- The World Health Organization (WHO) reports there will be no statistically-significant rise in cancer due to the Fukushima Accident. It concludes the likelihood of a measurable increase in cancer over the lifetimes of Fukushima residents is low compared to what naturally occurs. WHO says accident exposures were so low that risk estimates have a significantly lower probability than that for naturally-occurring cancers, but it is wise to continue monitoring the exposed population’s health, none-the-less. A worst-case effect would be a 1% increase in thyroid cancer and 1%-3% increase in all other cancers. WHO points out this is not a report intended for closure on the issue. Children in Iitate Village and Namie Town should be monitored closely for the next 15 years for thyroid cancer and leukemia to establish a more-firm understanding of low level radiation exposures on the young. In addition, adults in Namie over age twenty should be monitored for some radiation-related cancers, like mammary gland and colon cancers, for the same 15 years as the children. The WHO based their judgment on the assumption that residents lived in the higher contamination areas for four months following 3/11/11 and ate locally-produced foods. Actually, people were evacuated well before the four month period was over and few ate much of the local foods. Thus, the conclusions are an over-estimation of what actually should be the case. The full report is not yet available to the public, but WHO says it will be published “soon”. (Kyodo News Service, Asahi Shimbun; Mainichi Shimbun)
- Tepco has told America’s National Academy of Sciences that the company did not take sufficient anti-tsunami protection measures prior to 3/11/11 because of a public relations concern. Akira Kawano, manager of Tepco’s International Relations and Strategy Group, said the company “was concerned that safety measures, if taken, might rather fuel the anxiety of local people,” while admitting that pre-existing tsunami protection at Fukushima Daiichi was “not enough to fend off the tsunami that was beyond earlier assumptions.” (Kyodo News Service) comment – We should keep in mind Tepco and the Ministry of the Economy felt that upgrading tsunami protection to meet international standards was felt to be too expensive relative to the low probability of a worst-case tsunami. Is Tepco trying to shift the burden of guilt from a financial conflict of interest to fear of public anxiety? I hope not, but the possibility cannot be dismissed.
- Fukushima governor Yuuhei Sato has been in Tokyo promoting the sale of rice grown in Fukushima Prefecture. He’s trying to convince shoppers that Fukushima-grown rice is safe. This month, rice from his prefecture is back in full production for the first time since 3/11/11. Sato was equipped with a radiation monitor which he used to show people that everything shipped to Tokyo is below the 100 Becquerel per kilogram national standard for Cesium-137. Last year, much of the prefecture’s crop was banned from sale due to failure to meet the limits. Since then, work has been done to remove the cesium-carrying minerals from the rice fields, and the effort has gone very well. (Japan Today)
- The nuclear issue keeps slipping further and further out of the public focus leading up to the election. A Kyodo News Service telephone poll covering a wide range of election issues, found that 28.7% believe social security, pensions and health care top their concerns. Another 28.6% felt unemployment and general economic issues hold sway. In addition, LDP leader Shinzo Abe was found to be a bit more popular than incumbent Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda by 35% to 32%. The poll reached out to 1,776 eligible voters and 1,230 agreed to respond.
- Another Poll taken by the Yomiuri Shimbun reveals that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan has slipped behind the newly-formed Japan Restoration/Sunrise party coalition in popularity. Twenty-five percent of the respondents favor the Liberal Democratic Party, which seems poised to become the ruling party in the Diet on December 16. The Restoration Party weighed in at 14%, and the DPJ dropped down to a 10% favorable position. On who should be Prime Minister, 29% said LDP leader Shinzo Abe, 22% want Restoration Party head Shintaro Ishihara, and 19% desire current PM Noda to remain in office. In addition, support for DPJ-generated policies (including nuclear energy) dropped to 8% and approval for PM Noda’s cabinet slipped down to 21%. However, more than half of the people asked to participate in the survey declined, saying they were undecided due to the large number of parties and candidates vying for office.
- The governor of Shiga Prefecture says she is will form an anti-nuclear coalition party for the upcoming election in December. Yukiko Kada says she wants to head up the new party which would unite all of Japan’s antinuclear political forces. Kada believes the nuclear energy issue should be everyone’s focal point because this is the first national election since the Fukushima accident. Even though her constituency is between 400 and 500 kilometers from Fukushima, she believes the nation-wide impact of the accident is sufficient to make it the primary national issue. She wants the new party to become a “third force” in the upcoming election, implying that they will compete with the Japan Restoration Party and the increasingly unpopular DPJ. At least three minority parties say they are considering support for Kada’s efforts. The problem is that while all agree on nuclear abolition, they remain divided on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (free trade agreement), redistricting for the Diet and economic recovery policy. (NHK World; Japan Times; Kyodo News Service)
- It seems Greenpeace has conceded that the antinuclear forces in Japan are going to be soundly defeated in next month’s election. They blame it on what they feel is a lack of credible antinuclear politicians in Japan, plus the success of the LDP to shift the public focus away from nukes and onto the state of the economy and national security. “This is the first election since the Fukushima nuclear disaster and if it does not result in an anti-nuclear government, that will be one of the wonders of the world,” said Kazue Suzuki, a campaigner for Greenpeace. Greenpeace maintains that an overwhelming majority in Japan wants nukes abolished by 2030, but politicians are out of touch with the people. Greenpeace calls it a “democracy deficit”. Temple professor Jeffrey Kingston said, “It’s as if public opinion doesn’t matter at all.” Kingston also feels the shift in focus is due to the ineptitude of the DPJ, “The LDP is the likely winner and is pro-nuclear, but it will not win because it is pro-nuclear but because the DPJ is so hapless.” Andrew DeWit, a professor at Tokyo’s Rikkyo University adds, “There are a number of factors that would likely stand in the way of a return to business as usual. But it’s not impossible. I think we can’t dismiss the capacity of the nuclear village to ram through a ‘back to the future’ scenario.” (Reuters)
- Japan’s Press Research Institute says public trust in the news media has reached an all-time low. The media outlet with the highest public confidence is NHK, with a 70% positive rating. Newspapers followed at 68%, commercial TV at 60% and other internet sources rated 53% positive. However, each news media category dropped in its rating since last November, with NHK having the worst decline at 4.2 “points”, followed by TV at -3.5, newspapers at -3.1 and internet at -3. The Institute has been running this annual survey since 2008 and follows the standards for scientific credibility. (Japan Times)
- The Japanese government should do more to address fears over radiation in the area around Fukushima, a U.N. health expert said Monday. The UN’s Anand Grover believes the government should take the lead on dealing with radiation fears and not rely on outside experts to do it. He said, “I personally think experts know only part of the situation. Communities must be involved. I urge the government to ensure that the affected people, particularly the vulnerable groups, are fully involved in all decision-making processes.” Grover added that the perceived “inconsistency” between the nation’s 20 millisievert emergency limit and the 5-mSv dose allowed around Chernobyl before resettlement “created confusion among a significant number of the local population, who increasingly doubt government data and policy.” Grover also called for a wider area to be studied for the effects of radiation exposure, saying their present surveys are “unfortunately narrow”. He feels Tokyo is essentially ignoring recent studies that show exposures below 100mSv might cause cancer. As for the issue of a distinction between internal and external exposure-effects, Glover said, “As for internal radiation exposure… there is a view among scientists legitimately that there is no danger from exposure between zero and 100 millisieverts, but that is controversial. The government has to err on the side of caution and be inclusive.” Japan Today)
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NHK World has surveyed all 47 prefectures and none of them are willing to have a spent nuclear fuel repository within their borders…at least not yet. Seventeen prefectures said they would never accept it, and thirty others declined to respond. Most prefectures rejecting the possibility said it was because there is no safe method of disposal, especially in a country with frequent earthquakes. Eight of the non-responsive states said Tokyo should make the decision on a disposal site and not leave it up to local officials.
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