skip

Rotary International 2530district community service committee

   Japnese

The Earthquake, NuclearAccident, and the Women of Fukushima

Return to Menu
The Great Tohoku Earthquake     Keiko Hasegawa (Aizuwakamatsu City)

The Great Tohoku Earthquake When the Great Tohoku Earthquake occurred, I was on the 2nd floor of the community center. Pieces of concrete fell from the ceiling, and fluorescent lights came loose, and hung down. I was told by the staff," Get under the tables!", and to wait there for the shaking to stop. Immediately after the shaking, my mobile phone signal was jammed. I went to the nursing home which was helping take care of my mother. The elevator didn't work, and people had started to evacuate the home. It was not so easy to carry people in wheelchairs from the 2nd or 3rd floors to the ground. The people being carried shivered from the cold and the snow. I did my best to help distribute blankets, and to help push people's wheelchairs.

After That

A big earthquake, a tsunami, and the nuclear accident occurred one after the other. Why? Why...? I sought information from television, newspapers, and lecture meetings. I also was able to volunteer distributing rice, and talk with people who had suffered. When we think about nuclear plants, how do we react: in surprise, confusion, anger...?

Or do we accept them? These are the two underlying opinions. Depending on which side you stand, it is well known that there is a huge difference in what is being said and what is fact. The media is no exception either. I strongly feel that we have reached an important turning point, where our views on life and our sense of morality will be changed completely.

What We Should Do

A nuclear power plant, which was believed to be safe and secure, was destroyed in a second by an earthquake which shook not only in Japan, but also the world. The devil that is invisible radiation chased us from our homes, and many people are adrift. According to Mendel's Law of Inheritance, it is said that children, who are easily affected by radiation, will pass this genetic information on to the next 7 generations. In the wake of the nuclear accident, I am grateful for the people who continue to work at the risk of their own lives for restoration. However, even with Japanese knowledge and techniques from all over the world, situations which cannot be predicted or scheduled will occur.

I think that human beings are still incapable of harnessing nuclear power. I think that we should work for and wrestle with the idea of denuclearization, so that human beings can live in peace and safety. The energy shortage should not be dealt with by restarting the nuclear plants. Instead, we should hurry to develop renewable energy, and make the most of sunlight, wind power, water power, geothermal energy, biomass energy, and so on in order to close the energy gap.

Whenever there is the opportunity, I intend to express this idea. I hope adults will teach children the correct information about nuclear radiation. I hope they will want to teach the truth, rather than use the information route and destination which may be convenient for the adults.

It is the fifth year since the nuclear accident, and we cannot eat the sockeye salmon of Lake Numazawa, which is located 180km from the plant, because of the high radiation levels. In order to preserve the species, the Fishermen's Cooperative Association repeats incubation sessions. Even as memories fade, various battles are still ongoing.