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It's not easy saying no to the emperor, but in this case his minders had a point.
Emperor Akihito wanted to fly over the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant even though radiation was spewing from the facility following the triple meltdown there. It was a gesture he clearly thought would resonate with residents during his tour of the northeastern prefecture that hosts the stricken plant. But his aides talked him out of it.
This vignette helps to illustrate the intense preparations that Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko made for their trip to Fukushima Prefecture in May 2011, about two months after the earthquake and tsunami disaster that triggered the nuclear crisis.
They patiently sat through explanations offered by about 20 experts and government officials, including a dozen or so specialists of nuclear energy and radiation.
Grand Chamberlain Yutaka Kawashima, 72, confided in one expert that Akihito wanted to visit the nuclear plant, which by this time had been torn apart by hydrogen explosions.
Kawashima then reported to the emperor that such a visit would be difficult. At that point, Akihito inquired about flying over the nuclear plant in a Self-Defense Forces aircraft.
On April 20, 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Co. disclosed that meltdowns had occurred at three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Two days later, local residents were prohibited from entering a 20-kilometer radius of the nuclear plant and the evacuation process went into high gear.
It was against this backdrop that the imperial couple prepared for their Fukushima visit.
Makoto Watanabe, 78, a former grand chamberlain, said, "His majesty always thought about the hibakusha in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so he clearly understood the suffering caused by the after-effects of radiation. He was greatly interested in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident."
Whenever Akihito met with anyone from Europe who had been affected by the Chernobyl disaster, he would ask about the effects from the accident.
Watanabe also recalled what Akihito said after the Cold War came to an end with the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
"With this, an accident like Chernobyl will no longer occur," the emperor said. "With the wall gone, information flow will be smoother so there will likely be no recurrence of a difficult situation in which people do not know what is happening."
Takao Kikori, 57, an official with the Fukushima prefectural government, was contacted in early April, not even a month after the Great East Japan Earthquake, by an official with the Imperial Household Agency and told that the imperial couple wanted to visit Fukushima Prefecture.
Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato, 66, was eager to host the visit and show the imperial couple the sights, so to speak. On April 15, he formed a team within the prefectural government to prepare for the visit.
By then, the imperial couple were fully cognizant of what they would be facing.
On March 15, 2011, they were briefed on operations at nuclear plants and safety measures from Shunichi Tanaka, 69, who was then vice chairman of the government's Atomic Energy Commission. Tanaka now serves as chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
They also listened to various experts talking about radiation and its effect on human health.
Farm minister Michihiko Kano, 72, met with the imperial couple on April 13 and told them how the crisis had affected local agriculture and fisheries industries.
Akihito asked him, "Where will fishermen make their base in seeking to reconstruct their industry?"
On April 26, Kohei Otsuka, 54, senior vice minister of health, was called to explain what measures were being taken for medical care in the disaster-stricken areas.
When Otsuka explained about radiation standards for food, he was asked about the effects on children. That led to questions about radiation exposure levels for workers in the disaster areas as well as the removal of rubble.
Akihito asked, "Are adequate measures being taken to deal with asbestos?"
Otsuka said, "We are being sufficiently aware of the problem. The workers are all wearing face masks."
He was taken aback when Michiko then asked, "Are they using N95 masks?"
She was referring to masks designed to shut out even the smallest particles and which meet standards set in the United States. Ordinarily, a layman would not have this depth of knowledge, which was why Otsuka was so surprised.
After about an hour, a chamberlain entered the room, the signal that the lecture was over. The chamberlain called out, "Your majesty." Although Akihito nodded, the questions directed at Otsuka did not stop.
The third time the chamberlain entered the room, Otsuka finally said, "I believe the time has come." He had extended his stay by 40 minutes.
Two days before the scheduled visit to Fukushima, the imperial couple heard from Yasuhito Sasaki, 77, an executive director of the Japan Radioisotope Association.
"Their majesties were especially concerned about the effects of radiation on children," Sasaki recalled.
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