national

Farmers protest outside TEPCO's Tokyo headquarters

23 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© 2011 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

23 Comments
Login to comment

It's so sad to see this. I really hope everyone gets fairly compensated but even when they do, their land will still be poisoned. I wonder if any of them would be willing to relocate if it were to be funded by the government or TEPCO?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The revolution starts now!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

They can return your lives in the form of compensation, but the green part may take a while. TEPCO ought to be working with the government on relocation, counseling, insurance and pension payments, health care costs for these people. Apologies will not suffice. Where is the attempt at being human to these people?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Put them behind bars - They will have better life.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Osakadaz is correct. 300 farmers and some stressed out cows is not going to change anything. They need to bring truckloads of radioactive highly soil and dump it at the HQ and directors houses. Then take readings that require a one kilometre evacuation zone around their buildings and homes. see how they like living in an evacuation centre...

3 ( +4 / -1 )

So wait, please tell me these are not the same people who fed contaminated hay (probably at a very cheap price) and then sold meat used for school lunches?!

I have a lot of respect for farmers but the ones in Japan already survive in subsidies which keep the prices inflated. Now we are expected to give them more after the years of inflated prices and lax rules? Plenty of other places in Japan trying to get people into farming. Perhaps they could get a relocation package and start again rather than a tonne of money?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

What's interesting is that some people in the photo appear to be non-Japanese (hard to tell without enlarging photo). Also, the front sign reads "Asia Doesn't Need Nuclear Plants," as opposed to "Japan Doesn't Need Nuclear Plants." Just an observation.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Tokyo Electric Power company would have to compensate farmers, fishermen,,,,all victims for next hundreds of years. After all nuclear power energy really costs a lot.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The farmers and people of Fukushima need to camp in the middle of Shibuya crossing permanently until a solution is found. This cannot sit by the way side any longer. Japan needs to make big changes to their ruling class asap.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is a land where apologizing, as long as the bow is at the appropriate level, is ok. The government and TEPCO have apologized. You cannot say it is ok to apologize for everything by bowing one day, and then change the next to other forms of apology the next. This is outrageous! You are placing Japanese culture in a precarious position. You people do not understand Japanese culture. Shameful!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

If the government doesn't really care, therefore what can you expect from a profit driven business. This video from the Fukushima residents just about sums up their concerns and the response from the officials is just typical and disgusting at the same time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVuGwc9dlhQ&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The Japanese government did not inform most farmers, contrary to what you read in the media. They made an announcement that never reached most. And the propaganda about farmers having it so good because of government subsides. Much is from the neoliberal agribusiness in the US who want to sell their products and screw local farmers. Sure, farmers here have been at the receiving end of gov subsidies, but also at their mercy. `A long and complicated history, but these are family farmers whose iivelihoods are destroyed.

You seem to know nothing of the life of most farmers, who struggle to survive. Please go to some good sites. Try http://uncannyterrain.com/blog/ for example, which documents the treatment the farmers received at the hands of TEPCO and company. Read blogs like Peace Philosophy Center. Take a look online at the videos of farmer and locals who have been lept in the dark, ignored, and tossed around without any idea of what is going to happen next. Most have not been given the official evacuation orders, even if they are outside the exclusion zone, and there is higher radiation than inside, they must make the decision to leave on their own responsibility, since the gov has absolved itself of all responsibility.

Testimony in Diet by Internal radiation specialist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlf4gOvzxYc&feature=youtu.be

Fuksuhima residents demand evacuation http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com/2011/07/distressed-fukushima-citizens-issue.html (A second video may play lower down the page. You cam turn it off and watch the first).

Letter from Fukushima http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com/2011/07/concerned-fathers-open-letter-to.html

Farmer video http://blog.safecast.org/2011/07/voices-from-fukushima/

Japanese gov monitoring protest blogs http://blog.safecast.org/2011/07/japan-govt/ http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/activity/document/statement/year/2011/110729_4.html and Eng translation from JT user http://www.japantoday.com/member/view/the_STIG

Oh, yes, there are requests to report monitoring/censorship of blogs and other info in lin line with the condemnation of the Japan Bar Association of this practice.

You can send reports to this group http://www.ne.jp/asahi/japan/progressive/

jan@miyazaki.email.ne.jp

Gov killing its own people http://predictfuture.blog38.fc2.com/blog-entry-106.html

Let us evacuate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyt85_iDmmI&feature=watch_response

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

stop protesting. just sue tepco. the legislative branch of the government is in cahoots with tepco. its up to the judiciary to see justice done. if they don't japan is sunk.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Protest is the bedrock of democracy. The judiciary will not touch Tepco, although Hirose Takashi and others ARE suing them. Protest needs to continue, as do lawsuits, letters to officials, boycott campaigns, internet rebuttals of government disinformation, letters to editors, counterattacks to trolls who populate BBS and comments sections of news sites, etc./ (countering pseudo scientific disinformation that tells us nuclear power is so safe, that it is ok to drink plutonium as TEPCO once said in a cartoon, that tries to paint the anti-nulclear movement as a bunch of hysterical fear mongers-all in the name of protecting the nuclear reactor business.

To the person who said those who demand apologies do not understand J culture...I do not know if that is supposed to be sarcasm or your real opinion. For the most part, those demanding that Tepco and the gov apologize, make retribution, be held legally responsble for destroying lives and livelihoods..they are all Japanese people. So it makes no sense to say they do not understand their own culture. their actions give the lie to the notion that people in Japan do not care about this society, that they will roll over dead and let themselves be violated by authority. In fact, most such truisms about docility, groupism, etc. are based on a fallacy. There is so much anger among so many. Just as in other countries, you have many who accept the hierarchical structure imposed on them( such as those Americans who used to associate dissent with treason, telling me that if I was opposed to the Vietnam war I should leave, because "people in Russia do not have our freedoms!!").

Do not belittle Japan or the Japanese culture by making the assumption that people here are angry and they hold the government responsible.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

TEPCO is not a bottomless pit of money. And Fukushima's soil is finished. As SmithinJapan mentioned, there is lots of unused farmland throughout this country. TEPCO's money would be better used to buy it up and distribute it to affected farmers.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

And why is TEPCO allowed to make any decisions at this point? The gov should have stepped in and seized the company in the beginning.TEPCO should have never been allowed the autonomy to endanger this area, or to continue to do so. It has become fairly evident that there will be no recovery of this site now, and allowing them to operate "behind closed doors" is a cover-up. I side with the farmers and would have TEPCO dissolved, lock stock and barrel.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This society suffers too much from the SHEEP EFFECT...the monkey see monkey do. Letting this corrupted/dirty/draconian government step on them and squash them like bugs. For years nobody complained or protested... Now you see them on the street with just hundreds of farmers and a few malnourished cows.

WHERE ARE THE THOUSANDS???? Where?? Why just mere 300 hundred souls?

It seems to me that this country doesn't OPEN their eyes yet.....or at worst....DOESN'T care enough...yet?

The situation is really getting out of hand....getting really bad...you know what terrifies me the most? My babies...my beloved beautiful 4 children....What's gonna happen to them 30 years from now??

Bone Cancer? other type of terminal illness?

I'm not gonna burn any of my children, they're gonna burn ME!!!!

All of this because of TEPCO and this corrupted shameless government that doesn't give a rat's ass about the people. A government that cares more about the value of the yen than the value of human life.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I pray not to see people go as far as joining the dark side and have TEPCO/Government HQ blown off the map... Not that they don't deserve it though!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@tokyokawasaki

THANK YOU for posting this link.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVuGwc9dlhQ&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

I just saw this video and if this doesn't make me go into early labor, nothing else will.... I think I'm gonna throw up!!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Tepco is responsible for what has happened and instead of having people line up and delaying paying them for there losses they should be paying without question. This is another example of business screwing up and not wanting to pay for there mistakes. Why are we building these plants the American aircraft carriers have nuclear power plants that don't have to be refueled in 26 years. If this is all our nuclear scientist can give us they should be FIRED Now not later and find a new line of work, their brain is in there Butt,

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Osakadaz has made the best proposal in my opinion.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They should've also marched those cows past the LDP headquarters building while they're at it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They should also rally to Kasumigaseki to protest to METI and the Health & Welfare Ministry for the consequence of cesium contamination on farming products.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites