誰かが言わなきゃならない

1. Corporate employees and shopkeepers

　Compensation for agriculture is a most popular topic these days. Rice pads
and fields extend spaciously in Tomioka-cho. It seems very straightforward to
think that the area is a farmland and the major source of earnings is agriculture.
　The reality is different: 10% primary industries, mostly full-time farmers, 30% in secondary　industries, and 60% in tertiary industries. Most farmers are 　part-time farmers.　Farmers will be fully compensated. Majority of 90% town people has envious eyes on that　10% plus. Agricultural and fishery cooperatives will manage to get compensations by all means　as they did in the past. Shopkeepers will be also able to show the turnout records as a piece of
evidence for compensation.
Employees in factories or commercial firms have a difficulty. Some　firms went bankrupt, and some people were fired. They lost their bases for life. The town
officials are the envy of all other ordinary citizens: “You are very lucky, you can get paid entirely　as before.”

2. Controversial message of Prime Minister Kan

“It will be unable to reside (in the evacuation designated area) for some time, or 10 years, 20　years, or perhaps for life.” Controversies erupted when his message was cited by his special　advisor Matsumoto. The cabinet　secretariat denied immediately this report. This is, for sure, the　very subject of everybody’s concern. Nobody can make his/her future plan, because this subject　cannot be made clear.
It’s quite logical that everybody jumped to this message of the Prime
Minister.　It such possibility is likely, tell us straightforward. We can’t stand waiting with　expectation and eventually ending in vain.　The cabinet secretariat and TEPCO may hide the reality for avoiding controversial　issues of compensation.
　Radiation levels in Namie-cho, I-idate-mura,　Koriyama-city and Fukushima-city are reported daily. But no　information is given on our own towns Tomioka-cho or
Okuma-cho. High radiation level at the NPP entrance point is　reported. An adventurous reporter of media, who approached　the NPP from the evacuation zone, issued an article and　video in which he showed us a radiation measurement devicescaling out.
　Such information causes our concern. Is the level around my house is also high as　reported? What data are being obtained by the monitoring posts of the prefecture and TEPCO?　Neither the government nor media tell us what we really want to know.

3. A reality of nuclear disasters

　The reality of nuclear accidents is looming day after day. “Nuclear accidents” was, to many of　us, “something sometime somewhere, Chernobyl or Three Mile Island“. To many of us, nuclear　accidents were radiation accidents. But before protecting ourselves from radiation hazards, we　needed evacuation. It might be questioned if evacuation is a disaster.
　If a disaster means　something (earthquakes, tsunami, fires) that deprives the people of their lives or properties, this　is nothing but an evacuation　disaster depriving us of houses, household goods or production　facilities for protecting our lives. On the NPP site, the radiation impacts are direct and limited in　time.
In the surrounding areas, on the contrary, radioactivity is gradually built up. Radioactivity　diffuses with time on wind. In an exploding accident like the one in Chernobyl, it reaches its　worst peak in an instance. The accidents in Fukushima, its termination is being delayed by　months, perhaps even years, and the land and the ocean may continue to be contaminated, if the　release continues to the environment.
　The time length of the impacts is determined by the　quantity of radioactive materials precipitated and their physical half lives. Marketing prohibition
is a production halt disaster.　Radiation hazard causes in general zero-comma-something % increase in cancer risks due to　slightly higher exposure to radiation than normal.
We can do without specific food materials if　they are contaminated. Simply contaminated food should be avoided. Evacuation disasters or　production halt disasters have much bigger impacts on our life than radiation hazard. This is a
reality of nuclear accidents. For sure, people want strongly to be compensated for their　evacuation disaster or production halt disaster.

4. Where the town goes?

　The town office of Tomioka-cho claims that all town people’s　whereabouts have been grasped. This is a big outcome of the　office’s efforts and everybody’s cooperation. The provisional　town office opened today next to the Big Palette. Now it can　issue the people’s residence certificates, etc. A big concern is　how the town policy can be handled.
　Futaba-cho2 decided to move its whole town to Saitama Prefecture, but not everybody. Some　town people may settle, could be for the time being, somewhere else. Can it keep clear who　moved in and who moved out of the town? For dealing with the compensation issues, the townhas to keep contact with everybody concerned.
　Will the government or the prefecture do the　business on behalf of the town? If people cannot return to the hometown for years, how the town　council can function? Will a town as a legislative unit disappear? Will the town settle somewhere　and construct a new town as the unit, as Israeli did in Palestine. This is one unprecedented, never　experienced challenge.