Five years have passed

Five years since the earthquake and the nuclear power plant accident. It has brought to light an abyss just next to us. I was convinced it should not be taken granted that we could live in peace. 

For a few weeks, we had had to live in fear with looming threat of radiation contamination from the destructed nuclear power plant. As written before, I have lost my mother in a month possibly due to the stress she had had in this event. She had to spend several days in chilly darkness at a nursing home in Sendai area even though she had the best care available at that time by the staff. I started considering of retirement in reality after this disaster, which came true in a year.

Considering of the damages and the losses they have had in Pacific Ocean side of Tohoku area, what we have experienced in the disater was not worth discussing here. There are still more than 170,000 people evacuated mainly from Fukushima. More than 21,000 victims including 1000 of death related with the nuclear power plant accident. So many have lost family members and/or their houses. Some of them could not return home forever due to the radiation contamination. Pain, anxiety and distress are still full in the area. I should never forget of that.

The nuclear power plant accident has showed that, in big cities like Tokyo, they have enjoyed the convenience and comfort with the power generated in the countryside like Fukushima. The power was not used for the people in the countryside. The big cities' habitants have lived at the sacrifice of the people in the countryside. Immediately after the accident, they seemed to give up nuclear power generation. In a year or two, after having kept silence, the group of nuclear power concession has rebreathed and made the government decide to start running the other nuclear power plants. The government says they will start them when they have satisfied the strict safety regulations. As soon as the plant of Takahama in Kansai area has started its operation, it has occured a few troubles. Eventually, the local court has ordered them to stop its operation.

The safety regulations the Nationa Regulation Authority requires for restarting nuclear reactor are not perfect at all. They won't require strengthening of the reactor case as in Europe. The reactors are vulnerable to terrorists' attack. They won't question about how to protect the disastered reactor against the flow of underground water in another serious accident. It could cause endless contamination of the ocean as it is going on in Fukushima. Four hundred litter of contaminated water is generated there every day. Any management plan is not questioned in the safety regulations like this contaminated water due to underground water. Most of all, the evacuation of the people adjacent areas is not fully discussed in the regulations. This regulations seem to be based on "the safety myth" the concession group of nuclear power had believed, so that they had been bound to. 

The disaster has not ended yet. A long way to go for full recovery. We could do little against natural disasters but could be ready for that. We should do protest against anything which recurs the man made aspects of the disaster.