Greenpeace Japan today releases details of human rights violations as a
result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, as well as Prime Minister Abe's
resettlement policy, which comes into effect this year. The violations and
radiation risks particularly impact women and children.
The report is being released In the lead up to the 6th anniversary of the
Fukushima and one day ahead of International Women's Day. The press release,
link to images and media contacts can be found below.
--------------------
Fukushima resettlement policy violates
international human rights commitments & Japanese law
Tokyo, 7
March 2017 – Japan’s policy to resettle residents to heavily contaminated areas
in Fukushima is in contravention of Japanese law and multiple international
human rights treaties. Greenpeace Japan and Human Rights Now detailed today
numerous human rights violations resulting from the Japanese government’s
response over the past six years to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
disaster.
“If there is anything the nuclear industry learned from
Chernobyl, it’s that a large exclusion zone is bad for business. It’s a constant
reminder that a nuclear disaster is irreversible, and it’s women and children
who are bearing the brunt,” said Kendra Ulrich, Senior Global Energy Campaigner
with Greenpeace Japan.
“Cutting off housing support for self-evacuees
threatens more than 10,000 households, potentially forcing many people back to
contaminated areas against their will. Compensation payments will end in a year
for people from areas where the evacuation order is being lifted, even though
radiation levels far exceed the long-term targets in many areas. This amounts to
economic coercion and is a deliberate violation of the law and survivors’ human
rights.”
Released a day before International Women’s Day, Greenpeace
Japan’s report reveals the greater impact on women and children due to both
social disadvantages and increased risks to radiation exposure. [1] Greenpeace
Japan, Human Rights Now and Fukushima survivor Noriko Matsumoto are calling on
the Abe government to comply with Japanese law and address some of the most
serious violations.
A recent Greenpeace Japan led survey team found
radiation dose rates at houses in the village of Iitate well above long-term
government targets, with annual and lifetime exposure levels posing a long-term
risk to citizens who may return. At some homes in Iitate, the dose of radiation
is equivalent to one chest X-ray every week. Only 24 percent of the total area
of Iitate has been ‘decontaminated’, despite a government website [2] stating
that 100% of the decontamination in Iitate is completed.
Evacuation
orders will be lifted in many areas of Iitate no later than 31 March 2017, to be
followed one year later by the termination of compensation payments. [3] In
2013, the UN Special Rapporteur Anand Grover called on the Japanese government
to rectify numerous issues that violated this fundamental right for Fukushima
survivors.
“Japan is obligated under multiple human rights treaties to
uphold citizens’ right to health. Instead of acting on the UN’s recommendations,
the government has instead enshrined the violation of human rights into formal
policy,” said Kazuko Ito, Secretary General of Human Rights Now.
The
resettlement policy contravenes the ‘Nuclear Disaster Victims Support Act’ of
June 2012 which defines the government’s responsibilities to nuclear survivors.
Multiple human rights treaties that Japan is party to also obligate it to uphold
citizens’ rights to “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health”, which includes the right to information and the right to make informed
choices regarding their health.
Greenpeace Japan and several Japanese
civil society organisations (Human Rights Now, Friends of the Earth Japan, and
Green Action Japan), recently sent a letter to the UN Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) Special Rapporteurs asking that they assess the ongoing human rights
issues faced by nuclear survivors. [4] Greenpeace will also be submitting
comments to the UNHRC as a part of the current Universal Periodic Review of
Japan on the plight of Fukushima evacuees.
Notes to
editors:[1]
Unequal
Impact: Women’s and Children’s Human Rights Violations and the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Disaster[2] Of the 23,013 hectares in Iitate, 5,600 hectares
have been decontaminated, much of it ineffectively -
MOE: Environmental
Remediation - Decontamination[3]
No
return to Normal: Feb. 2017 - Greenpeace Iitate Case Studies[4]
Joint
NGO Letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council Special
RapporteursInternational Greenpeace
Petition for Survivors’ RightsPhotos:
http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJGP9YVMedia
contacts:Kendra Ulrich, Senior Global Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace
Japan
kendra...@greenpeace.org,
phone:
+81 90 6478 5408Chisato Jono, Communications Officer, Greenpeace
Japan,
chisat...@greenpeace.org, phone
+81 80 6558 4446Greenpeace International Press Desk,
pressd...@greenpeace.org,
phone:
+31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)
--
Tristan Tremschnig
Communications Hub Manager | Asia
Pacific