kilo was even measured in a black rockfish. This indicates that an uncontrolled leak of contaminated water is continuing. Without thoroughly investigating and taking measures against this, it would be unethical to discharge contaminated water into the sea.

    “Mental decontamination” and “reputational damage”

    Instead of protecting the population against delayed health impacts from radiation, the Japanese government prefers to spread a fairy tale. “A little radioactivity is harmless, rather fear is the evil of the problem.” Instead of more accurate health studies and measurements of radioactive contamination, a series of “mental decontamination” campaigns are supposed to combat “psychosomatic” effects. Strong public messages in the form of manipulative advertisements are repeated on a grand scale with one-sided conclusions by pro-nuclear scientists. People’s legitimate fears are dismissed as panic about radiation and demonized as “reputational damage” (against food staples, Fukushima residents and territory) that would prevent the economic growth and reconstruction of Fukushima.

    IAEA and the promotion of atomic energy

    The task of the IAEA, founded in 1957 following the “Atoms for Peace” program, to promote the civil use of atomic energy, is not “radiation protection.” It sets rules for the extent to which radiation risks should be considered “negligible.” The IAEA Review of Safety Related Aspects does not take into account possible long-term effects on the marine ecosystem. Why should its final report be understood as permission to dump contaminated water into the sea?

    Out of sight, out of mind?

    Neighboring countries and the South Pacific Island states are right to protest against Japan’s plan. UN experts are also expressing concern about the potential dangers to human health and the environment. If dumping were to begin, it would serve as a precedent for future ocean disposal of contaminated water. In fact, for more than three decades in the future, Japan wants to further pollute the sea, which is connected to all the other seas in the world, and which already suffers greatly from various environmental impacts. The sea is not a waste disposal site. It is irresponsible to spread more contamination instead of isolating it as much as possible. But TEPCO and the Japanese government prefer to cover up the obvious accident consequences, such as numerous contaminated water tanks, by disposing the toxins into the sea. We must never accept this!

    Therefore, we demand:

    • No discharge of radioactive water into the sea, whether at Fukushima or elsewhere
    • Establishment of monitoring and research systems worldwide for all nuclear facilities by independent organizations for monitoring and analysis of ecosystem changes and people’s health impacts
    • Transparent communication and publication of research and monitoring results

    For the French version of the statement, please visit :  https://yosomono-net.jimdofree.com/

    Sources:

    http://oshidori-makoken.com/

    https://www.meti.go.jp/earthquake/nuclear/decommissioning/committee/fukushimahyougikai/2021/23/shiryou_04_2.pdf

    https://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/site/portal-de/de04-02.html

    https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/04/japan-un-experts-say-deeply-disappointed-decision-discharge-fukushima-water

    https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/iaea_comprehensive_alps_report.pdf

     

    脱原発の輪, 福島

    A message to all people in the world concerned about the fate of the people of Fukushima

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    The war in Ukraine reminded us in 2022 of the danger of using nuclear weapons, and the real threat of our nuclear power plants if they ever become military targets, turning them into mega-atomic bombs.

    However, the Kishida government has committed itself, from August 2022, to nuclear revival with the construction of new reactors, as well as the restart of existing reactors and the extension of their operating periods. This has been included in the “Green Transformation” policy decided by the Council of Ministers on February 10th, 2023. Faced with such a forced choice, after a very short online consultation, and even before the end of a “public debate” limited to only ten cities, we feel an even stronger anger towards the government than before.

    The crippled plant is still facing various problems and is far from being safely dismantled. In seven municipalities of Fukushima, there are still so-called “difficult to return to” zones –areas where people are not allowed to stay, and several tens of thousands of refugees cannot return to their homes. Barely twelve years after the accident, the government has abandoned the principles that emerged from the reflections and lessons of the disaster: reducing dependence on nuclear power generation, limiting the operation of a reactor to forty years, and separating the nuclear regulator from the entity that promotes it.

    Yes, it is reasonable to publicly express our concern after the stupidity of such a choice which leads straight to the risk of a new accident. That is why we must, once again, oppose this decision with all our might.

    The status of the trials is also worrying. The Supreme Court’s verdict for four civil cases in June 2022 absolved the Japanese state of legal responsibility for the accident, overturning the three appeal rulings that had recognized such responsibility.

    In the criminal trial against the former TEPCO executives, the appeal judgement of January 2023 confirmed their acquittal, on the grounds of “insufficient evidence”. However, the court had refused to hear important witnesses and even to visit the accident site for verification.

    As for the lawsuit filed by the Fukushima authorities to dislodge the refugees from the housing they had been granted, the court condemned the latter without taking into account the international right to housing.

    In all cases, the examination of evidence and witnesses remains insufficient, making these judgements unacceptable to the victims. This is why the plaintiffs in the criminal trial have decided to appeal to the Supreme Court. For our part, we will continue to argue and request additional hearings. But these unfair judgements may be related to the move towards a nuclear revival.

    As for Fukushima, there is another serious issue, since the discharge of radioactive water from the plant into the sea will begin in several months. And this is expected to last for several decades. In December 2022, we organized an international forum with citizens from the Pacific Ocean who condemned this discharge of contaminated water into the marine environment as an unacceptable violation of the human rights of the people living on the Pacific Ocean and a serious threat to the life of aquatic organisms.

    This has also led to protests from countries such as South Korea and China. The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has already released a huge amount of radioactive substances. But on top of that, the government and TEPCO will knowingly dump more contaminated water into the world’s oceans from Fukushima.

    This hurts us, which is why we want this operation to be stopped at all costs. On April 13th, one year to the day after the decision to release the radioactive water into the sea, the people of Fukushima are calling for a worldwide protest action. Let us hope that this international solidarity action will be a success.

    In spite of increasingly troubled times, let us continue to work with all our strength and perseverance for a bright future for coming generations.

    March 2023 in Fukushima

    Ruiko Muto

    Chair of the Complainants for the Criminal Prosecution of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

    http://hidanren.blogspot.com

    http://kokuso-fukusimagenpatu.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_5112.html

     

    (Translated from Japanese by Nos Voisins Lointains 3.11)

     

    For the translation in other languages, please visit:

    https://yosomono-net.jimdofree.com/english/

    脱原発デモ, かざぐるまデモ, NEWS

    Kazaguruma-Demo for the 12th Anniversary of FUKUSHIMA: No more radiating danger – neither from nuclear power plants nor from nuclear bombs

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    Kazaguruma-Demo for the 12th Anniversary of FUKUSHIMA: No more radiating danger – neither from nuclear power plants nor from nuclear bombs

     

    Start at 12pm on Saturday, 11th March 2023
    Meeting point: Brandenburger Tor (Parizer Platz), Berlin

     

    Who would have thought that the German nuclear phase-out would be postponed shortly before the complete shutdown of the remaining reactors, of all things by the government in which the Greens are involved! Suddenly, the mood is being created everywhere as if the continued operation of nuclear power plants were the solution to the energy crisis. Yet nuclear power France in particular – where more than half of the nuclear power plants recently shut down – clearly shows that nuclear energy cannot be relied upon. Strangely enough, the debate tends to forget the safety risks posed by nuclear power plants and why the decision was made to phase out nuclear power in Germany after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

     

    All three German nuclear power plants are to be now running in stretch-out operation mode until mid-April 2023. While proponents claim that nuclear energy would make them energy-independent, they like to ignore the fact that EU states process uranium from Russia for the fuel rods. The nuclear lobby has managed to get the nuclear sector spared from EU sanctions.
    The Russian attack on Ukraine has made it abundantly clear that the nuclear threat was always highly topical. Many people who previously professed disarmament suddenly emphasize the importance of nuclear sharing, of deterrence.

     

    The Ukraine war also made it clear: nuclear power plants become targets in wars. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhya, was repeatedly under attack and is often powered by emergency diesel generators. Should the power supply be interrupted, there is a risk of a new accident like in Fukushima.
    Chain reactions and radioactive rays know no boundaries between friends and foes. They also make no difference whether the same technology is used for military or civilian purposes. The only safe and climate-just solution is to develop green energy as quickly and consistently as possible throughout the world.

     

    Therefore, we demand together:
    – No further nuclear power plant lifetime extensions in Germany
    – a worldwide phase-out of irresponsible nuclear energy
    – immediate decommissioning of the nuclear plants in Lingen and Gronau
    – no classification of nuclear energy as sustainable energy production/deletion of nuclear from the EU taxonomy
    – Cancel EURATOM treaty
    – No discharge of radioactive water into the sea, whether in Fukushima or elsewhere!

     

    NEWS, 脱原発デモ, かざぐるまデモ

    かざぐるまデモ2022年 -原子力は私たちの気候を救えない!

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    Kazaguruma Demo 2022 – The 11th anniversary of FUKUSHIMA
    -Nuclear power will NOT save our climate!

    Start at 12pm on Saturday, 5th March 2022
    Meeting point: Brandenburger Tor (Parizer Platz), Berlin

    We are very concerned. Despite the recent decision to replace nuclear and coal-fired energy with renewable energy, more than a few member states of the EU are claiming that nuclear power serves as a measure against climate change.

    Over 10 EU governments have announced that they will expand their nuclear energy. The new Japanese government has also announced its intention to promote the development and construction of small nuclear power plants (SMR). These are unacceptable developments.

    We cannot turn a blind eye to the daily radioactive contamination caused by the normal operation of nuclear power plants. The problem of the final disposal of vast amounts of radioactive waste also remains. This is still an unsolved problem, not only in Germany but anywhere in the world. Such claims that nuclear power does not harm the environment must not be accepted. A single accident at a nuclear power plant causes irreparable, unimaginable damage to the environment, animals, and people. We should have learned that from Chernobyl and Fukushima.

    Last April, 10 years after the accident of Fukushima Daiichi, the Japanese government approved a plan to discharge radioactively contaminated water stored since the accident into the Pacific Ocean. This water, which the operating company Tepco claims to have purified of all radioactive elements still contains primarily tritium and contaminates the environment. The water has not yet been discharged due to strong opposition from residents and fishermen, as well as the international community.

    We demand the end to nuclear energy. We want to build a nuclear-free future: Nuclear power will NOT save our climate.

    Together we demand:

    ・Global end to irresponsible nuclear energy
    ・Immediate shutdown of nuclear facilities at Lingen and Gronau
    ・No classification of nuclear power as sustainable energy production
    ・Cancelation of the EURATOM treaty
    ・No discharge of radioactive water into the ocean

    Website：
    http://kazagurumademo.de
    Organizer：
    NaturFreunde Berlin
    Green Planet Energy
    Sayonara Nukes Berlin

    Cooperating groups：
    AK Rote Beete (Linke Regionalgruppe）
    BUND Jugend Berlin
    Coop AntiWar Cafe
    Fridays for Future Berlin
    IPPNW Germany
    Japanese Against Nuclear UK
    Korea Verband
    Greenpeace Berlin

    Flyer：Kazaguruma-Demo-2022-flyer_final

     

     

     

    NEWS, 脱原発デモ, かざぐるまデモ

    フクシマ10周年 ベルリンかざぐるまデモ – 原子力は気候変動を救わない –

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    Kazaguruma Demo
 - 10th Anniversary of FUKUSHIMA

　Start at 12pm on Saturday, 6th March 2021 
　Meeting point: Brandenburger Tor (Parizer Platz), Berlin

    10 years after Fukushima, but nothing has changed. We need no more nuclear power!

    11th March 2021 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. No matter how hard the Japanese Government and IAEA try to patch up and underestimate the worst disaster, the facts tell us the real story: The affected homeland will never be the same again. Hundreds of thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes. The damaged nuclear power plant continues to diffuse radiation throughout the environment. The Japanese Government is even thinking about dumping the radioactive water into the ocean as the Fukushima nuclear power plant is, apparently, running out of space for storage.

    The situation is far from being “under control”. Fukushima still faces great of danger.  However, apart from the reality, pro-nuclear lobbyists promote this dangerous dark nuclear business advocating that climate neutrality cannot be reached without nuclear energy. Quite a number of countries still rely on nuclear power generation. In some countries, there are even plans to build more new nuclear power plants or to extend the lifetime of aged nuclear power plants.

    This is ridiculously wrong. We must stand up and fix it! Not only that, nuclear power is never an option to solve climate change, but also is the catastrophic threat to humanity. It’s been 10 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster but our further efforts are required to push the clean energy revolution forward. Our economy should be free from the power by nuclear and fossil fuels and shift to 100% renewable energy. We will not let the nuclear waste be produced any longer!

    Nuclear power is a false solution to climate change!

    Far from climate neutrality: Nuclear energy is like an endless chain – uranium mining, generating electricity, reprocessing spent nuclear fuels and final disposal. When you look at the whole process, nuclear energy is a large emitter of CO2.

    Contamination threat: Nuclear industries leave hazardous radioactive waste behind almost permanently and they will continue to be the great threat to humanity and to the environment.

    Too dangerous:  Nuclear energy always goes hand in hand with risk of serious accidents as we witnessed in Fukushima. Long term impacts to humans and to the environment are unavoidable once an accident has occurred. Nuclear technology also increases the ability of nations to manufacture nuclear weapons.

    Madly expensive: Nuclear energy is eventually the most expensive way to generate electricity. It cannot survive without pouring governmental funds.

    We are therefore calling for:

    • Operations of all nuclear power plants in the world should be stopped, especially in Germany, Gronau uranium enrichment plant and Lingen nuclear fuel plant.
    • EURATOM and other institutions that promote nuclear technology should be dissolved.
    • Sufficient subsidies should be allocated to the research efforts for renewable energy and radioactive waste management made by the independent civil society organizations.
    • Germany and Japan should sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

    Kazaguruma-Demo-Fryer_2021

    Kazaguruma-Demo-Poster_PDF_2021

    Website：
http://kazagurumademo.de

Organizer：
Anti Atom Berlin
NaturFreunde Berlin
Greenpeace Energy     　
Sayonara Nukes Berlin

Cooperating groups：
AK Rote Beete
Anti-Atom-Plenum Berlin
BUND für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland
BürgerBegehren Klimaschutz
BürgerInitiative Lüchow-Dannenberg
Coop AntiWar Cafe
Die Linke Landesverband Berlin
Friedensglockengesellschaft Berlin e.V.
IPPNW Germany
Japanese Against Nuclear
Kuhle Wampe
Robin Wood Berlin

                               
          
    NEWS, 脱原発の輪

    “#汚染水の海洋放出に反対します” 写真投稿アクションへの呼びかけ

    1 Comment
    “#NoNukeDump” Call to Photo Posting Action

    Tepco and the Japanese government  have been considering dumping of contaminated water into the ocean for quite some time, under the pretext that there will soon be no more place capacity for new tanks at the site of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.  The Japanese government is going to make the final decision on it by the end of November 2020, without having discussed enough about alternative methods for filtering or storage of contaminated water.

    This „contaminated water“ in question is nothing but liquid radioactive waste, which was in contact with meltdown debris. Even after treatment through Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) facilities, various radioactive nuclides are included in this water. It is thus fundamentally different from the tritiated water that is released from operational nuclear plants. For further information please refer to: https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-japan-stateless/2020/10/5768c541-the-reality-of-the-fukushima-radioactive-water-crisis_en_summary.pdf

    We are firmly speaking out against dumping the radioactive water into the ocean.

    The oceans are an important part of our biosphere which belongs to all of us. Once it gets contaminated, the damage will remain irreversible. We should never allow it to happen! This is why we, Sayonara Nukes Berlin, would like to start a photo posting action through social network. Please join us and share your voice!

    Call-to-action_NoNukeDump_EN_PDF

     

    Photo Posting Steps
    <Step 1> Preparing your poster

Choose one of the attached posters with the slogan „Don’t dump radioactive water into the ocean!“ and print it out. On the masters ③and④ you can add your own message or illustrations.   

①#NoNukeDump
②#NoNukeDump
③#NoNukeDump
④#NoNukeDump           
    <Step 2> Take your photo

Hold your protesting message in your hands and have your photograph taken wherever you like.
    <Step 3> Posting in social media

Post your photo with the hashtag 

“#NoNukeDump” 
“#(your country or city) "
in social media 
(no blank space after #)

    It would be great if we could get together in this action and make it a bigger movement. If you don’t have any SNS-account or if you are not sure about the posting procedure, please send us your photo to our email address with information on your place of residence.

    We would appreciate it if you would translate this text into another language, so that this call could be shared with as many people as possible. We would only like you to KEEP the text on the posters UNCHANGED, so that our collective action remains consistent. Thank you!

    Send your photo to: Sayonara-nukes-berlin(at)posteo.net

SNS-Accounts of Sayonara Nukes Berlin:

Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/sayonara.nukes.berlin
Twitter：https://twitter.com/NoNukesBerlin
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/sayonaranukesberlin

    Photo album

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3560774300624816&type=3

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sayonaranukesberlin/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NoNukesBerlin/status/1326512277374328832?s=20

     

    sayonara nukes berlin en blog