Today marks six years to the day since March 11, 2011, when the Great Tohoku Earthquake led to the disastrous meltdowns in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Six years on, the accident remains unresolved and people in Japan continue to face the consequences of a prolonged and unprecedented nuclear disaster.
The consequences are complicated and diverse. Due to the widespread radiation contamination, the lives of those who once lived with blessings of nature were lost and in many areas, dramatically altered.
The countless consequences include loss of livelihood, living in cramped temporary evacuation shelters, dividing families and communities, health risks and growing anxieties, bullying and prejudice in the evacuation destinations. The list goes on.
In such a situation, national policy which encourages the evacuees to return to their homes under the name of “reconstruction” victimises those who already lost so much in the nuclear disaster.
See Friends of the Earth Japan’s full statement on the six-year anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, and a more in-depth summary of the problems with the Japanese government’s “reconstruction” policy.
In antwerp today, calling for a #justtransition to a #FossilFree future. No nuclear! pic.twitter.com/maSrbSKlFJ
— Friends of the Earth (@foeeurope) 11 March 2017
Marking the occasion, Les Amis de la Terre/Friends of the Earth Wallonia and Climaxi/Friends of the Earth Flanders marched in Antwerp, calling for the closure of Belgium’s nuclear power plants, a full transition to renewables, and a just transition: good jobs for all those who would be affected by the closure of the nuclear industry.
