A new book compiles the views toward the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant of individuals affiliated with Christian churches in Japan, which have a decidedly anti-nuclear power bent.
A new book compiles the views toward the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant of individuals affiliated with Christian churches in Japan, which have a decidedly anti-nuclear power bent.
"Nuclear power generation is a form of violence toward humanity, which has as its fundamental points, humanitarianism and peace," writes the Rev. Koichi Kimura, 64, of the Fukuoka International Church, quoting from the Bible.
Kimura touches upon efforts by Japanese companies to sell nuclear plant technology abroad based on information he gleaned in Indonesia.
The book, published by Shinkyo Publishing Co. of Tokyo, is titled "Genpatsu to kirisutokyo" (Nuclear plants and Christianity).
The book is made up of two parts. The first part contains the accounts of Christian believers who have continued with activities to push for the shift from nuclear energy throughout Japan.
One such individual is the Rev. Hiroki Nonaka of the Tosu Church in Saga Prefecture. He wrote about his experience participating in a movement opposed to having a pluthermal generation project at the Genkai nuclear power plant.
Nonaka, 49, points out that the issue of nuclear plants can be considered a discriminatory one because the plants tend to be located in poor rural areas that are losing population.
Nonaka believes that everyone has to make an independent judgment about what should be done about nuclear plants.
Last year, Nonaka visited Fukushima Prefecture five times to provide support to disaster victims by transporting relief supplies or listening to what the victims had to say.
"I want to remain sincerely involved in the issues facing society as someone in a religious position," Nonaka said. "I want to continue in a steady manner to do whatever I can to remove the concerns that people may hold."
The second part of the book brings together articles that look at the Fukushima nuclear accident from a Christian standpoint.
Included in this part is a reprint of an article written by the late physicist Jinzaburo Takagi (1938-2000), who consistently opposed nuclear power generation. The article considers the relationship between the Western Christian world and nuclear energy and asks whether the Bible predicted the discovery of nuclear energy.