Chastened Ishihara apologizes to Fukushima mayors, governor for 'money' remark

Embattled Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara visited Fukushima Prefecture on June 23 to personally apologize for

Ishihara apologized to prefectural Governor Yuhei Sato and the mayors of Okuma and Futaba, both candidate locations for an intermediate storage facility.

"I would like to deeply apologize for my remarks," Ishihara told Okuma Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe. "I have caused you much trouble."

Ishihara bowed deeply, together with Shinji Inoue, a senior vice minister, and Parliamentary Vice Minister Tomoko Ukishima, who joined the trip. The meeting was held at Okuma's temporary town hall, set up in Aizu-Wakamatsu.

"It's a fact that our townspeople were not pleased by your remarks, but I will deeply accept your apology you have made in person, in which you have taken responsibility," Watanabe said.

On June 16, Ishihara told reporters after a meeting to update Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on the progress of selecting a site for temporary storage facilities of the soil contaminated in the Fukushima nuclear crisis, "In the end, it will come down to money."

The government has run into difficulties in finding candidate sites, as many residents near the prospective locations have not been persuaded to have such facilities erected in their hometowns.

Ishihara withdrew his statement three days later, but the controversy lingered, as his words left the impression that he believed only throwing enough money at residents in Fukushima Prefecture would resolve the issue.

"Ishihara's words failed to take into consideration the feelings that Fukushima residents have toward their homeland," Sato said on June 17.

The environment minister's statement is sure to cast a shadow over the decision-making by Fukushima residents in accepting the construction of the facility.

When asked about the effect of Ishihara's remarks on the securing of storage sites, Watanabe replied, "It has already been three years (since the nuclear accident) and further delays in the reconstruction process cannot be allowed."

(This article was written by Teru Okumura and Yoshitaka Ito.)