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Woman breaks silence among Fukushima thyroid cancer patients

37 Comments
By YURI KAGEYAMA

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The reason for the discrepancy is that cancerous or pre-cancerous cells come and go. With more screening more "temporary" cancers are likely to be found. But any one positive result cannot be considered definitive. You would need lots more screening to distinguish long-lasting cancers, some of which could actually be lived with for a lifetime. In fact, greater screening can lead to more operations which need not have been performed, with attendant risks.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

“There aren’t many people like me who will openly speak out,” said the young woman, who requested anonymity because of fears about harassment.

But to show her photos is OK ?

10 ( +14 / -4 )

She has had her thyroid gland removed and she doesn'need thyroid suppliments???? That does not seem right, without a productive gland you will for sure need suppliments of the T3 hormon. The fatigue/tired feeling is a sure sign of hypothyroidism and it needs treatment!!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

What a society, blaming victims for their misfortune. Truly shocking.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

you must have blood coming out coming out of your everywhere.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Government with their head in the sand.... the ignore it attitude of Japan is so bad.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

She has had her thyroid gland removed and she doesn'need thyroid suppliments????

The young woman had one cancerous thyroid removed

Not all were removed, so far.

This is crazy even with the obvious increased testing its likely the nukes ARE related to the numbers being found, that or levels in ALL of Japan are maybe much higher than expected............why would that be???

The young woman said her former boyfriend’s family had expressed reservations about their relationship because of her sickness. She has a new boyfriend now, a member of Japan’s military, and he understands about her sickness, she said happily.

DAMN Japanese can be SO COLD & CRUEL to their own! Its bad enough the govt & Japan Inc hold them in contempt, but even regular people REGULARLY are super cold to their fellow men/women.......nasty!!

BUT I am very happy she is bouncing back, keep it up, we are cheering for you! All of those diagnosed!!

2 ( +5 / -3 )

DAMN Japanese can be SO COLD & CRUEL to their own! Its bad enough the govt & Japan Inc hold them in contempt, but even regular people REGULARLY are super cold to their fellow men/women.......nasty!!

Agree. This would never happen in a western culture. Why does her boyfriend's family "express reservations"? Shouldn't they be warm-hearted and supportive?

The cancer was detected early.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Sadly Minimata set the tone LONG AGO, govt & Japan Inc still have the SAME manual TODAY!!!

6 ( +7 / -1 )

She suffers from the only disease that the medical community, including the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, has acknowledged is clearly related to the radioactive iodine that spewed into the surrounding areas after the only nuclear disaster worse than Fukushima’s, the 1986 explosion and fire at Chernobyl, Ukraine.

BUT

but the Japanese government says more cases are popping up because of rigorous screening, not the radiation that spewed from Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Is the gov really this stupid to think that people would buy this crap?

He said that when a little girl who lives in Fukushima once asked him if she would ever be able to get married, because of the stigma attached to radiation, he was lost for an answer and wept afterward.

For all of his rightwing hubris, this is the most telling story of Abe and his LDP. Because of them, a little girl who lives in Fukushima may not ever be able to get married because of the stigma attached to radiation. Meanwhile Shinzo Ape continues to restart the reactors, greases the wheels of the nuclear industry and either looks the other way or downright aids and abets in the intimidation of people trying to speak out. This is NOT a government that cares about Japan; even through warped and misguided rightwing tendencies. They absolutely don't care about the Japanese people at all.

When asked how she feels about nuclear power, she replied quietly that Japan doesn’t need nuclear plants. Without them, she added, maybe she would not have gotten sick.

Such simple words. Yet so profound and so wise.

Sadly Minimata set the tone LONG AGO, govt & Japan Inc still have the SAME manual TODAY!!!

Absolutely! The really sad thing is how the man responsible for Minamata is the Grandfather of the crown princess and future empress of Japan.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Here is a link on studies made on A-bomb survivors and cancers related to radiation exposure, almost all the studies are showing that cancers Attributable risk is raising linearly with the radiation exposure, and yet, there are people, like Hokuto Hoshi, and others who are claiming it is unrelated, it is unrelated only for those peaking from the bottom of their wallet.

http://www.rerf.jp/radefx/late_e/late.html

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Brave young woman. Shame on the family of her ex-boyfriend for their coldness and cruelty. And even bigger shame on the government of Japan. But given the fact that they are just BARELY now starting to place the blame where it lies with Minamata, you can expect they won't "make the correlation" until 70 years down the road, when all of these kids and the politicians of today are dead, and the government can conveniently blame them and say how "regrettable" it all is.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

article:The thyroid-cancer rate in the northern Japanese prefecture is many times higher than what is generally found, particularly among children...

Says who? JT, with all due respect to Ms. Kageyama, would you mind stepping up your work and giving us some reliable sources/figures? What are the figures for Fukushima before/after the disaster? What are the figures for the rest of the country? Don't you think that your readers are intelligent inough to draw conclusions for themselves? Ms. Kageyama, would you please do some more reasearch for the readers of JT?

but the Japanese government says more cases are popping up because of rigorous screening, not the radiation that spewed from Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

How is that strange? When you screen more for something you are bound to find more of it. How many people were screened before 3/11? How does that compare to the number of screened people after the disaster? Instead of wasting time on statements like the one above, use your time and efforts to ask for research on the already discovered cancers. Then, after the results are out, get your word heard based on them not on some uninformed, emosionally driven conclusions.

Many Japanese have deep fears about genetic abnormalities caused by radiation.

It seems that such fears are not reserved only for the Japanese though.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Be careful, to suggest that Fukushima was not the worst nuclear disaster in history is, in the rigidly harmony-oriented gaijin community, to be the "nail that sticks out". Surely something that happened in Japan must be worse than something that happened in the Soviet Union, BECAUSE it happened in Japan.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

I suspect that her ex-boyfriend's family was worried that if they had gotten married and had children they might have suffered from genetic abnormalities caused by their mother's possible exposure to the leaked radiation. I was happy to know that she's found an understanding new boyfriend.

It seems like we all need a bit of levelheadedness rather than printing hearsay and allegations without sources. Scientific research must be done by an independent institution to determine whether the radiation from the nuclear plants actually increased the incident of thyroid cancer in the region.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

JaneM JUN. 08, 2016 - 12:53PM JSTWhat are the figures for Fukushima before/after the disaster? What are the figures for the rest of the country?

A thyroid screening would be expected to save lives by detecting cancers early, whether or not the cancers were caused by radioactivity. Virtually all those diagnosed underwent total or partial thyroid removal. Most required lifelong thyroid-hormone replacement therapy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sort of interesting how many cases of thyroid cancer are appearing-obviously they aren't smiling enough. I mean, that is the reason and not 600 tonnes of corium right?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Be careful, to suggest that Fukushima was not the worst nuclear disaster in history is, in the rigidly harmony-oriented gaijin community, to be the "nail that sticks out". Surely something that happened in Japan must be worse than something that happened in the Soviet Union, BECAUSE it happened in Japan.

Who the hell said that? What are we trying now to compare death counts and nya nya nin nya nya- We have more thyroid cancer deaths than you do, HAHA!??

We will never know which disaster was worse because neither the USSR nor Japan have ever been known for their openness or honesty about anything. What we DO know is that the USSR did evacuate people a HELL of a lot more quickly than the Japanese did. Their exclusion zone was bigger and they did encase the reactor in a sacophagus which they are now getting ready to reencase. The Japanese response has been a fumble from start to finish and general Japanese culture proved to be the BIGGEST detriment (their words not mine) to fixing the problem, since the Japanese are virtually incapable of taking ANY decisions on their own which was precisely WHAT is needed in ANY crisis situation, say nothing of a nuclear disaster. In addition to that, the USSR did come forward rather quickly about the disaster (remember this is before the internet age) while the Japanese denied there even was a meltdown for 6 months.

We don't know which disaster was initially worse- we probably never will. What we do know is that the soviet response was MUCH better and WAY more responsible than the Japanese one was.

And stop calling us gaijin. I live, work, and pay taxes in Japan, my wife and son are Japanese, I speak, read, and write Japanese, and most of my friends are Japanese. I completely resent being told that I am on the outside of society.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

the USSR did come forward rather quickly about the disaster

It's my recollection that they didn't come forward at all until 2 days after the incident, when a plant in Sweden (I think it was?) started picking up elevated levels of radiation?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Yuri Kageyama, depite covering this situation for several years, continues to go for the fearmongering.

Most disturbing was a cancer found in a child who was just 5 years old in 2011, the youngest case found so far. But the experts brushed it off, saying one wasn’t a significant number.

Brushed it off? The child is now 10, where thyroid cases start to show up in the statistics. I guess Yuri wants to suggest a conspiracy.

The young woman had one cancerous thyroid removed, and does not need medication except for painkillers. But she has become prone to hormonal imbalance and gets tired more easily.

Perhaps if reporters had been interested in studies on how thyroid anomalies are quite common, and how South Korea's diagosis rate had jumped enormously when the govt. decided to scan like is done in Fukushima, she might not have had to undergo the procedure. But that could end a lucrative story, which just keeps on giving...

He said that when a little girl who lives in Fukushima once asked him if she would ever be able to get married, because of the stigma attached to radiation, he was lost for an answer and wept afterward.

I can give an answer: as long a certain reporters generate cash by peddling fear and doubt, you may encounter prejudice from people who never engage their brains or hearts.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

To be seen as challenging that view carries consequences in this rigidly harmony-oriented society. Even just having cancer that might be related to radiation carries a stigma in the only country to be hit with atomic bombs.

A " harmony " based on lies and deceit is not harmony, it's a conspiracy.

.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

It's my recollection that they didn't come forward at all until 2 days after the incident, when a plant in Sweden (I think it was?) started picking up elevated levels of radiation?

2 days vs 6 months..

the USSR did come forward rather quickly about the disaster

I stand by this statement. The accident happened sometime after midnight. And it was in the Ukraine. By the time the got there and figured out what was happening it took some time. Look, I'm not defending Russia. All I'm saying is that IF you compare Japan's reaction and the USSR's, Japan's was much more lacking. That should be taken into account when assessing which disaster was worse. Its not just about the initial crisis- how the crisis was managed should play an essential part in determining which was actually worse.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

2 days vs 6 months..

It may have been 6 months before they acknowledged the possibility of a meltdown, and longer (5 years and counting...) to do anything decisive about it, but we knew about the explosions etc., more or less in real time. It wasn't some foreign country downwind that set off the alarm. The USSR came forward when they no longer had the option not to.

I wouldn't try to defend either of them.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

but we knew about the explosions etc., more or less in real time

Yes true, but that's because of social media and the internet. Even with those the gov kept it very quiet..

It wasn't some foreign country downwind that set off the alarm

I'll have to disagree there. It was alot of foreign countries sounding the alarm and the Japanese gov and media denying everything.

The USSR came forward when they no longer had the option not to.

very true. but Japan didn't- even when they no longer had the option not to. The whole world knew that there was a disaster days after but like I said it took them 6 months. The USSR as a result of Chernobyl implemented Glasnost. What did Japan do? The exact opposite- a security bill making things even less transparent.

I wouldn't try to defend either of them.

Oh dear god no. not at all. just saying that Japan's response was even worse than the USSR's.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

that's because of social media and the internet

The earthquake killed my computer and Internet connection, so I wasn't getting any of my information from there. All I had was the TV and the radio, and I knew what was going on.

gov kept it very quiet....It was alot of foreign countries sounding the alarm and the Japanese gov and media denying everything.

What are you talking about? Were you here? There was 24-7 coverage of the whole disaster, including Fukushima, on TV, radio and the Internet, with press conferences and announcements on an almost hourly basis. I remember phoning my daughter to warn her to keep our granddaughter indoors and the windows shut because the government had just announced that a change in the wind meant that the radiation plume was heading their way - maybe a day or two after 3/11, certainly not months or even a week after.

The whole world knew that there was a disaster days after

Here in Japan we knew that the same day.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

What are you talking about? Were you here?

Yes, and unlike most, I stayed at my post.

The earthquake killed my computer and Internet connection, so I wasn't getting any of my information from there. All I had was the TV and the radio, and I knew what was going on.

Well it didn't kill mine, and what I saw on the TV wasn't the same as what I was reading on the web. I don't know what programs you were watching, but what I heard on TV was that there was no meltdown and no explosion. The news we were getting was COMPLETELY from what we were getting from independent news sources. By those I mean social media and foreigners with geigers putting up info on the net.

There was 24-7 coverage of the whole disaster, including Fukushima, on TV, radio and the Internet, with press conferences and announcements on an almost hourly basis.

Yet they still managed to hide the fact that reactors had melted and that there were explosions.

Look, you are entitled to your opinion, but mine is this: Japan's coverage AND response was even WORSE than the USSR's back in the 1980s.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

what I heard on TV was that there was no meltdown and no explosion

I've already said the meltdowns weren't acknowledged until much later. I knew about the explosions though, and not from the Internet.

they still managed to hide the fact that reactors had melted and that there were explosions

Then how did I know about the explosions? They were not hidden. Do you imagine I have my own private TV channel?

Look, you are entitled to your opinion

'I knew about the explosions from watching the telly' is not an opinion, it's a statement of fact.

Your recollections of the official Russian reaction to Chernobyl differ greatly from my own.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I've already said the meltdowns weren't acknowledged until much later

Well, we agree

Do you imagine I have my own private TV channel?

Maybe you did what I did and watched Aljazeera, RT, BBC, Press TV.. That's where I got my news..

Your recollections of the official Russian reaction to Chernobyl differ greatly from my own

Think of it this way, 5 years later people were already resettled and pripriat is a ghost town. Japan, they're trying to bring people back to resettle where they know its not safe there. Where's the concrete sarcophagus around Fukushima they have around Chernobly? The russians had glasnost-where's japan's glasnost?

again NOT defending the russians- just saying that Japan's reaction was worse by comparison.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Maybe you did what I did and watched Aljazeera, RT, BBC, Press TV..

Nope. All I had were the domestic channels.

The russians had glasnost

Wasn't glasnost brought in by Gorbachev as a reaction to the abysmally secretive way Chernobyl was handled?

just saying that Japan's reaction was worse by comparison

Not worse, just different. They were both abominable.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Nope. All I had were the domestic channels.

Which I thought were all useless.

Wasn't glasnost brought in by Gorbachev as a reaction to the abysmally secretive way Chernobyl was handled?

exactly. Fukushima was also very opaque- but no glasnost.

Not worse, just different. They were both abominable.

Well, I'll have to disagree with you on the first and agree on the second. I still think Japan's handling was worse. But to each his/her own. Nice chatting with you, btw.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The thyroid-cancer rate in the northern Japanese prefecture is many times higher than what is generally found, particularly among children, but the Japanese government says more cases are popping up because of rigorous screening, not the radiation that spewed from Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The thing is, the observed increase in thyroid cancer rate in the area IS actually due to the more through screening. People living outside Fukushima area do not go through a thyroid cancer screening unless they are having obvious symptoms. Furthermore, thyroid cancer is very slow to grow, and in many cases harmless thus large portion of the tumours remain un-noticed.

As a matter of fact, a study was conducted last year in other parts of the country in order to determine the normal baseline rate of thyroid cancer. The study found that the cancer rate in Fukushima area has NOT increased. Unfortunately media has largely ignored the study, and keeps touting the "Cancer epidemic in Fukushima!" mantra.

More detailed information on the study below: http://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/issues/nuclear/nopetheres-no-thyroid-cancer-epidemic-in-fukushima

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Cleo,

'I knew about the explosions from watching the telly' is not an opinion, it's a statement of fact.

Yup, when we finally got our electricity back after the quake the explosions were virtually being shown in a loop on TV.

Your recollections of the official Russian reaction to Chernobyl differ greatly from my own.

Mine too. At Chernobyl the Soviets didn't bother to take precautions to prevent people ingesting radioiodine - that was not the case at Fukushima. Events were reported on TV, at Chernobyl people were largely kept in the dark.

Aly Rustom,

while the Japanese denied there even was a meltdown for 6 months

Really? New York Times, March 13th 2011:

"So far, Japanese officials have said the melting of the nuclear cores in the two plants is assumed to be “partial,” and the amount of radioactivity measured outside the plants, though twice the level Japan considers safe, has been relatively modest."

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So far, Japanese officials have said the melting of the nuclear cores in the two plants is assumed to be “partial,”

When they knew the whole time it was complete and not partial.

and the amount of radioactivity measured outside the plants, though twice the level Japan considers safe, has been relatively modest."

How can something be twice the level considered safe and yet still be modest? That right there shows you that the Japanese were lying from day 1.

Anyway, we are getting off on a tangent here. Please comment on my original statement which started this whole thread:

In comparing Fukushima to Chernobly, in order to assess which disaster was worse, one has to look at the response to the disaster AS WELL AS the disaster itself to determine which was worse. While I think that the soviet response was extremely bad, I happen to think that it was better than the Japanese one for many reasons. If you feel otherwise, we can get into that. I will be happy to lay out all my arguments for you to pick at.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Aly,

i will respond to your responses to my post, then feel free to lay out why you thInk the Soviet response was better than the Japanese one.

When they knew the whole time it was complete and not partial.

Really, from a news report on the 13th - quoting sources in Japan, so possibly news from the 12th, the day after the Quake and tsunami? There was all kinds of chaos happening, and somehow they knew for sure there was a complete meltdown?

"and the amount of radioactivity measured outside the plants, though twice the level Japan considers safe, has been relatively modest."

How can something be twice the level considered safe and yet still be modest? That right there shows you that the Japanese were lying from day 1.

Because safety levels are set for continuous exposure - brief exposures are much less to worry about.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Good morning viking.

There was all kinds of chaos happening, and somehow they knew for sure there was a complete meltdown?

Could say the same thing about Chernobyl.

i will respond to your responses to my post, then feel free to lay out why you thInk the Soviet response was better than the Japanese one.

Ok. first, let's address the evacuation.

Chernobyl

occurred on 26 April 1986 at 01:23 am

By 11:00 on 27 April, buses had arrived in Pripyat to start the evacuation. The evacuation began at 14:00. By 15:00, 53,000 people were evacuated to various villages of the Kiev region.[60] The next day, talks began for evacuating people from the 10 km zone.[60] Ten days after the accident, the evacuation area was expanded to 30 km

Fukushima:

On day one, an estimated 170,000 people[92] were evacuated from the prohibited access and on-alert areas. Prime Minister Kan instructed people within the on-alert area to leave and urged those in the prepared area to stay indoors.[93][94] The latter groups were urged to evacuate on 25 March

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster#Evacuation

Now if we examine the evacuations, we see that both nations were abysmally slow in their evacuations. However, bear this in mind: In the USSR the accident happened at 1:20 in the morning while in Japan it was in the afternoon. 2. the Japanese had help from the US forces, and the Russians didn't. In fact, both the US and Russia spoke with the Japanese and tried to offer advice but it fell on deaf ears. 3. In 1986 there was no precendent for what happened- 3 mile island was nothing in comparision, but in 2011 we already knew about 1986 and very little was done that was different.

Next, lets talk about the sarcophagus

The designing of the sarcophagus started on May 20, 1986. Subsequent construction lasted for 206 days, from June to late November of the same year.[

The soviets built a sacophagus around their plant. Where's the one around Fukushima?

There are more but lets just start with those for now.

Have a good one mate.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Aly,

Sorry for the delay. Here is my reply.

Chernobyl occured, as you say, on 26 April 1986 at 01:23 am. By 'occuring' we mean the reactor exploded, blasting radioactive material as high as 1 km into the air, and caught fire because of the graphite moderator used in that design. There was no containment building to keep most of the reactor material in.

Despite this event, there was almost a day and a half delay in evacuating the city of Pripyat, located 1 km from the plant, and residents were not warned about the effects of radiological contamination.

Fukushima did not 'occur', as in the reactor exploding and blasting a vast amount of reactor materials at all, and the first explosions in the buildings. The government is monitoring the situation, but is also having to deal with massive damage to the whole Pacific coast of Tohoku. When word of problems with Reactor 1 is received, they order an evacuation out to 3 km from the plant at 21:00 the same day, and for those within 10 km to shelter indoors - 19 hours before the Building 1 explosion of the 12th of March. Evacuation to 10 km is ordered at around 5 am on March the 12th - 10 hours before the Building 1 explosion. Evacuation to 20 km was ordered 5 hours after the explosion.

I think it's pretty clear the Japanese govt. had the better evacuation response - the closest areas being evacuated before the accident occurred.

As for the sarcophagus, there are sarcophagi at Fukushima. You see, as opposed to Chernobyl, Fukushima's reactors have containment vessels.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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