In the last weekend, when I was heading to a lecture meeting in a city of an hour or less drive, it became snowy. For a moment, it was heavily snowy with hard wind and I could barely see the road for a few meters. I thought it could have been white-out. That might be too much exaggeration, I know. But it was such a weather for me who have never experienced driving in such snowfall. Luckily, it has not lasted too long and I could reach the place of lecture meeting without trouble.
It was a meeting lectured by a journalist, who has been patiently researching and interviewing about the nuclear power plant issue in our country for the past decades. She has recently published a book titled "Why Couldn't Japan Stop Nuclear Power Generation?". It has gained so good reputation in that genre that she seemed to have been invited for lecture by groups/individuals at various places all over the country. It seems it has been a bestseller book in the genre in the net market for a while.
Despite of the small size of the meeting, it was covering from various aspects of the problem, which attracted our interests much. One of the refugee families from Fukushima was impressive. Their father had to return to Fukushima for work from the evacuated place in Niigata one day and his son in low teen of age committed suicide the day after. There are, as she reported, larger number of young people killing themselves in Fukushima than the average in our country.
Journalists are not allowed taking photos inside of the shelters in natural disasters or in nulear power plant accident etc. The regional governments won't let them take photos to be published in media because it was an issue of privacy for the evacuees. But it seems like only public stance for the regional and central government in our country. We know most of the shelters are converted from gym or hall without any partition for each evacuee. Only low partial partition made of carboard. In the actual shelters for the earthquake evacuees in Noto Peninsula, they say influenca as well as COVID19 are prevailing among the elderly.
There were a lot of discussions regarding what was going on at Shika nuclear power plant only 50 miles south west of the epicenter. It has experienced massive quaking. Lots of oil from the transformer asn well as the coolant water, contaminated with radiation material, was spilled. It was not distant from the northern coast of the peninsula which was lifted feet high. It could have occured at the nuclear power plant and destroy the reactor. The problem is that the power line company and the administration office seem to have hidden something wrong. They are repeatedly correcting the news release and publish the problems step by step, which is enogh to make us believe something serious is still hidden behind.
It is depressing that those evacuees are not given proper aid quickly and are still staying in such poor shelters. I am afraid people are not treated as they should be in our country. But the fact that the journalist's book has attracted a large numbe of people's attention and there were some young attendees at such a small lecture meeting in countryside is good enough to encourage me. I have been occupied with the issue of nuclear power plants since the Fukushima disaster. I have decided again to carry it on for the solution of this serious issue. With the hope for the next generation.
On the way back home, already quite dark, the snow was almost melted. Shaded portions of roads seemed icy. I realized how long I hadn't gone out on car at night. I have come home uneventfully, thouogh.
I have told about this trip to my brother and added the story written in the post quoted below, even though I was sure I had done that to him a few times regarding snowfall. As expected, he answered to me he had felt "again" blessed born at our family in this way. This is one of the ealiest memories in my life and I could not stop telling that to him whenever it snowed like in the last weekend.
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