Voices from Fukushima: Japanese citizens demand accountability on domestic, global levels as government continues reckless nuclear policies

Eight months have passed since the disaster of March 11th, since which time I have been riding the same emotional see-saw as many others after emerging from the cocoon of fear and shock that ruled the initial days and weeks following the outbreak of the nuclear crisis. When facing the choice, however, of engaging my critical mind or succumbing to the more comfortable state of mind that most others here seem to have clearly chosen—blissful denial—I seem to find myself on most days choosing the latter.

With the exception of occasionally attending and writing about Japan’s steadily growing anti-nuclear movement, I have by-and-large opted to focus upon my everyday life and personal concerns. For some living in Fukushima, however, no such escape option exists. Every day is filled with uncertainties and questions with regard to matters of basic survival: What food is safe to eat? Can I drink this water? Is it is safe to send the kids outside to play?

Outraged at being forced into this situation, a group of Fukushima women decided to take things to the next level by holding a sit-in last week in front of the Ministry of Economy. Organized by members of NGOs and ordinary citizens, the first leg of the sit-in from October 27-30 was attended exclusively by women from Fukushima, then followed by a week-long solidarity sit-in action until November 5th for anyone else who wished to offer their support.

With the national and prefectural governments continuing to add insult to injury following the 3.11 triple disaster by making one outrageously irresponsible decision after the next, there is plenty to be indignant about: Stopping citizens from attempting their own radiation measurements, radioactive dumping in Tokyo Bay, feeding Fukushima schoolchildren with quite possibly contaminated food, and releasing negligent information regarding radiation figures, for starters.

I visited the sit-in the end of the final week, after darkness had fallen. Around 30 or 40 women (and a few men) were in attendance—a small number compared to the hundreds who were normally there during the daytime, I was told. Speaking with the woman staffing the registration tent, I could barely hear our exchange because of trucks parked nearby with a loudspeaker blaring the same message over and over again: “How dare you women come here and protest without identifying yourself! Each and every one of you should put your face and name on the Internet. What kind of cowards are you?” Unreal.

"Women's Action: We Don't Need Nuclear Power!"

“Typical men!” commented the woman I was speaking with, referring to the voice behind the loudspeaker, as I turned to make my way to those assembled for the sit-in. Trying my best to ignore the loud distraction (and to quiet my own anger at those causing it), I sat down with the women and began listening to the speaker addressing the group. Born and raised in Fukushima but living in Ibaraki at the time of the 3.11 disaster, long-time anti-nuclear activist Yuko Yatabe was propelled by shock to travel to Chernobyl following what had happened in her home prefecture. There, she met with citizens in order to discuss the lessons that might be learned for those in Fukushima now facing similar anxieties.

Yatabe showing artwork drawn by a child from Chernobyl

In response to Yatabe’s presentation, one woman raised her hand and commented about the need for Fukushima citizens to become self-empowered with regard to their own health. I approached her as the group was dispersing to ask her what she meant. I learned that she was named Ms. Shirai, and that she ran a grassroots network for alternative energies. “If people in Fukushima are fearful and depressed, their immune systems will be compromised, and they will be at an increased risk for succumbing to the negative effects of radiation,” she told me in an extremely animated voice. “I am trying to reach as many people as I can with the message that there are things they can do to increase their chances of staying healthy, such as waking up early and absorbing positive energy from the sun, or thoroughly cleaning their food in order to reduce possible radiation consumption.”

Shirai, who aims to help empower Fukushima citizens to take charge of their own health

I returned to the sit-in several days later during the afternoon, when one or two hundred participants were in attendance. I was delighted to meet Ruiko Muto, a Fukushima woman whose moving speech during the September anti-nuclear action in Shinjuku had gone viral (at least in Japanese circles) and had inspired me greatly. “While men may try and approach the world intellectually, we women feel things—particularly the power of life itself,” she told me. “And I believe that there is nothing wrong with approaching activism from this emotional perspective.”

“This may appear to be Fukushima’s problem, but as a matter of fact, it will very soon be Tokyo’s problem, as well as that of other Japanese cities,” said another woman, Setsuko Kuroda, who had also traveled from Fukushima for the sit-in. “For this reason, we must all begin working together and cooperating.”

I also ran into Yuko Yatabe again, and was thrilled to see that she was together with a small group of women including Yukie Tokura from the STOP! Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant movement and performance artist/activist Rena Masuyama who were on their way to deliver a petition to the Diet demanding that Japan cancel a plan to export contaminated food from Fukushima. Thanks go to Shingetsu News for filming the meeting:

Perhaps the most egregious of all (in)actions—the failure to protect children—is now the subject of a worldwide petition from Avaaz that is still collecting signatures. The petition’s website (which was updated November 11th) reads:

Right now, thousands of local residents are still trapped in the highly contaminated areas in and around Fukushima City. With black rain falling from the sky and local crops poisoned, children in families left destitute by the tsunami can’t afford to get out — and the government is failing to help them.

But a group of brave mothers have taken to the streets to ensure their children are helped out of the disaster zone. Hundreds of supporters from around the country have gathered for a sit-in outside the Ministry of Economy in Tokyo demanding that Prime Minister Noda grant their children the opportunity to evacuate. We can stand with them.

This is, literally, the fight of their lives. Children, sitting in the midst of radioactive contamination, don’t have a day to lose. In hours, the government will decide whether to act at an emergency meeting -- let's build a giant outcry for a healthy future for Fukushima children. Sign the urgent petition on the right and forward this campaign widely -- it will be delivered directly to the Prime Minister's office before the meeting.

This blog article from Greenpeace gives beautiful insight into the hopeful aspects of the Fukushima women’s protest, and Tokyo area blogger Ruthie Iida gives a thought-provoking account of her visit to the sit-in on her website, Kanagawa Notebook. Finally, British-born, Paris-based Japanologist Kevin Dodd gives a nuanced account about the post-3.11 culture of silence surrounding nuclear issues (which I also referenced above) on his website Senrinomichi.

As I was leaving the sit-in during my second visit, one woman approached me to say that she had been extremely inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the way that it had taken off globally after being motivated by the Arab Spring and similar demonstrations in Europe. “These protests have their roots in the very same problems as do the nuclear issue in Japan,” she told me pointedly. “The nuclear industry are the 1%, while the rest of us are the 99%. If we want to solve these problems, it is critical that people from around the world continue working together in solidarity.”




--Kimberly Hughes

Japan's 99%: 11,668,809 (so far) Signatures Against Joining TTP "Free Trade" Agreement (a preventable "Fourth Disaster" that would destroy Japan)

Many thanks to Martin Frid at Kurushii for a sensitive compilation/analysis of the Japanese citizenry's decision on the radically neoliberal Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) "free trade" agreement:

Japanese farmers protest the TPP. (Photo: NHK World)
You may not know it, but Japanese people are very vocal and very outspoken. They protest a lot! Foreign media usually does not bother to cover activism in this part of the world. The current protests here in Japan against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a case in point.

Over 11 million Japanese people have signed a petition against TPP. They realize that "free" trade is nothing but a massive assault that will force impossible conditions on their livelihoods. What is so "free" about that?

It could be called the fourth disaster to strike in 2011, after the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

Joining TPP negotiations to eliminate 90% of agricultural tariffs would make it impossible to live in rural Japan.

TPP might lead to a lowering of Japan's food self-sufficiency from around 40% to 13%.

Asking Japan to import 87% of its food? That would essentially kill one of the best reasons this country has for attracting tourists. It would kill a way of life, both for small restaurants that depend on local produce, and for fancy places that assure its customers that they provide the very best. It would make rice farming next to impossible, thus all related farm activities in areas that are known for their delicious rice to collapse. These are not empty words in a country that appreciates its farmers. Consumers here are strong supporters of the agricultural policy that has evolved in spite of external pressure.

I have no idea where all those people in rural areas would move, what they would do, how they are supposed to manage.

Farmers are the backbone of rural Japan, and they contribute to Japan's cuisine, with more Michelin Guide 3 star resturants than France, and a very high level of food safety we all can enjoy - also in the cities.

That is connected to postal services, banking and other services in rural areas. Pensions? Health insurance? Hospitals? Ambulance services?

These are other sectors that are targeted for the direct assault and deregulation by the proposed TPP rules.

But the people here clearly understand the gravity of the situation. Thus, they protest. Wouldn't you??

11,668,809 people (so far, and counting) are against the TPP.

Read the rest of this excellent post with links here.

Shisaku has more updates on TPP and lively, great analysis with an emphasis on political actors.

"We are not right-wing, we are not left-wing~ We are Ainu": First ever Ainu political party to be launched

Saturday, October 29th, 2011 marks a revolution in Japanese politics: the first time in Japanese history a minority group has announced it will form its own political party. After witnessing the success of minority and indigenous political parties around the world, members of the Ainu community in Hokkaido decided to create their own party to campaign for their issues.

Led by Shiro Kayano, the President of the Kayano Shigeru's Nibutani Ainu Museum (named after his late father), Hokkaido Ainu Association Board Member Hideo Akibe, Hokkaido Ainu Association Ebetsu City-branch head Yuji Shimizu and their supporters made the announcement at the Symposium on Multicultural Education in Japan hosted by the World Indigenous People's Network-Ainu in Sapporo. The party is not affiliated with the Hokkaido Ainu Association and will start functioning in January.

Flyer for Symposium on Multicultural Education with photos of Shiro Kayano (top left), Yuji Shimizu (center left), Hideo Akibe (center right), and Nomoto Hiroyuki (bottom left)

Shiro Kayano stated at the symposium:

What is needed for the Ainu people is unity. We need to unite the Ainu people and our supporters. Some people say that because we were traditionally hunters and gathers so we can not unite as one. However, we also practiced fishing and small-scale agriculture, so this argument holds no ground. We can unite.

The Ainu people have been no stranger to politics. Kayano's father, Shigeru Kayano, served as a House of Councilor's member from 1994 until 1998. While Shigeru Kayano was the only Ainu person that won a seat in parliament, other Ainu people have campaigned for seats including Kaori Tahara, a former member of the New Party Daichi.

Hideo Akibe added:

Having Shigeru Kayano in the parliament played a huge role in the enactment of the Ainu Culture Law in 1997. I feel it may be destiny, after the passing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and us holding the 2008 Indigenous Summit in Hokkaido, that this move to form a political party has come about.

Shiro Kayano further elaborated on the necessity for Ainu people to have their own political party where their issues are not overshadowed or ignored:

Ainu issues are put on the back burner while other issues gain more attention in Japan. Many people believe that the 1997 Ainu Cultural Law and 2008 parliament resolution to recognize Ainu as indigenous people solved the issues that Ainu people have faced, but in reality, they have not not. So, we need to rise up! Similar to the Arab Spring, maybe this marks the beginning of an Ainu Spring!

A member of the Planning Committee for the Ainu Party who wished to remain nameless explained that current governmental policies, laws, and panels on Ainu policy do not take adequate steps to realize any of the inherent indigenous rights to which the Ainu are entitled, nor any other priorities that Ainu have, including issues related to poverty and education. He also noted:

We hope that with an Ainu political party, not only can we push for policies that realize Ainu rights, but we can draw attention to the multicultural nature of Japan while pushing for policies that address a variety of Ainu issues.

Hiroyuki Nomoto, Tokyo Metropolitan University associate professor and member of the Planning Committee for the Ainu Party explained that although the policy stances of the party have not been decided, discussions have revolved around the following points:

• the restoration of Ainu rights
• the realization of the coexistence of multicultural groups in Japanese society
• the creation of a sustainable society based on harmony with Nature

The Ainu Party which is aiming to bring at least ten candidates to parliament in 2013, will help bring Ainu issues to the forefront of Japanese policy deliberations. It may also provide a platform for other minority groups, such as Zainichi Koreans in Japan to raise their voices against violations of their rights. Currently, Zaiinichi Korean organizations are campaigning for their schools to become accredited by the government. At present, with "international" English schools as an exception, any school that does not use Japanese as its main language cannot become accredited, forcing its students to jump through countless hurdles to matriculate into universities.

The idea behind the Ainu party is for Ainu people to unite to promote their own issues, while taking steps towards a multicultural Japan where all minorities can live in harmony. As Hideo Akibe explained: "We are not right-wing, we are not left-wing~ We are Ainu."

- Posted by Jen Teeter

Music and Art Peace Academy art exhibit and T-shirt contest for a sustainable future ~ Friday, November 18th @Tokyo

MAPA (Music and Art Peace Academy) will be holding a collaborative art event at M Event Space in Daikanyama on Friday, November 18th to promote a sustainable world. Artists are encouraged to submit their own original artwork that represents sustainability from October 21st to November 10th, 2011. All art forms are welcome - painting, digital art, collage, photos, recycled artwork- anything! All proceeds will be donated to the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World coordinated by Peace Boat scheduled for January 14-15, 2012 in Yokohama.

As explained on the homepage for Parties for Peace, a groundbreaking group that envisions stimulating events which utilize art, music, and dance as a platform to "help raise awareness and fundraise for important International campaigns to promote environmental awareness, human rights and sustainability":

The MAPA project invites individuals, organizations, musicians, artists, photographers, designers, writers, actors, videographers and promoters who are interested in social and environmental issues to work together to promote a culture of peace through music and art and join the Peace Boat global voyage for the Music and Art Peace Academy onboard.

Peace Boat is a Japan-based international non- governmental and non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment. Peace Boat seeks to create awareness and action based on effecting positive social and political change in the world.

MAPA is also accepting entries for their Tshirt and Eco-bag design contest! They will choose one design to print on their Tshirts to be displayed at the event on the 18th of November.

To have your work displayed at the event or to enter the T-shirt contest, simply simply send your proposal for the event or T-shirt design to Emilie McGlone at parties4peace@gmail.com by November 10th.

Uncanny Terrain: A documentary about organic farmers facing Japan's nuclear crisis

1.9 million small farms are embedded throughout Japan, forming the soul of the archipelago's traditional culture, rooted in family, community, and heritage. They produce Japan's exquisite, locally grown heirloom foods. Small farms worldwide serve the same deep cultural functions. Japanese small farmers have mutually supportive relationships with their counterparts worldwide, in Europe, the United States, Latin America, Africa, S. Korea, the Philippines and other parts of Asia. The global/local organic farming movement is growing.

The farming region of Tohoku now under seige from the Fukushima disaster is reminiscent of the mountainous region of Appalachia (also under seige by the energy industry: coal companies that blow up mountains, streams, forests using explosives producing more force than the Hiroshima bombs have destroyed numerous small communities and are polluting entire eco-systems). The people of Tohoku, like those in Appalachia, deeply rooted in place and soulful ancestral folk culture, are independent, resilient, and stubborn. They aren't giving up.

Filmmakers Junko Kajino and Ed M. Koziarski have just wrapped up filming for their documentary about Tohoku farmers. In Uncanny Terrain, they explore questions about their future. They conclude that whether the land can be returned to its natural state, “or whether the farmers must abandon their ancestral homesteads, remains to be seen.”

Uncanny Terrain—Organic farmers face Japan's nuclear crisis

The first sprouts are beginning to emerge on Colors of the Seasons Farm, 45 miles from the malfunctioning Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant and 20 miles outside the evacuation zone.

28-year-old Masanori Yoshida left his job as a cook at a French restaurant in Tokyo three years ago to work his family’s land with his wife, siblings, parents, and grandmother. They grow natural crops including "firefly rice," so named because the insects, driven near extinction by chemical pesticides and fertilizer, have proliferated as farmers return to the traditional methods practiced by their ancestors.

The Yoshidas’ farm is one of hundreds of organic farms in Tohoku, the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged region of northern Japan that supplies much of the rice and vegetables to Tokyo and across the country. Government warnings have limited the sale of food grown there since high levels of radiation were detected in some spinach, milk and fish from the region.

“We don’t know if our crops will be safe,” Masanori says. “We can’t ignore this issue. But we won’t stop cultivating our land. We farmers need to nurture the environment, nature and culture, and pass them to them to the next generation.”

Noboru Saitou’s Nihonmatsu Farm is famous for cucumbers. He also grows rice, shiitake, garlic chives, bamboo shoots, and flowers. Noboru works closely with the agricultural city of Nihonmatsu, 25 miles from the troubled nuclear reactor, just outside the evacuation zone.

“Today, the ‘problem’ spinach sprouted,” Noboru says. “We were supposed to ship this after it grew, but now we can’t. After spinach is cucumber season, then rice. When the fields are golden we will harvest the rice. That’s the best part of farming. After that we’ll plant canola. Each plant yields a lot. I hope I can continue this year. But now I see how hard it is.”

Hiromasa Kitagawa is the unofficial leader of Mattari Village, an off-the-grid community of homes made from recycled construction lumber, powered by wind, solar and water, heated by wood fire. The people of Mattari share the food they grow.

“We grow vegetables that you can even eat the skin,” Hiromasu says. “We spend our time and passion to go back to the way vegetables are supposed to be grown… We aim for 100% self-sufficiency. Soon we hope to open our community for people to experience the sustainable lifestyle. It’s cold in winter, but spring is so green, autumn’s colors are vivid, the night sky is beautiful, the water is clear.”

After the earthquake, Megumi Kondou was evacuated from her Chitata Farm. Megumi awaits government approval to return to her farm. She may not be able to grow her renowned koshihikari rice this year. Instead she’s considering growing canola, which she believes may help reduce radiation in the soil, and is a potential source of biodiesel.

Farmers and scientists search desperately for ways to continue safely using this rich land, or restore it to its natural state. Whether they can succeed, or whether the farmers must abandon their ancestral homesteads, remains to be seen.

After suffering the world’s only nuclear attacks in World War II, Japan emerged from poverty and devastation and entered into a period of unprecedented technological innovation and economic growth. Can today’s Japanese respond to this catastrophe with new forms of innovation that will allow this nuclear-dependent society to continue providing healthy food to its people, and live in better harmony with the natural world?

The Project

Filmmakers Junko Kajino and Ed M. Koziarski are embarking on the new documentary Uncanny Terrain, to follow the organic farmers of Tohoku as they contend with the threat that nuclear fallout from the Fukushima Power Plant poses to their land and their livelihood.

From spring planting season, we will document the testing of their land and crops for radiation, their efforts to adjust to the changing environment, through the harvest and beyond.

We are seeking financial support to cover our travel and living across Tohoku in the coming months, and for the purchase of highly portable, high quality video equipment to document what we find.

We will build an international online community of people interested in sustainable agriculture and energy and in the future of Japan, through regular video updates and ongoing dialogue around the issues raised in the film. In the end we will have a film intended for international broadcast and distribution, and around the film we will have generated a wealth of new friends, knowledge and media to address these questions in our own communities.

The Filmmakers

Ed and Junko wrote, produced and directed the psychological drama feature film The First Breath of Tengan Rei. Erika Oda of Kore-Eda’s After Life stars as an Okinawan woman who kidnaps the teenage son of a U.S. Marine convicted of raping her when she was a girl. An IFP Independent Film Lab selection, Rei screened theatrically, at educational venues and festivals across the U.S., Japan and in India.

They’re developing the film and graphic novel Hand Head Heart, based on Junko’s experience growing up in a traditional extended family on a cattle farm in central Japan, and learning the sword fighting martial art kendo.

Their short film Homesick Blues, starring pop singer Zoey (now Remah) as an Osaka girl running off to America to sing the blues, won the IFP/Chicago Flyover Zone Film Festival and played the Hawaii and Chicago international film festivals...

Read more about Ed and Junko's journey with the farmers and people of Tohoku and see more excerpts from Uncanny Terrain their blog:

Seven months since the beginning of the crisis, Japan stumbles toward recovery. Evacuated communities are being reopened near the nuclear plant, even as many efforts to decontaminate land are proving ineffective. With a number of notable exceptions, testing of rice and vegetables is showing much less contamination than was expected based on results in Chernobyl. Researchers investigate the reasons for these levels, considering the differing composition of Japanese soil, particularly certain minerals and bacteria that may remove radioactive cesium or prevent plants from absorbing it—bacteria that may thrive in organically cultivated land.

But the food testing regime is still sporadic, and no amount of lower test results will be sufficient to convince much of the public that Fukushima food is safe to eat. The organic farmers here toil to repair their land using natural methods (land that many of their families have tilled since before the U.S. was a country), to grow their food as free as possible of radionuclides, and to accurately communicate the condition of their produce to consumers. Constantly exposed to background radiation and inhaled particles in their fields, as well as from food and water, the farmers rank with cleanup workers in the groups at greatest risk of suffering health damage.

We will edit the film in Chicago through the fall and winter, and return to Japan next March to cover how the farmers weathered the seasons and how they fare as they prepare to plant again, a year after the disaster. In the meantime, we still need your support to cover the costs of postproduction...

Uncanny Terrain is a documentary about organic farmers facing Japan’s nuclear crisis, and an online community fostering dialogue on food safety, sustainable agriculture, alternative energy and disaster response. Please keep the conversation going by spreading the word or making a tax-deductible donation.

Traditional Americans & Japanese Against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "Free Trade" Agreement

Poster for the 2008 Black Ship Festival at Shimoda. 

Locals did not appear enthusiastic about the commemorative event.

On both sides of the Pacific, family farmers, small and medium-size business owners, environmentalists, labor unionists, and traditionalists who want to conserve what remains of respective national sovereignty and local culture in the U.S. and Japan are voicing opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "Free Trade" Agreement.

A recent Mainichi article about organic farmer and poet Kanji Hoshi echoes the thoughts of many traditional Americans as well as traditional Japanese people:

Hoshi is the author of an essay called "Sonno joi no shiso: han TPP no chiiki ron" ("The philosophy of revere agriculture, expel the barbarians: anti-TPP localism"), published in May 2011 in the book, Takahata-gaku (Takahataology).

In it, he writes: "I would like the philosophy of revering agriculture and expelling the barbarians to be the stronghold against the black ships of TPP," Hoshi writes. "We need to give primary importance to agriculture for its production of food for life, and to justly appreciate its function of protecting the environment. If we destroy our beautiful homeland, we will not be able to face our descendents. 'Expel the barbarians' refers to the elimination of our disposable consumer civilization. We need to possess a set of values necessary to live simply and spiritually rich in a mature society, and let us attempt self realization."

Hoshi's philosophy mirrors the "Back to the Land" movement that began in the U.S. in the 1960's and 1970's when Americans began a renewal of traditional regional rural cultures.

A parallel movement gathered steam in Japan during the 1990's, after the bursting of the economic bubble was followed by a "hollowing out" of Japan's industry and "corporate restructuring" (fueled by foreign takeovers of Japanese corporations). These neoliberal changes ended the prospect of permanent and lifetime employment for many young people in Japan who might have otherwise followed their parents' footsteps into the corporate or manufacturing worlds. Koji Nakano’s The Philosophy of Noble Poverty became a Japanese best-seller in 1992. Like their American counterparts, Japanese neo-traditionalists joined an already thriving local farming counter-movement. Many Tokyo-dwellers, disenchanted by or ejected from the neoliberal rat race, moved back to their ancestral rural hometowns.

In both the U.S. and Japan, these Back to the Land and Slow Food/Slow Life pioneers value organic and natural farming, renewable energy sources, quality of life and simplicity. Paul Gruchow's The Necessity of Empty Places elegiac exploration of American rural life before corporate agribusiness and chain stores invaded traditional landscapes epitomizes the American quest to renew local heritage.

Americans and Japanese opposing the TPP are the 99% who are actually conservatives. They want to conserve their economic and social systems as they are and renew what has been lost because of past American and Japanese unsustainable obsession with economic competition and growth—that unduly benefited the 1%. Americans and Japanese opposing the TPP want to save their jobs, their farms, their environment, their ways of life from the radical neoliberal shifts that the "free trade" agreement would bring. Because the deceptive nature about the ostensible benefits of past "free trade" deals have been revealed over time, American and Japanese people know that TPP "free trade" changes would only benefit financiers, corporate agribusiness (factory farms and plantations), some global corporations, and law firms representing these interests.

Who needs or wants cheaper (and shoddier) consumer products made by exploited workers (or quasi-slave laborers in Vietnam and Burma)? Who wants the loss of domestic jobs, delicious locally grown heirlom fruits and vegetables and authentic (from the grassroots up) culture? Who wants the loss of democratically created regulations protecting what's left of our planet, and democratically created labor standards protecting what's left of our human dignity? Who wants the continued erosion of constitutionally guaranteed rights and liberties in places where they're still extant?

Good political analysis (as always) on TPP at Shisaku and sensitive insights (as always) from a food sovereignty perspective at Kurashi. Here are some more articles from September on the American 99% view towards the TPP:

"Unions and Farmers—Plus Ben and Jerry—Unite Against Trans-Pacific Trade Deal":

...After the failure of post-NAFTA negotiations by the Clinton administration to create new trading blocs for Asia and the Pacific and for the Americas, the Bush administration attempted to expand both the geographic and policy scope of an emerging Asian-Pacific partnership. For now it includes the US, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, but it could be designed to add more countries in the future, even China.

Obama, who had campaigned for a new style of trade agreement, delayed action on the Bush-proposed talks, but by late 2009 he embraced the project and the old paradigm. Although the new text is not publicly available (even though corporate trade lawyers get access), critics—who have surreptitiously seen parts of the text—say it largely follows the NAFTA, corporate-rights model.

But it seems that the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement not only is running into broad-based opposition, including from many businesses without Ben & Jerry’s high-profile social consciousness as well as unions, environmentalists and many other progressive groups. It also faces numerous internal conflicts and contradictions, argues Public Citizen Global Trade Watch director Lori Wallach...

More info and insights from Michele Chen: "Labor Day Showdown: Can Advocates Stop ‘NAFTA of the Pacific’?":

...The provisions of the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement or Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are still under wraps. But the general outline seems to mimic the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and similar pacts that have brought political and economic turmoil to rich and poor countries alike. The new negotiations are also taking place amid political friction over pending trade deals with South Korea and Colombia, which have run into opposition over concerns about labor abuses abroad and offshoring of U.S. jobs. Yet the White House continues to push free trade as a path toward the country’s economic revitalization...

Manuel Perez-Rocha, an analyst with the D.C.-based think tank Institute for Policy Studies, says that free trade deals tend to use “investment” and “growth” as a pretext for ruthless exploitation. The agreements “push wages lower and dislocate production with the ensuing loss of jobs,” says Perez-Rocha, adding that “the prospects for the TPP are very bleak and workers everywhere must resist it."

- JD

Amnesty International: Japan Minister Must Not Cave in to Pressure on Death Penalty, says Amnesty International

Japan Minister Must Not Cave in to Pressure on Death Penalty, says Amnesty International

WASHINGTON - October 28 - Japan’s justice minister should not sign execution warrants, Amnesty International and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network said today, following the minister’s announcement that he does not intend to end capital punishment, despite saying last month that he would not approve executions.

Justice Minister Hideo Hiraoka said Friday he would look at each death row case individually, after a prominent politician reportedly had encouraged him to exercise his power to authorize executions.

"After showing reluctance to sign execution warrants last month when he first took office, it is deeply alarming that Minister Hideo Hiraoka now seems to be under pressure to approve executions despite his own calls for caution," said Catherine Baber, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Asia and the Pacific. "The minister must stand by his original commitment which was to suspend executions until Japan’s application of the death penalty can be more carefully considered."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura reportedly encouraged Minister Hiraoka at a parliamentary committee on Wednesday to press ahead with executions.

The last executions in Japan were carried out on July 28, 2010, when Ogata Hidenori and Shinozawa Kazuo were hanged in the Tokyo detention center.

A study group on the death penalty was established by the former Minister of Justice Keiko Chiba in 2010. The study group is continuing to work under the current Minister, Hideo Hiraoka, who encouraged discussions on the subject both in public and within his ministry, taking into account international trends and opinions.

No date for its report has been announced.

There are currently 126 people on death row in Japan.

Executions in Japan are by hanging and are typically carried out in secret. Death row inmates are only notified on the morning of their execution and their families are usually informed only after the execution has taken place.

This means that death row prisoners live in constant fear of execution. Enduring these conditions for years or even decades has led to depression and mental illness among many death row inmates.

More than two thirds of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Out of 41 countries in the Asia-Pacific, 17 have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, nine are abolitionist in practice and one – Fiji – uses the death penalty only for exceptional military crimes.

This means that less than half of the countries in that region still use this ultimate and irreversible punishment. Of the G8 nations, only Japan and the United States still use capital punishment.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty as a violation of the right to life in all cases, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.

"Japan should immediately commute all death sentences and introduce an official moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty," said Baber.

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity. We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues.

Homeless people in Tokyo's Shibuya district face eviction from communal kitchen/ resting area: Please voice your support by October 26th!

Dear Friends,

Homeless persons in Shibuya are faced with the threat of permanent eviction from the Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Hall. This is a highly valuable public space where persons on the street can stop and get some rest—a rarity in Shibuya's extremely urbanized landscape. Should this eviction take place, a "communal kitchen" run by and for homeless persons that has been operating since the 1990s would also be put to an end. In other words, homeless persons in Tokyo are now faced with the possible devastating loss of a space to rest, share information, and eat.

Over the years, the Children's Hall has served as a valuable base for Nojiren's communal kitchen, and as a sleeping space for countless persons. As a result, Nojiren would like to thank every single one of the 191 individuals and 61 organizations that signed on to our recent petition protesting the construction of an enclosure around the Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Hall.

On October 21st, Nojiren submitted our petition to the Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Hall and the Family Support Division of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Public Health, which administers Hall matters. As we stood along with 30 of our homeless friends from Shinjuku and Shibuya before the Metropolitan City Hall to speak with Division Head Kashiwabara, however, he unfortunately did nothing more than insist that "experts have assessed that the premises are dangerous, so construction will proceed as planned." We reminded him that only some parts of the building need repair, and since there is still time for adjustments, we urged him to change plans for construction in order to allow for continuation of the communal kitchen and Nojiren's encampment.

According to their plans, the enclosure will be built from June 26 through June 28. Since there is not much time left, we will be more vigilant than ever in keeping an eye on our encampment. You can help us protect our communal kitchen and the encampment by sending a message　by October 26th to the metropolitan Family Support Division voicing your opposition to the eviction of homeless persons from the Children’s Hall (“Jido Kaikan”) in Shibuya. Contact information is as follows:

Email: koe@metro.tokyo.jp
Telephone: +81-3-5320-4032
Fax: +81-3-5388-1400

From Wednesday October 26 until Friday, October 28, Nojiren will be in Mitake Park (a 5-minute walk from Shibuya Station) monitoring our encampment as construction of the enclosure begins. Persons wishing to join should contact us at: 080-3127-0639 (Japanese only).

Donations may also be sent to: Japan Post Bank 00160-1-33429 {Nojiren}
Thank you very much for your continued support!!

Shibuya Free Association for the Right to Housing and Well-being of the HOMELESS (NOJIREN)
1-27-8 (202) Higashi
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
E-mail:　nojiren@jca.apc.org
Fax: +81-3-3406-5254

Text of recently submitted petition:

(Addressed to the director of the Shibuya Children’s Hall and the head of the Family Support Division at the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health)

In Shibuya lies the Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Hall. After closing hours, homeless persons come to the premises for a place to rest, or to take part in a once-weekly communal kitchen. In the past, homeless persons had been threatened with eviction numerous times, but each time, after we explained the reasons and circumstances behind homelessness, the facility and its director have given us tacit permission to stay.

This past March, immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Children's Hall was closed. In April, a rope barrier was suddenly raised preventing entry into the premises and we were informed that, "The Children’s Hall has been temporarily and fully cordoned off for an assessment of earthquake damage.” Later on, the director apologized to us and said, "We won’t be cordoning off the area for review. “I see no problem in you resting here or holding a communal kitchen here after hours." We asked the director that if, as a result of the review, repair work was deemed necessary and the area must be cordoned off again, to inform immediately. He consented to our request.

Then, on September 27, we were suddenly notified by the director that, “The damage assessment results are in and it has been decided that we’ll be enclosing the area to start repairs. I’ll explain in more detail on the 29th." On the 29th, we were provided with papers indicating that construction would begin on October 5th. The director added, "Closure of the Children’s Hall had already been scheduled for next year, so it is likely that the building will be demolished. In that case, the cordon will not be removed, even after repair work is complete.”

We questioned the director as to why repair work would be carried out prior to a demolition. And how he could tell us to leave with less than a week’s notice, despite the importance of this location as a place to rest and gather. In response, he simply stated "You already knew that we may temporarily enclose the area.” In addition, according to the damage assessment, the only parts needing renovation are the exterior walls and the auditorium ceiling, not the front entrance that we primarily use. There is no need for a total temporary enclosure. Moreover, it’s hard to comprehend why the cordon would not be removed after repair work is complete seeing as how a demolition has not been actually confirmed. The installation of a cordon is a clear attempt at evicting homeless persons and depriving them of a place for their communal kitchen.

On October 3, we submitted a formal petition to both the Children’s Hall director and the head of the Family Support Division at the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health. However, each of them informed us that, "Everything has already been settled" and "There is no room to consider your claims." On October 5th, as we protested, construction began right in front of our eyes.

The homeless people who come to rest at the Children’s Hall are just as much victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake as anyone else. Moreover, they are also “structural victims” of a society that has cast them out. How can the city of Tokyo reconcile the fact that it provides much-needed places of refuge to earthquake victims at the same time that it treats people living on the streets with only evictions? How can it not work to guarantee homeless persons’ right to life, as well as the underlying fundamental right of abode? The Children’s Hall director and the head of the Family Support Division have said, "If you have nowhere to sleep, inquire with the Shibuya welfare office.” However, more than a few homeless persons believe that struggling to survive on the streets is still better than the alternatives of being trapped in a dormitory-style facility or living off welfare. With the recent move to turn the public Miyashita Park into “Nike Park” as one example, redevelopment of the area surrounding Shibuya Station is accelerating at a rapid pace. Does redevelopment require that we see homeless persons as only being “in the way”?

We are opposed to the temporary full enclosure at the Children’s Hall and the eviction of homeless persons that it represents. We demand that talks be held and the extent of the enclosure be changed.

October 10, 2010
Shibuya Free Association for the Right to Housing and Well-http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifbeing of the HOMELESS (NOJIREN)
1-27-8 (202) Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 　　　　　　　　　　　　

Translation by Rayna Rusenko

Also see this powerful article by Barbara Ehrenreich on the Occcupy Wall Street movement and issues facing homeless persons in the United States.

Zen priest in Fukushima plants flowers that absorb radiation & accepts radioactive topsoil at temple grounds

"Invisible snow" by Reuters Tokyo Pictures, Aug. 19, 2011

In August, Mike Willacy of ABC (Australian Broadcasting) reported that communities near the plant are reporting radiation at Chernobyl levels.  He spotlights one of many examples of Fukushima residents  have necessarily engaged in their own disaster response: A Zen Buddhist priest is now accepting highly radioactive topsoil on temple property:

He is the chief monk of Fukushima's 400-year old Joenji Temple and this is a sutra for peace and rebirth, a prayer for the resurrection of an entire community choked in radiation.

KOYU ABE, BUDDHIST MONK (voiceover translation): This radiation is like an invisible snow. It's fallen and brought us a long winter. But eventually the snow will melt and spring will come.

MARK WILLACY: To help his community rid itself of this invisible snow, Monk Abe is allowing people to dump their radioactive topsoil on temple land.

Armed with his four Geiger counters, he shows me just how contaminated this earth is.

The Japanese-made Geiger counter quickly blasts off the scale. The others reveal radiation levels ten times beyond what's considered safe.

KOYU ABE, BUDDHIST MONK (voiceover translation): The radiation level here is so high that some of the Geiger counters can't measure it. But I still accept this contaminated soil.

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Photojournalist Yuriko Nakao of Reuter has reported even more in-depth on Koyu Abe and his community at "Invisible Snow," a sensitive photo blog that includes the above video:  As well as engaging in radiation clean-up, residents  are planting flowers that absorb nuclear radiation:

Abe described the radiation particles as an “invisible snow”, “A snow you can’t see has covered the area, and has brought a long, long winter to Fukushima,” he said.

Abe’s organization called, “Make a wish upon flowers,” aimed to reduce the volume of radiation in Fukushima by using certain plants’ natural ability to reduce toxic materials in the ground. With his volunteer group, comprised of about 100 members, he planted sunflowers where radiation levels were high.

Abe hoped to lower the level of radiation and through that ease stress and anxiety experienced by the residents. He also strongly believed that his actions will tackle the prevalent sense of stagnation and help cultivate a sense of hope...

What moved me most was to see the residents not give up their hopes and strive to overcome their predicament. The three days that I spent with the monk’s family were very moving. They were like a blessing to me.

The monk also had his motives to tell me his story. He looked into my eyes and said: “Media outlets have the obligation to reveal and bring everything into the light, so that the people can make their decisions.” By making everything clear, the media can help stop the spread of bad rumors and lower the anxiety while speeding up the recovery process, he said.

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UPDATE: On Feb. 10, 2012, Yuriko Nakao updated her coverage on Koyu Abe's radiation clean-up efforts: Japan priest fights invisible demon: radiation:

On the snowy fringes of Japan's Fukushima city, now notorious as a byword for nuclear crisis, Zen monk Koyu Abe offers prayers for the souls of thousands left dead or missing after the earthquake and tsunami nearly one year ago.

But away from the ceremonial drums and the incense swirling around the Joenji temple altar, Abe has undertaken another task, no less harrowing -- to search out radioactive "hot spots" and clean them up, storing irradiated earth on temple grounds...

"You can't see it. Nothing looks as if it's changed, but really, radiation is floating through the area. It's hard for those hit by the tsunami, but it's hard to live here too."

Last summer, Abe grew and distributed sunflowers and other plants, such as field mustard and amaranthus, in an effort to lighten the impact of the radiation and cheer local residents.

Now he is trading his ceremonial robes for a protective mask, working with volunteers to track down lingering pockets of radiation and cleaning them up...

Abe said he and the other monks are storing the soil on a hill behind the temple as neither the government nor the nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) are helping with the clean-up.

Oct. 21, 1995 Okinawa People's Rally: "Deliver the Spirit of Okinawa to the World"

(Oct. 21, 1995 Okinawa People's Rally)
It's the 16th anniversary of the historic Okinawa-wide protest of the 1995 kidnapping, beating, and gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by 3 U.S. servicemen. The protest launched an ever-deepening Okinawan movement for democracy, human rights, and the indigenous Okinawan culture of peace.

Here is their statement:

Deliver the Spirit of Okinawa to the World

The citizens of Okinawa are a people who hope for peace.

Peace is the backbone which has supported Okinawa throughout history and has become something even more powerful to those who experienced the unprecedented Battle of Okinawa. It is also the basis for their view of the world, in which they are very confident.

The words "nuchi-do-takara" (Life is the greatest treasure) which symbolizes this reverence for peace, will surely last forevermore. The saying "ichariba-chode"(Once we have met, we are like brothers and sisters) has been carried down through the ages and represents the spirit of Okinawa. The spirit of "yuimaru" or helping, supporting and coexisting with one another, has overcome the ups and downs of history, and is considered to be a great asset to the Okinawan people.

Throughout history we have realized that our nation and humanity as a whole, should advance not in the direction of military power, but rather towards friendship and goodwill by accepting, trusting and helping one another. This rich culture which has made flowers bloom in the southern islands, is the essence of the history of the Okinawan spirit.

50 years ago, while the dust of combat had not yet disappeared, the first thing we set our minds on was the reconstruction of the peaceful islands of Okinawa, whose culture was reared by our ancestors. However, as if to laugh at the peaceful intentions of our people, the world took up nuclear arms and rushed into the winter known as the Cold War. Furthermore, like in the case of Korea and Vietnam, we have been forced to get involved in issues of war. And now, 50 years since the end of World War II, the situation regarding the bases has not yet changed in the slightest.

Approximately 20% of the main island of Okinawa, a prefecture which accounts for a mere 0.6% of the nation's total area, continues to be taken up by the huge bases and is forced to bear the burden of 75% of all US military installations in Japan. This provides clear evidence of the stagnant state of base affairs. The peace dividend that the people of Okinawa Prefecture have been hoping and waiting for has been continuously denied to them. The Okinawan people have not yet been allowed to benefit in the slightest from this peace, On the contrary, the one thing we are allowed to have is the unwelcomed presence of repeated military aircraft crashes and other such terrible occurrences. We are also "rewarded" with the destruction of our environment, including noise pollution and live firing exercise which destroy the forests that are important to the accumulation of our water resources.

Since the [1972] reversion to Japan, there have been approximately 4700 cases of base-related crime. These incidents pose a clear threat to the way of life and precious existence of the Okinawan people. And then of September 4, 1995, just as the people of Okinawa Prefecture had feared, yet another detestable and disastrous incident occurred. This brutal act, committed by three young American servicemen, is absolutely inexcusable.

We know the real evil and the fundamental cause of this incident because we have experienced it during the Battle of Okinawa and the US military occupation.

We saw the nature of the military on the battlefield during the Battle of Okinawa and under the 27-year-long US military occupation. Their inhuman behavior was a disregard for, and a complete desecration of human dignity. It contradicts the Okinawan spirit which is symbolized in sayings such as "Life is the greatest treasure," "Once we have met, we are like brothers and sisters," etc.

Through the sacrifice of many precious lives and a lot of bloodshed, we have reconfirmed our ancestors' unequivocally correct choice not to bear arms and to deny the use of military power as a means of diplomacy.

This year, which marks the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, "The Cornerstone of Peace" was constructed in the Peace Memorial Park in Mabuni, Itoman, the place of the last and fiercest battle of World War II, the Battle of Okinawa, in order to pray for the souls of all those who lost their lives during the war and to pray for everlasting world peace. Over two hundred thirty thousand names are inscribed on "The Cornerstone of Peace", irrespective of nationality.

Our heartfelt hope is to build a peaceful Okinawa and a world without weapons. We are certain that this is the only way that the over one million two hundred thousand Okinawans as well as all the people living in Asia and the rest of the world, can coexist as human beings and live together on the earth in the future. We appeal to the world to accept the Okinawan spirit as its own in order to ensure that the tragedy that this young Okinawan girl experienced is not repeated, and so that no one will commit such terrible crimes ever again.

October 21, 1995

Okinawan People's Rally
Denunciation of the assault committed by the American servicemen
Demanding the reversion of the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement