Ongoing Casualties and Exploitation from Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
By Steve BynumOngoing Casualties and Exploitation from Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
By Steve BynumSince the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011, Japan still experiences devastating consequences. The UN recently reported that tens of thousands of citizens, including workers in charge of decontaminating the nuclear plant, are at extreme risk of radiation exposure. Activists in Japan are trying to raise awareness about the real threats nuclear radiation exposure can have on a person’s health. They are being met with resistance by the Japanese government. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claimed “with regard to health-related problems [of the Fukushima accident], I [Abe] will state in the most emphatic and unequivocal terms that there have been no problems until now, nor are there any at present, nor will there be in the future”. Critics view the Japanese government’s blatant denial about harmful effects, and its insistence of the safety of Fukushima, as a cover-up to ease tensions ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Joining us to discuss what they view as an unfolding disaster is Norma Field, professor of Japanese Studies in East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, and Yuki Miyamoto, an ethicist and associate professor of religious studies at DePaul University.