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Gov't claims public support for plan to distribute tsunami debris throughout Japan

18 Comments

The Environment Ministry has released data collected in a public opinion poll about environmental issues in which it claims that 88% of respondents agreed with plans to dispose of disaster debris from Iwate and Miyagi prefectures throughout Japan.

The government says that when 1,912 people were asked if the plan to dispose of debris nationwide should be carried out, 88.3% responded that it should be carried out or that carrying out the plan was better than not carrying it out, TV Asahi reported. Fukushima Prefecture was excluded from the survey due to concerns over radiation.

A ministry spokesman said: "We take these results as a sign that the people of Japan are gradually coming around to accepting the necessity of distributing the debris around the country. However, we acknowledge that it is difficult to say that the opinions of a survey group represent the opinions of the public as a whole."

© Japan Today

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18 Comments
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Where were the 1900+ people interviewed?

Next to an incinerator? Okinawa?

Why carry all that debris around Japan? To distribute the pollution? What are the costs to transport it all?

Well, there is a huge amount of it. I wonder if the ballet of barges and trucks will not take longer. They should burn the debris in the north. Not because I don't want them here, in the south, but because it doesn't make sens to me to burn debris all over the place.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

However, we acknowledge that it is difficult to say that the opinions of a survey group represent the opinions of the public as a whole

That really says it all. Less than 2000 people? This survey was ridiculous.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Not even worth a comment! The story says it all!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The ppl they asked must have had their heads buried in the sand for a very long time...

2 ( +3 / -1 )

So were they given a simple yes or no, or were they presented with alternative plans? Why do I even ask? We all know that no alternative plan has been presented, and the typical Joe Public cant think of one. So they just say yes. The poll is a sham.

There is simply no reason of public good to drag this stuff around the country and burn it. There is no shortage of land in the north, and it could be piled up in various out of the way places.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

The people from Tohoku all said: yes, they should burn it elsewhere. Tokai and surrounding areas are worried that if they don't distribute it all over the nation, they will have to take in all, so they okayed the plan for whole Japan. Fukushima was excluded from this survey, but the debris in the plan comes from Fukushima as well... Yes, I don't understand the moving around of trash either, it must cost lots of money. Surely it would be better to take care of trash in Iwate than to send it as far as Kitakyushu...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

1,912 people does not equal all of Japan, that is such a tiny number.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

probably 2000 Government workers!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Surely a great topic for a JT survey ;-) to see if we get a similar result.

I'm sure someone will point out that readers of this site may not be representative of Japan generally, but I wonder if we would reproduce that 88% figure (yes, that's irony, for those who may have been unsure).

3 ( +3 / -0 )

All debris should go inside the 20KM exclusion zone around the Dai-ichi plant. It's not like anyone will be living there again anytime soon...

Why spread the potential risk to everyone, when there is no need for it...

4 ( +6 / -2 )

It's BS like this that seriously makes me wanna jump this sinking ship. Crap like this and anything related to Fukushima/radiation, the downloading laws that were passed, blatant misuse of tax payers money, etc. The list could go on and on.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

sau133Aug. 07, 2012 - 07:36AM JST

That really says it all. Less than 2000 people? This survey was ridiculous.

For ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND STATISTICS, this is a good sample size. With this same size, you can expect a confidence interval of +- 1.5%, so even if it is very off, you will always be north of 50%. This is of course, assuming random sampling of the full population.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

It's extremely unlikely to get 88% in a poll to agree on any issue, let alone controversial ones. As we have seen from the beginning, the official propaganda and deception is so clumsy, ludicrous and childishly transparent, it mostly just undermines what little trust could possibly remain.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

TumbleDryAug. 07, 2012 - 07:10AM JST

Why carry all that debris around Japan? To distribute the pollution? What are the costs to transport it all?

You do realize that 25 million tons of debris was created by the tsunami right? The amount of garbage produced per person per day in Japan is estimated to be 1kg, so that's 365kg/year. The region affected has a population of under 10 million, so we can expect they process under 4 million tons of burnables a year. Even if they had double capacity (able to accept 4 million extra a year) and only half the debris was burnable, it would still take more than three years to burn it all. Until the trash is removed, they can't begin to rebuild, so they need to get rid of it as fast as possible.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

What a load of rubbish, literally, the only 88% that would say yes are the people who will make money from it.

I didn't see a survey in my mail box did you? Mind you I, despite being a tax paying resident, aren't seen to be of sufficient worth to be asked about it even if such a survey existed.

Again the answer is clear, the area around the plant is now and probably forever unusable for habitation, put it there, its so simple, problem then is the government doesn't get to spend the emergency budget redistributing it to the various prefectural governments, local businesses and buddies with brown envelopes.

Putting it in trucks and driving it around the country makes no sense for so many reasons, not only does it spread contamination risk of not just radiation but other harmful chemicals and building materials its just environmentally unfriendly to burn fuel driving around to then burn tons of potentially harmful waste.

This government is so removed from reality its just laughable.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Sell it to NK for one yen! It needs to be recycled, and NK has the personnel to do it. NK will dispose of it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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