A message to everyone in the world

On 1 January 2024, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Japan’s Noto peninsula. The area was then hit by tsunami waves as much as 5.1 m high and massive fires, which led to countless deaths and devastation.* 

 ‘What if nuclear accidents will follow?’

The catastrophe reminded many people of the Fukushima nuclear disaster 13 years ago, which was caused by an earthquake and the consequent tsunami.

There were only two small consolations: first, the Shika Nuclear Power Plant on the peninsula and the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in the vicinity were offline while being prepared for a restart. Second, that a plan to build a nuclear power plant in Suzu, a city at the tip of the peninsula worst hit by the earthquake and tsunami, had been shelved. 

The Shika Nuclear Power Plant suffered power outages. Its damaged transformers caused oil leakage that amounted to 20,000 litres in total. Radioactive water spilt from spent fuel cooling pools. The full extent of the damage, however, has not become clear until now.

It has been revealed that active faults, or fractures in the rocks of Earth’s crust that in this case may be as much as 150 km long, played a part in the seismic activity around Noto, causing huge ground cracks, soil liquefaction and tectonic uplift. This further underlined the danger of operating nuclear power plants in the quake-prone archipelago of Japan, a truth that should have become apparent in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The ‘GX (Green Transformation) Promotion Act’ enacted last year in Japan actually promotes civil nuclear energy and the restart of nuclear power plants on the pretext of lowering carbon emissions. Operation of nuclear reactors is fraught with grave danger, especially when the risk of major earthquakes is high all over Japan. The western Nankai region, the northern Chishima coast, and the eastern Miyagi coast are particularly at risk of tectonic activity.

To our dismay, the discharge of radioactive water, so-called ‘ALPS treated water’, from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean began in August 2023. On the day before the discharge was started, I was 1.5 km offshore on a research boat operated by Iwaki Citizens’ Radiation Measurement Centre, ‘TARACHINE’, gazing over the plant with tremendous sadness. I am so disappointed that our efforts to prevent further ocean contamination for decades to come weren’t successful enough and I do take the blame for that.

But we won’t just give up. 363 plaintiffs, including fisherpeople, those from the fishing industry, and citizens, filed civil and administrative lawsuits to stop the release of the ALPS-treated – but still contaminated – water. We will fight for an injunction and withdrawal of approval on the following grounds: that the prevention principle is internationally recognised as a general principle of environment protection; that the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, didn’t fulfil the promise it made to the fishing industry and stakeholders**; that the polluter and the Japanese government have a responsibility to adopt less environmentally harmful alternatives; that IAEA’s comprehensive report does not justify the discharge; and that the discharge in defiance of international disapproval entails diplomatic and ethical problems. We believe that not only fishing rights but also our personal dignity and right to peaceful living have been violated. The first hearing will be held on the 4th of March at the Fukushima District Court. Your support would be very much appreciated.

Considering the bleak start to 2024, it is all the more important to broaden our movement to stop nuclear power plants from operating all over the world. The planet is threatened by risks, such as the rising prospect of a nuclear war, tectonic movements, climate change and ocean pollution. Now is the time for us to stand together, face reality in this world and take whatever action we can to solve these problems. Peace, love, harmonious living – these all lie in each of us. 

Three women in Japan are calling for a ‘311 Candle Night’ this year.*** Would you join us in lighting candles at 7.03 pm on the 11th of March in Japan Standard Time? This is the time when the Japanese government declared a nuclear emergency in 2011. We hope the shared action will bring all of us a sense of healing and solidarity.

March 2024 in Fukushima

Ruiko Muto

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

Notes:

* 241 are dead, 7 are unaccounted for, and 77,804 houses are at least partially destroyed or damaged as of 1 March 2024.

** In 2015, TEPCO and the Japanese government agreed in writing that the radioactive water would not be discharged in any way without an approval from stakeholders and would be stored in tanks within the premises of the power plant.

*** https://www.311candlenight.org/