"We don't cry ourselves to sleep" The citizens of Fukushima Prefecture lodge a criminal complaint against Tepco and The Japanese Government

Original text from Ryusaku Tanaka Journal 11.06.2012 http://tanakaryusaku.jp/2012/06/0004469

About 200 People from The Complaint Group of 1324 People brought themselves at The Fukushima District Public Prosecutors Office. = June 11 in Fukushima City : Photo by Miyako Suwa

For example when a transport facilities or factories cause serious accidents, there's always a police investigation just after the accident and the chief executive is demanded for the criminal charge. Tokyo Electric Power Company had the most serious nuclear plant accident and was the reason for more than 160 000 people to be evacuated. And the fact that TEPCO haven't been brought to justice is just so wrong to anyone. 

"We don't cry ourselves to sleep". Victims in Fukushima Prefecture stood up to demand the criminal charge of Japan's Nuclear Village (nuclear promotors) which even control the power of the government. 

On June 11, the 1324 residents (including children) of Fukushima Prefecture brought the complaint, made an accusation against the former and today's executive team of Tepco and government officials on a charge of death or bodily injury through negligence in the conduct of occupation.

33 persons were accused for the criminal charge including : Tsunehisa Katsumata (The Former Chairman of Tepco), Masataka Shimizu (The Former President of Tepco), Nobuaki Terasaka (The Former Director of  Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, NISA), Haruki Madarame (The Committee Chairman of Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan), Shunsuke Kondo ( The Committee Chairman of Japan Atomic Energy Commission).

Among these 33 persons, there's also government bureaucrats (of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports; Science and Technology "MEXT") who knew by the information of SPEEDI that the radiation contamination spread but didn't evacuate children and also Dr. Shunichi Yamashita (The radiation risk management adviser of Fukushima Prefecture). We can say it's a get-together for all the evils of Japan.

I'm wondering why not the media who had been working as a jackal for electric companies and who had been imprinting the "Myth of Nuclear Power Safety" to the people for more than for 30 years?

Hiroyuki Kawai who is the chief attorney for the complaint group explained that medias have "a responsibility in Japan's Nuclear Power Village but if we make an accusation against medias, it will enlarge the focal point of the complaint".

By written accusation, the accused persons proctors had the responsibility to be able to fight back to minimize the damage in the case of an accident by taking preventive measures against serious accidents, such as core damage or core meltdown, as they were in charge of the nuclear power plant which faces too much risk in a land of earthquakes like Japan. But they neglect their duty of safety precautions and they exposed to radiation a large amount of civilians in Fukushima Prefecture. Among the victims there is the death of 50 persons caused by high radiation dose exposure. 

Ms. Ruiko Muto. "In those letters of representation, people's cry from the heart is written and it goes directly to my heart." = Photo by Ryusaku Tanaka

Mr. Kawai, the lawyer, told about the signification of the criminal complaint:

"The fact that the criminal responsibility is not demanded for Tepco's top managements are alike to reform the country after WWII letting Hideki Tôjô stay in the politics. But The Japan's Nuclear Village is quite wired and ridiculous. Nobody quit by taking the responsibility in Tepco. As a society it is something that is impossible to forgive."

The word of Ms. Ruiko Muto (born in Miharu City), who's the the lead of the accusation group, represent the thoughts of Fukushima citizen. 

"In this world, there's the opinion that the accident was calmed down. But our annoyance is getting bigger and bigger. I can't explain our difficulties with a word. Until the criminal responsibilities of Tepco And Government are not established, Fukushima will never be restored". 

There are difficult aspects, such as medical proof of causal association, but the datas show the diseases considered as caused by the nuclear plant accident (like children's diarrhea and adult's cardiac infarction) are increasing. In such a situation if the Tepco's top managements and government officials are not prosecuted, Japan is no longer a country ruled by law. 

Courtesy : Ryusaku Tanaka, Miyako Suwa