Nuke zone residents find island refuge
Source: Agencies |
December 23, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
OKINAWA is about as far away as you can get from Fukushima without leaving Japan, and that is why Minaho Kubota is here.
Petrified of the radiation spewing from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant that went into multiple meltdowns last year, Kubota grabbed her children, left her husband and moved to the small southwestern island. More than 1,000 people from the disaster zone have done the same thing.
"I thought I would lose my mind," Kubota said. "I felt I would have no answer for my children if, after they grew up, they ever asked me, 'Mama, why didn't you leave?'"
Experts and the government say there have been no visible health effects from the radioactive contamination from Fukushima Dai-ichi so far. But they also warn that even low-dose radiation carries some risk of cancer and other diseases, and exposure should be avoided as much as possible.
Okinawa has welcomed the people from Fukushima and other northeastern prefectures affected by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that set off the nuclear disaster. Okinawa is offering 60,000 yen (US$750) a month to help relocating families of three or four.
"We hope they feel better, refreshed," said Okinawan official Masakazu Gunji.
Most people displaced by the disaster have relocated within or near Fukushima, but Okinawa, the only tropical island in Japan, is the most popular area for those who have chosen prefectures far from the disaster. An escape to Okinawa also underlines, for some, distrust toward Tokyo Electric Power Co, the utility that operates Fukushima Dai-ichi.
Kubota is joining a class-action lawsuit against the government and Tokyo Electric on behalf of Fukushima-area residents affected by the meltdowns. It demands an apology payment of 50,000 yen (US$625) a month for each victim until all the radiation is gone.
Independent investigations into the nuclear disaster have concluded that the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was unprepared for the massive tsunami.
Kubota, who now works part time for an Okinawa magazine publisher, said the problem is that no one is taking responsibility for the accident.
The disaster ended up separating her family. Her husband refused to leave his dentist practice in Ibaraki Prefecture. He visits on weekends.
"I wake up every day and feel thankful my children are alive. I have been through so much. I have been heartbroken. I have been so afraid," Kubota said.
Petrified of the radiation spewing from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant that went into multiple meltdowns last year, Kubota grabbed her children, left her husband and moved to the small southwestern island. More than 1,000 people from the disaster zone have done the same thing.
"I thought I would lose my mind," Kubota said. "I felt I would have no answer for my children if, after they grew up, they ever asked me, 'Mama, why didn't you leave?'"
Experts and the government say there have been no visible health effects from the radioactive contamination from Fukushima Dai-ichi so far. But they also warn that even low-dose radiation carries some risk of cancer and other diseases, and exposure should be avoided as much as possible.
Okinawa has welcomed the people from Fukushima and other northeastern prefectures affected by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that set off the nuclear disaster. Okinawa is offering 60,000 yen (US$750) a month to help relocating families of three or four.
"We hope they feel better, refreshed," said Okinawan official Masakazu Gunji.
Most people displaced by the disaster have relocated within or near Fukushima, but Okinawa, the only tropical island in Japan, is the most popular area for those who have chosen prefectures far from the disaster. An escape to Okinawa also underlines, for some, distrust toward Tokyo Electric Power Co, the utility that operates Fukushima Dai-ichi.
Kubota is joining a class-action lawsuit against the government and Tokyo Electric on behalf of Fukushima-area residents affected by the meltdowns. It demands an apology payment of 50,000 yen (US$625) a month for each victim until all the radiation is gone.
Independent investigations into the nuclear disaster have concluded that the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was unprepared for the massive tsunami.
Kubota, who now works part time for an Okinawa magazine publisher, said the problem is that no one is taking responsibility for the accident.
The disaster ended up separating her family. Her husband refused to leave his dentist practice in Ibaraki Prefecture. He visits on weekends.
"I wake up every day and feel thankful my children are alive. I have been through so much. I have been heartbroken. I have been so afraid," Kubota said.
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