YOKOHAMA--An elementary schoolboy forced to evacuate from his home in nuclear accident-stricken Fukushima Prefecture called for a Japan without reactors at an international conference in Yokohama for a nuclear power free world.
YOKOHAMA--An elementary schoolboy forced to evacuate from his home in nuclear accident-stricken Fukushima Prefecture called for a Japan without reactors at an international conference in Yokohama for a nuclear power free world.
“We don’t need nuclear power plants, which are traumatizing us,” Yuri Tomizuka, 10, told the audience at the opening ceremony on Jan. 14.
The boy is living with his mother in Yokohama, leaving behind his father, who works for a company in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture.
Many of his classmates at a school he formerly attended in the prefecture are now attending other schools due to radiation concerns since the nuclear crisis unfolded at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Yuri is one of thousands of participants who are taking part in the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World that opened in the Pacifico Yokohama convention center on Jan. 14. The two-day conference is organized by Peace Boat, a Japan-based advocacy group, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Green Action and other private groups.
The boy said he has several questions he wants government officials to answer.
One is how dangerous are food products that have been found to have radiation levels higher than safety standards the government set after the accident? Another is why is the government trying to export nuclear power technology to other countries despite having to deal with a serious ongoing accident at home?
“I want to ask top officials of the government,” Yuri said. “What is more important? Lives of us children or money?”
He said that adults should explain the dangers of radiation in a way to enable children to fully understand them because children are more subject to the effects of radiation than adults.
“An anti-nuclear power movement will be over like a fad if our understanding (of the hazards of radiation) remains vague,” he said. “We want to pass the knowledge on.”
Yuri said when he grows up he hopes to work to develop environmentally friendly sources of energy or to be of service to people.
The conference has attracted more than 100 scientists from about 30 countries, including nuclear power researchers, and citizens groups.
Shigehiro Goda, a member of Peace Boat, urged participants to take action to steer Japan from nuclear power generation.
“The path to a Japan free from nuclear power plants is not limited to just one,” said Goda, 33. “We would like people to find something they can do now.”