Sufferers Sue Government

The sufferers of accident in the First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant decided to present a case to the court on governmental omission in taking appropriate measures according to Children and Sufferers Supporting Act established last year. In a way of business as usual, the bureaucracy in Japan ignored its own responsibility to support the sufferers effectively. Political leaders in Japan need to understand this issue not as rebuilding a nation, but as violation of human rights.

Children and sufferers Supporting Act was passed in the National Diet in June last year to help evacuees of the nuclear accident. It determines “right of avoiding exposition to radioactive materials” to all sufferers mainly in Fukushima, and requires the government to set the supporting area based on quantity of radioactive materials. The government is obligated to help all the people whether they live in Fukushima or anywhere else, and to make a basic plan listing actual measures of support and quantitative standard of radioactive materials.

Obviously and embarrassingly against the law, the government of Japan has not made that plan so far, leaving hardships of people in Fukushima behind. There has been no explanation of not doing that. Expected plaintiffs, twelve evacuees from the area around the plant and seven staying still, are asking governmental confirmation that it is illegal for it not to have made the basic plan, and that they are eligible for governmental support. They are also requesting ¥1 each for compensation.

Main reason why supporting policy is not implemented is incompetence of Reconstruction Agency. Ill organized and negatively motivated, the staffs of the agency is doing nothing but what they were told to do. When housing for evacuees are in trouble, they focuses on it leaving everything else behind, and when a request comes out of ordinary bureaucratic route, they ignore it. Making few efforts for grabbing needs of suffered people, they sit and have meetings in cool rooms in the office in Tokyo. One of the officers was replaced after he uploaded his frustrations on his blog, offending sufferers’ attitude and political irrelevancy.

The law passed with great effort by lawmakers of Liberal Democratic Party, which was an opposition party then. They are not so enthusiastic for its implementation in their irresponsible way. Since the reconstruction policy is extraordinary distribution of national wealth, political leadership must be the key to success. While bureaucrats are focusing only on maintaining the shape of the whole nation with a viewpoint of equal distribution, political leaders need to address necessary policies for the most unhappy people, even if it causes occasional partiality.