– Fukushima Farmer: Plutonium was detected “all over” village 25 miles from plant — Professor: “Something terrible, dreadful happening” — Mayor: Please don’t tell this to the residents (VIDEO) (ENENews, Oct 12, 2013):
Kenichi Hasegawa, Farmer from Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture, Canberra Forum, March 13, 2013 (At 40:00 in): After the nuclear accident, all over Iitate village, plutonium and strontium were detected [40km from nuclear plant] . […] And then something unbelievable happened. Authorities started bringing many [hygienists or dentists?] to the village […] these doctors started doing this local safety campaign. They kept telling us, “It’s OK, it’s safe, there’s nothing to worry about.” […] The day before the evacuation order was announced, the professor from Kyoto University called Professor Imanaka came to the village and did a thorough research monitoring of the radiation levels. And Professor Imanaka, he was just astonished, “Something terrible, dreadful is happening. The radiation level was so high; I can’t believe people are still living here.” […] So Professor Imanaka brought his data to the mayor and said, “You guys should evacuate immediately.” But the mayor’s response was, “Please do not disclose this data to the public.” Instead he said, “Is there any way to live with this radiation?” The village authorities only were interested in protecting the village itself, not the people. We wanted to protect the children and we suggested to evacuate the children, but they didn’t listen. And the day before the evacuation order, exclusion zone, was announced, the day before, a different professor from ??? University visited the village and he called all the parents to the town hall, and then gave a safety lecture, “Your kids can go out and play, your kids don’t have to wear masks just to play outside.” But the very next day the evacuation order was announced.
Japan physician who volunteered at a Minamisoma evacuation center soon after 3/11, Feb. 19, 2013 (at 54:00 in): What happened at that time was systematic effort by the prefecture government, […] as well as the Japanese central government, tried to minimize the amount of radiation. […] Primary concern […] for Fukushima Minpo [newspaper] was losing business […] For the prefecture government, losing the people means less revenue, less positions.