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| March 22, 2011 |
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| Quake and Tsunami in Japan’s Eastern Region |
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Day by day disastrous damages have been revealed. Seriously, at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant dangers are imminent. The accident is grave and nobody can estimate accurately what will come next. The New Socialist Party (NSP) extends sincere condolences to those victimized by the natural and industrial disasters. Simultaneously it demands the government of Japan to take courageous steps to rescue human lives.
DISASTER-STRICKEN PEOPLE AND AREAS ARE FIRST TO BE SAVED AND REHABILITATED
People who survived the earthquake and tsunami and subsequent perils are the first to be saved. The regions are the first to be rehabilitated and reconstructed. The colossal tremble in the scale of Magnitude 9.0 hit the northeastern coastal regions of Japan, which was followed by giant tsunamis. Towns and villages on the Pacific coast of the Honshu Island were annihilated and some were washed away to disappear. Transportation and communication means were cut off. City offices and police and fire stations have been destroyed. Aftershocks still continue. Nobody can describe the entire picture of damages. Some victims are left isolated. Some of the disaster-stricken communities are cut off from the nearby towns.
The first task is to organize a core body to rescue survivors and assist those suffer from the catastrophe: to mobilize all institutions, including municipal offices, under the Government, to grasp the extent of damage, including the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Plant, centralize information and provide to the public and ensure communication means among victims and in the disaster-hit regions.
The key element is people who suffer from the calamity, who are working people; they must be placed in the center of rescue and assistance efforts and subsequent rehabilitation and reconstruction plans.
Residents in Japan have encountered natural disasters which destroyed local communities in the region, including the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake which hit the western region in January 1995. People helped each other and worked voluntarily and creatively to survive and sustain themselves in the ruins.
At the time of the Hanshin Earthquake, a new community based on solidarity was formulated in the sheltering areas in which the old and the young, men and women as well as foreigners lived in tents. They supported each other to overcome difficulties and reconstruct the cities. The year 1995 was called the First Year of Voluntary Spirit. Nationwide assistance was extended to the disaster area. Labor unions of victims were organized to fight for employment. The government was pushed to enact a law to help disaster-stricken people.
Struggles to rescue lives and extension of nationwide support are the key factors for rehabilitation.
However, a state government takes advantage of a crisis, advocates business-first reconstruction plans, divides residents, brings evils accompanied by reconstruction efforts and leaves the vulnerable behind.
The current tragedy cannot be compared with that of Hanshin Earthquake: the former is far more extended in area and far more fatal in the loss. In addition to that, the nuclear crisis at Fukushima Power Plant is unprecedentedly perilous. People fear of expansion of radiation impacts. The crisis is a consequence of the growth strategy in which business interests precede human lives.
A myth of safety told by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has proven to be an absolute lie. The company used to say that ‘nuclear power plants are shielded by various safety measures to protect the reactors’. Simultaneously the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as well as Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency (NISA) was proven to be a servant of the electric power company.
Nuclear accidents are anticipated in the country of earthquakes like Japan. Responsibility of the business and governments is serious as they have promoted nuclear power industry without accurate assumptions of risks. They prefer business profits to human beings. The accident symbolizes a failure of the growth strategy.
The Japanese society as well as the international community comes across a crossroad. In the midst of rescue efforts from the disasters we must make a decision to create a society in which people live in harmony with the nature, getting rid of the business-first growth strategy. Disaster victims and working people are the key actors of society.
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