Notes
The Great East Japan Earthquake
○The Great East Japan Earthquake
It is the name given to the large-scale earthquake catastrophe caused by the Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011, and the subsequent tsunami as well as the aftershocks that followed. On March 11, 2011 at 14:46, a huge 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred with its epicenter located off the coast of Sanriku. A seismic intensity of 7 on the Japanese Shindo scale was registered in Kurihara-shi in Miyagi prefecture, and strong shaking of intensity Shindo 6 upper was also observed in an extensive area that included Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures. In addition to the damages caused by the earthquake itself, it triggered a tsunami, ground liquefaction, land subsidence, fires, dam failures, and such that led to the breakdown of all kinds of lifeline utilities, resulting in extensive damages throughout the Tohoku and Kanto regions. As of Jan. 10, 2014, the official numbers of the dead and missing due to the earthquake stand at 18,524 and structures completely or half destroyed at a total of 39,984.*1
○Tsunami Damage
The tsunami triggered by the earthquake caused catastrophic damages to the Pacific coastal areas of Tohoku and Kanto regions. It is estimated that the waves were over 10m high with a maximum run-up height of 40.1m in some places. The tsunami was also detected in a wide area of the country from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Also note that the leading cause of death for the victims in this earthquake catastrophe was drowning.*2
○Earthquake Related Deaths
It indicates the deaths caused, not directly by the earthquake, but from indirect reasons such as deterioration of health, stress and fatigue from living in evacuation. The official number of the Great East Japan Earthquake related deaths by the Reconstruction Agency, as of the end of September 2013, is 2,916, and, approximately half, 1,572 are Fukushima prefecture residents.*3 Another survey by Fukushima prefecture, however, puts the number of related deaths at 1,652, which is more than the direct deaths at 1,603.*4
○Evacuees
The Reconstruction Agency officially stated that the number of evacuees, as of Jan. 16, 2014, is 270,306. It also mentioned that the number of people who fled from Fukushima to other prefectures is 48,364.*5
1. Damage report of the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake and countermeasures taken by the Police Agency (PR material). The National Police Agency Emergency Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, Jan. 10, 2014.
2. 2011 White paper on Disaster Management, p10, 1-1-1-2-(1), Human casualties, Cabinet Office, 2011.
3. Number of earthquake related deaths from the Great East Japan Earthquake, Reconstruction Agency, Cabinet Office (in charge of Disaster Management), Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Dec. 24, 2013.
4. Immediate damage report of the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake (No. 1124), Fukushima Prefecture Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, Feb. 7, 2014.
5. Number of evacuees across the country, Reconstruction Agency, Jan. 28, 2014.
○The Great East Japan Earthquake
It is the name given to the large-scale earthquake catastrophe caused by the Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011, and the subsequent tsunami as well as the aftershocks that followed. On March 11, 2011 at 14:46, a huge 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred with its epicenter located off the coast of Sanriku. A seismic intensity of 7 on the Japanese Shindo scale was registered in Kurihara-shi in Miyagi prefecture, and strong shaking of intensity Shindo 6 upper was also observed in an extensive area that included Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures. In addition to the damages caused by the earthquake itself, it triggered a tsunami, ground liquefaction, land subsidence, fires, dam failures, and such that led to the breakdown of all kinds of lifeline utilities, resulting in extensive damages throughout the Tohoku and Kanto regions. As of Jan. 10, 2014, the official numbers of the dead and missing due to the earthquake stand at 18,524 and structures completely or half destroyed at a total of 39,984.*1
○Tsunami Damage
The tsunami triggered by the earthquake caused catastrophic damages to the Pacific coastal areas of Tohoku and Kanto regions. It is estimated that the waves were over 10m high with a maximum run-up height of 40.1m in some places. The tsunami was also detected in a wide area of the country from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Also note that the leading cause of death for the victims in this earthquake catastrophe was drowning.*2
○Earthquake Related Deaths
It indicates the deaths caused, not directly by the earthquake, but from indirect reasons such as deterioration of health, stress and fatigue from living in evacuation. The official number of the Great East Japan Earthquake related deaths by the Reconstruction Agency, as of the end of September 2013, is 2,916, and, approximately half, 1,572 are Fukushima prefecture residents.*3 Another survey by Fukushima prefecture, however, puts the number of related deaths at 1,652, which is more than the direct deaths at 1,603.*4
○Evacuees
The Reconstruction Agency officially stated that the number of evacuees, as of Jan. 16, 2014, is 270,306. It also mentioned that the number of people who fled from Fukushima to other prefectures is 48,364.*5
1. Damage report of the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake and countermeasures taken by the Police Agency (PR material). The National Police Agency Emergency Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, Jan. 10, 2014.
2. 2011 White paper on Disaster Management, p10, 1-1-1-2-(1), Human casualties, Cabinet Office, 2011.
3. Number of earthquake related deaths from the Great East Japan Earthquake, Reconstruction Agency, Cabinet Office (in charge of Disaster Management), Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Dec. 24, 2013.
4. Immediate damage report of the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake (No. 1124), Fukushima Prefecture Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, Feb. 7, 2014.
5. Number of evacuees across the country, Reconstruction Agency, Jan. 28, 2014.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident
○The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident
When Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was hit by the earthquake and tsunami, it lost all power causing failure of the reactor’s cooling system, which developed into a nuclear accident rated level 7 (Major Accident) by the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES)
○Evacuation Order
On Mar. 11, 2011 at 19:03, the government issued a declaration of nuclear emergency situation. At 20:50 the same day, the Prime Minister ordered residents living within a radius of 2km to evacuate, and those within 3km to 10km to take refuge indoors. As the accident turned more serious, the evacuation order area was expanded, and on Mar. 12 at 18:25, the evacuation order extended to residents within 20km, and on Mar. 15 at 11:00, those within 20km to 30km were ordered to stay indoors. Restrictions on shipment and consumption of food were enforced, and schools, kindergartens and nursery schools were ordered to restrict outdoor activities.
○Changes in the Areas of Evacuation Order
On April 21, the government designated the area within 20km radius of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as a no-entry restricted zone. On the 22nd, it also instituted, in the 20km-to-30km-radius area, deliberate evacuation zones (Areas where residents were requested to evacuate.) and emergency evacuation prepared zones (Areas where residents were urged to be prepared to take shelter indoors or evacuate in case of an emergency. Lifted on Sept. 30 of the same year.). In December, these evacuation order areas were reviewed and reorganized into the following 3 zones: (1) Difficult to return zones, where returning home will not possible for more than 5 years counting from March 2012 (Areas where annual radiation exposure level exceeds 50millisieverts and access is restricted.), (2) Restricted residence zones aiming to return in a few years (Areas where annual radiation exposure level exceeds 20millisieverts but under 50millisieverts and access is free but, as a rule, no staying overnight.), (3) Zones in preparation for the lifting of the evacuation order aiming for a return at an early stage (Areas where annual radiation exposure level is under 20millisieverts and access is free but, as a rule, no staying overnight.) With the zone reorganization of Kawamata-cho in August 2013, the reorganization of the 11 relevant municipalities was completed. *1
○Shipment Restrictions
On Mar. 17, 2011, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare assumed the index value indicated by the Nuclear Safety Commission as the temporary standard, and in effect, notified local authorities the suspension of sales of food that detected values over the standard.*2 On Mar. 21, for the first time, the Director-General of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters (the Prime Minister) gave out orders to the governors of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures to restrict the shipments of spinach and kakina (A green leafy vegetable) and fresh milk from Fukushima.*3 Currently applied is the annual exposure from the intake of food set at under 1mSv, which is the standard value adopted in April 2012 by the said Ministry “To secure even higher levels of safety/confidence”.*4 In 14 prefectures including Fukushima, shipment restrictions are still being imposed.*5
○Harmful Rumors
The definition of “harmful rumors” has not been clearly determined yet, but according to Naoya Sekiya *6, it is the economic damages caused by the cancelling of contracts, travel and/or consumption, because people, affected by media reports of a certain social crisis (Incident, accident, environmental pollution, disaster, recession), regard items (Food, products, regions, industries) that are inherently “safe” as harmful. After the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, shipments of agricultural and industrial products made in Fukushima prefecture, including Iwaki, declined dramatically. The reason being that consumers refrained from buying food and other products in fear of radiation contamination, and anticipating such pullbacks, distributors and retailers also reduced their inventory purchases, and in addition, media reports of such trends further exasperated the anxieties of the consumers, causing a negative spiral. Even when products with radiation levels lower than the official standard were placed on the market, business of Fukushima-made products did not recover to its original state. Furthermore, in some parts, products registering radiation doses below the threshold were also avoided just because they were from Fukushima.
1. About the difficult to return zones. The Cabinet Office Team in Charge of Assisting the Lives of Victims of the Nuclear Power Plant, Oct. 1, 2013.
2. How to handle food that has been contaminated by radiation (Notification from the Director of Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 17, 2011). Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 2013.
3. About shipment restrictions on food (Related to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station accident). Attached reference material, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 21, 2011.
4. Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Article 31, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 15, 2012.
5. Shipment restrictions of food based on the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness. Press release material, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Jan. 30, 2014.
6. Naoya Sekiya: Harmful Rumors-Examining Its Mechanism” (in Japanese), Kobunsha, p.12, 2011.
○The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident
When Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was hit by the earthquake and tsunami, it lost all power causing failure of the reactor’s cooling system, which developed into a nuclear accident rated level 7 (Major Accident) by the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES)
○Evacuation Order
On Mar. 11, 2011 at 19:03, the government issued a declaration of nuclear emergency situation. At 20:50 the same day, the Prime Minister ordered residents living within a radius of 2km to evacuate, and those within 3km to 10km to take refuge indoors. As the accident turned more serious, the evacuation order area was expanded, and on Mar. 12 at 18:25, the evacuation order extended to residents within 20km, and on Mar. 15 at 11:00, those within 20km to 30km were ordered to stay indoors. Restrictions on shipment and consumption of food were enforced, and schools, kindergartens and nursery schools were ordered to restrict outdoor activities.
○Changes in the Areas of Evacuation Order
On April 21, the government designated the area within 20km radius of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as a no-entry restricted zone. On the 22nd, it also instituted, in the 20km-to-30km-radius area, deliberate evacuation zones (Areas where residents were requested to evacuate.) and emergency evacuation prepared zones (Areas where residents were urged to be prepared to take shelter indoors or evacuate in case of an emergency. Lifted on Sept. 30 of the same year.). In December, these evacuation order areas were reviewed and reorganized into the following 3 zones: (1) Difficult to return zones, where returning home will not possible for more than 5 years counting from March 2012 (Areas where annual radiation exposure level exceeds 50millisieverts and access is restricted.), (2) Restricted residence zones aiming to return in a few years (Areas where annual radiation exposure level exceeds 20millisieverts but under 50millisieverts and access is free but, as a rule, no staying overnight.), (3) Zones in preparation for the lifting of the evacuation order aiming for a return at an early stage (Areas where annual radiation exposure level is under 20millisieverts and access is free but, as a rule, no staying overnight.) With the zone reorganization of Kawamata-cho in August 2013, the reorganization of the 11 relevant municipalities was completed. *1
○Shipment Restrictions
On Mar. 17, 2011, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare assumed the index value indicated by the Nuclear Safety Commission as the temporary standard, and in effect, notified local authorities the suspension of sales of food that detected values over the standard.*2 On Mar. 21, for the first time, the Director-General of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters (the Prime Minister) gave out orders to the governors of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures to restrict the shipments of spinach and kakina (A green leafy vegetable) and fresh milk from Fukushima.*3 Currently applied is the annual exposure from the intake of food set at under 1mSv, which is the standard value adopted in April 2012 by the said Ministry “To secure even higher levels of safety/confidence”.*4 In 14 prefectures including Fukushima, shipment restrictions are still being imposed.*5
○Harmful Rumors
The definition of “harmful rumors” has not been clearly determined yet, but according to Naoya Sekiya *6, it is the economic damages caused by the cancelling of contracts, travel and/or consumption, because people, affected by media reports of a certain social crisis (Incident, accident, environmental pollution, disaster, recession), regard items (Food, products, regions, industries) that are inherently “safe” as harmful. After the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, shipments of agricultural and industrial products made in Fukushima prefecture, including Iwaki, declined dramatically. The reason being that consumers refrained from buying food and other products in fear of radiation contamination, and anticipating such pullbacks, distributors and retailers also reduced their inventory purchases, and in addition, media reports of such trends further exasperated the anxieties of the consumers, causing a negative spiral. Even when products with radiation levels lower than the official standard were placed on the market, business of Fukushima-made products did not recover to its original state. Furthermore, in some parts, products registering radiation doses below the threshold were also avoided just because they were from Fukushima.
1. About the difficult to return zones. The Cabinet Office Team in Charge of Assisting the Lives of Victims of the Nuclear Power Plant, Oct. 1, 2013.
2. How to handle food that has been contaminated by radiation (Notification from the Director of Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 17, 2011). Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 2013.
3. About shipment restrictions on food (Related to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station accident). Attached reference material, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 21, 2011.
4. Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Article 31, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar. 15, 2012.
5. Shipment restrictions of food based on the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness. Press release material, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Jan. 30, 2014.
6. Naoya Sekiya: Harmful Rumors-Examining Its Mechanism” (in Japanese), Kobunsha, p.12, 2011.
The City of Iwaki
○The City of Iwaki
Iwaki is a city located at the southeast border of Fukushima prefecture. The population is 327,701.*1 (As of Jan. 1, 2014.) The city is approximately 40km wide from east to west and 50km long from north to south, and its area totals 1,231km². In the western part of the city lies the eastern edge of the Abukuma Highlands, and the city is on a relatively gentle slope from the city border at 500 to 700m elevations to the seashore. The eastern part faces the Pacific Ocean and the coastline is 60km long. Though it belongs to the Tohoku region, average snowfall is about the same as that of Tokyo.
○Industry
Before the advent of the Japanese economic boom, the city prospered because of the primary industries, such as coal mining, fishery, forestry and agriculture. After the establishment of the city of Iwaki due to the consolidation-type merger, in anticipation of the coalmine closures, the city worked on developing manufacturing industries, and the current chief industries are manufacturing and tourism.
○The Joban Coalfields & Iwaki
Since the latter half of the 19th century, the Joban coalfields were the largest producers of coal closest to the Tokyo metropolitan area in Honshu, and the city of Iwaki prospered as the coal-production center. The effects of the energy reform after World War II gradually led to the decline of the coal industry and many coalmines were forced into closure. The closure of Joban Tanko’s Seibu Mining Station in 1976 was the last coal-mining operation in the city of Iwaki.*2
○The Hula Girls
In 1965, as a means to secure a constant source of income and to create jobs, Joban Tanko (Coal Mine), which had no choice but to downsize its operations, opened the Joban Hawaiian Center (Now, the Spa Resort Hawaiians), making use of the abundant hot spring water. The movie, “Hula Girls” (2006, directed by Lee Sang-il) is a story about the people who worked very hard to organize the hula dance show at this venue. In 2011, right after the devastating earthquake, the 1st National Hula Dance Competition for High School Students, the Hula Girls Koshien, was held, and from the 2nd competition on, it has been held in Iwaki.
○Damages by the Great East Japan Earthquake
The Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake measured an intensity of 6 lower on the Japanese earthquake Shindo scale. Large-scale aftershocks and induced earthquakes continued to occur, and, on Apr. 11 and 12, a strong local earthquake having an epicenter in the city occurred. (The intensities of both registered Shindo 6 lower.) The tsunami reached the entire 60km-long coast of the city. In Iwaki, the series of earthquakes left the number of completely or partially destroyed houses at 50,087, victims at 455 people (Includes, 293 direct deaths, 125 related deaths, 37 missing classified as dead.) *3 According to a survey conducted by the city of Iwaki, 55.4% of the citizens said they evacuated when the earthquake hit (Of which 13.9% sought refuge in the city, 86.1% outside of the city), and 95.4% replied that they currently live at home.*4
○Designation of Evacuation Zones for the Nuclear Power Station Accident
On Mar. 15, the government issued an order to take refuge indoors to the areas within 30km radius of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which included a section of Iwaki. (The city exercised its own judgment and required residents within 30km radius of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to voluntarily evacuate.) On Apr. 22, the said order to take refuge indoors was lifted, and deliberate evacuation areas and evacuation-prepared areas in case of emergency were designated. But the city of Iwaki was not included in either of the designated areas.
○The Effects of the Nuclear Power Station Accident
Due to the destruction of infrastructure right after the earthquake, there was a serious shortage of goods. Since the order to take refuge indoors issued on Mar. 13 at 11:00am included a section of Iwaki, some business traders refused to transport goods into the city of Iwaki, which led to an even more serious situation because the goods were not delivered.
○Accepting Evacuees
The population increased as the city accepted about 23,000 evacuees from the local towns around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.*3 As a result, a shortage of medical doctors, traffic congestions, shortage of rental property in the city and such became social issues. In addition, the discrepancies in the compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Co. are said to have generated an emotional friction between the evacuee residents and the citizens of Iwaki.
○Monitoring Inspections
Monitoring posts and real-time radiation measuring systems have been installed in 475 places, such as schools, parks and public facilities in the city, and are conducting radiation monitoring inspections. The monitored data of every 10 minutes are made public in the city’s website and in other news media.
○Stable Iodine Tablets
Since Mar. 18, 2011, the city of Iwaki, exercising its own judgment, has been distributing stable iodine tablets, which had been stored, to pregnant women and citizens under the age of 40. Radioactive iodine is one of the radioactive substances that are released in case of a nuclear power station accident. Iodine has the tendency to collect in the thyroid glands. Therefore, in case of a nuclear accident, by taking stable iodine (Not radioactive) at an early stage and filling up the thyroid glands, it blocks the accumulation of radioactive iodine and reduces radiation exposure of the thyroid.
○Mirai Kaigi (Future Meeting) in Iwaki
While the many different issues after the earthquake remain to be solved, the “Mirai Kaigi (Future Meeting) in Iwaki” is a place to conduct mutually respectful dialogs with the participants. Four volunteers living in Iwaki saw the need for a place of dialog for the future and started the meeting. The first meeting was held in January 2013, and in January 2014, the sixth meeting was held. Participants are not restricted to Iwaki residents, but are invited from other prefectures as well, and people of different occupations and a wide range of age groups come together to take part in lively dialogs with one another.
1. Survey of current resident population. Department of Administrative Management, Iwaki City, Jan.1, 2014.
2. Public Relations & Public Hearing Division, Department of Administrative Management, Iwaki City and "Testimony and Record of Iwaki-shi and East Japan Great Earthquake" complied by the project team of the Earthquake disaster record magazine, p.9, Mar. 25, 2013.
3. Iwaki City Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters Weekly Report, Iwaki City Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters, Feb. 5, 2013.
4. Result of a questionnaire survey about the dissemination of information at a time of a disaster. Public Relations & Public Hearing Division, Department of Administrative Management, Iwaki City, Nov. 9, 2013.
○The City of Iwaki
Iwaki is a city located at the southeast border of Fukushima prefecture. The population is 327,701.*1 (As of Jan. 1, 2014.) The city is approximately 40km wide from east to west and 50km long from north to south, and its area totals 1,231km². In the western part of the city lies the eastern edge of the Abukuma Highlands, and the city is on a relatively gentle slope from the city border at 500 to 700m elevations to the seashore. The eastern part faces the Pacific Ocean and the coastline is 60km long. Though it belongs to the Tohoku region, average snowfall is about the same as that of Tokyo.
○Industry
Before the advent of the Japanese economic boom, the city prospered because of the primary industries, such as coal mining, fishery, forestry and agriculture. After the establishment of the city of Iwaki due to the consolidation-type merger, in anticipation of the coalmine closures, the city worked on developing manufacturing industries, and the current chief industries are manufacturing and tourism.
○The Joban Coalfields & Iwaki
Since the latter half of the 19th century, the Joban coalfields were the largest producers of coal closest to the Tokyo metropolitan area in Honshu, and the city of Iwaki prospered as the coal-production center. The effects of the energy reform after World War II gradually led to the decline of the coal industry and many coalmines were forced into closure. The closure of Joban Tanko’s Seibu Mining Station in 1976 was the last coal-mining operation in the city of Iwaki.*2
○The Hula Girls
In 1965, as a means to secure a constant source of income and to create jobs, Joban Tanko (Coal Mine), which had no choice but to downsize its operations, opened the Joban Hawaiian Center (Now, the Spa Resort Hawaiians), making use of the abundant hot spring water. The movie, “Hula Girls” (2006, directed by Lee Sang-il) is a story about the people who worked very hard to organize the hula dance show at this venue. In 2011, right after the devastating earthquake, the 1st National Hula Dance Competition for High School Students, the Hula Girls Koshien, was held, and from the 2nd competition on, it has been held in Iwaki.
○Damages by the Great East Japan Earthquake
The Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake measured an intensity of 6 lower on the Japanese earthquake Shindo scale. Large-scale aftershocks and induced earthquakes continued to occur, and, on Apr. 11 and 12, a strong local earthquake having an epicenter in the city occurred. (The intensities of both registered Shindo 6 lower.) The tsunami reached the entire 60km-long coast of the city. In Iwaki, the series of earthquakes left the number of completely or partially destroyed houses at 50,087, victims at 455 people (Includes, 293 direct deaths, 125 related deaths, 37 missing classified as dead.) *3 According to a survey conducted by the city of Iwaki, 55.4% of the citizens said they evacuated when the earthquake hit (Of which 13.9% sought refuge in the city, 86.1% outside of the city), and 95.4% replied that they currently live at home.*4
○Designation of Evacuation Zones for the Nuclear Power Station Accident
On Mar. 15, the government issued an order to take refuge indoors to the areas within 30km radius of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which included a section of Iwaki. (The city exercised its own judgment and required residents within 30km radius of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to voluntarily evacuate.) On Apr. 22, the said order to take refuge indoors was lifted, and deliberate evacuation areas and evacuation-prepared areas in case of emergency were designated. But the city of Iwaki was not included in either of the designated areas.
○The Effects of the Nuclear Power Station Accident
Due to the destruction of infrastructure right after the earthquake, there was a serious shortage of goods. Since the order to take refuge indoors issued on Mar. 13 at 11:00am included a section of Iwaki, some business traders refused to transport goods into the city of Iwaki, which led to an even more serious situation because the goods were not delivered.
○Accepting Evacuees
The population increased as the city accepted about 23,000 evacuees from the local towns around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.*3 As a result, a shortage of medical doctors, traffic congestions, shortage of rental property in the city and such became social issues. In addition, the discrepancies in the compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Co. are said to have generated an emotional friction between the evacuee residents and the citizens of Iwaki.
○Monitoring Inspections
Monitoring posts and real-time radiation measuring systems have been installed in 475 places, such as schools, parks and public facilities in the city, and are conducting radiation monitoring inspections. The monitored data of every 10 minutes are made public in the city’s website and in other news media.
○Stable Iodine Tablets
Since Mar. 18, 2011, the city of Iwaki, exercising its own judgment, has been distributing stable iodine tablets, which had been stored, to pregnant women and citizens under the age of 40. Radioactive iodine is one of the radioactive substances that are released in case of a nuclear power station accident. Iodine has the tendency to collect in the thyroid glands. Therefore, in case of a nuclear accident, by taking stable iodine (Not radioactive) at an early stage and filling up the thyroid glands, it blocks the accumulation of radioactive iodine and reduces radiation exposure of the thyroid.
○Mirai Kaigi (Future Meeting) in Iwaki
While the many different issues after the earthquake remain to be solved, the “Mirai Kaigi (Future Meeting) in Iwaki” is a place to conduct mutually respectful dialogs with the participants. Four volunteers living in Iwaki saw the need for a place of dialog for the future and started the meeting. The first meeting was held in January 2013, and in January 2014, the sixth meeting was held. Participants are not restricted to Iwaki residents, but are invited from other prefectures as well, and people of different occupations and a wide range of age groups come together to take part in lively dialogs with one another.
1. Survey of current resident population. Department of Administrative Management, Iwaki City, Jan.1, 2014.
2. Public Relations & Public Hearing Division, Department of Administrative Management, Iwaki City and "Testimony and Record of Iwaki-shi and East Japan Great Earthquake" complied by the project team of the Earthquake disaster record magazine, p.9, Mar. 25, 2013.
3. Iwaki City Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters Weekly Report, Iwaki City Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters, Feb. 5, 2013.
4. Result of a questionnaire survey about the dissemination of information at a time of a disaster. Public Relations & Public Hearing Division, Department of Administrative Management, Iwaki City, Nov. 9, 2013.
Basic Knowledge About Radioactive Substances
○Radioactive Substances
Substances that have unstable nuclei. Unstable nuclei decay at a constant rate and transform into stable nuclei, emitting radioactive rays in the process. This property to give off radioactive rays is called radiation.
○Radioactive Rays
Particles and electromagnetic waves emitted from radioactive substances. When radioactive rays hit molecules, electrons are ejected from the molecules, thereby ionizing them.
For example,
A Firefly. (Radioactive substance)
The property to emit light. (Radiation)
The light emitted by the firefly. (Radioactive ray)
○Radiation Exposure
When a human being is exposed to radiation. Exposure from an outside source is called external exposure and from a source inside the body is called internal exposure.
○Becquerel
A unit to measure the quantity of radioactive substance. It indicates the number of nuclear transformation per second. It denotes that the higher the number, the stronger the radiation.
○Sievert
A unit that measures the level of possible damage to a human body exposed to radiation, and the symbol is Sv. It can indicate the level of exposure per hour, per year and/or for a total lifetime. In practice, the unit millisievert (mSv) is used and applied to both external and internal radiation exposure. Even if the sources or periods of the exposures are different, if the values of the sievert are the same, the amount of damage to the human body is considered to be the same. For the values represented by sievert and millisievert, “equivalent dose of radiation” is used to assess the level of radiation on various tissues and internal organs (e.g. thyroid gland) and applied to determine its effect on the tissues, while “effective dose of radiation” is used to assess the effect on the whole body and applied to estimate the probability of developing cancer.
○Air Radiation Dose Rate
What is referred to as “the strength of the radiation”. The unit microsieverts per hour (Sv/h) is usually applied.
○Radiation Screening Test
Testing the entire body using a surface contamination measurement instrument (A surface contamination inspecting device). It is carried out to determine external contamination, which is the contamination of clothes and body surfaces (Bare, exposed parts), and to assess internal contamination due to absorption of radioactive iodine, etc.
○Decontamination
The removal of radioactive substances to reduce the level of radiation contamination in the living environment.
○Radioactive Substances
Substances that have unstable nuclei. Unstable nuclei decay at a constant rate and transform into stable nuclei, emitting radioactive rays in the process. This property to give off radioactive rays is called radiation.
○Radioactive Rays
Particles and electromagnetic waves emitted from radioactive substances. When radioactive rays hit molecules, electrons are ejected from the molecules, thereby ionizing them.
For example,
A Firefly. (Radioactive substance)
The property to emit light. (Radiation)
The light emitted by the firefly. (Radioactive ray)
○Radiation Exposure
When a human being is exposed to radiation. Exposure from an outside source is called external exposure and from a source inside the body is called internal exposure.
○Becquerel
A unit to measure the quantity of radioactive substance. It indicates the number of nuclear transformation per second. It denotes that the higher the number, the stronger the radiation.
○Sievert
A unit that measures the level of possible damage to a human body exposed to radiation, and the symbol is Sv. It can indicate the level of exposure per hour, per year and/or for a total lifetime. In practice, the unit millisievert (mSv) is used and applied to both external and internal radiation exposure. Even if the sources or periods of the exposures are different, if the values of the sievert are the same, the amount of damage to the human body is considered to be the same. For the values represented by sievert and millisievert, “equivalent dose of radiation” is used to assess the level of radiation on various tissues and internal organs (e.g. thyroid gland) and applied to determine its effect on the tissues, while “effective dose of radiation” is used to assess the effect on the whole body and applied to estimate the probability of developing cancer.
○Air Radiation Dose Rate
What is referred to as “the strength of the radiation”. The unit microsieverts per hour (Sv/h) is usually applied.
○Radiation Screening Test
Testing the entire body using a surface contamination measurement instrument (A surface contamination inspecting device). It is carried out to determine external contamination, which is the contamination of clothes and body surfaces (Bare, exposed parts), and to assess internal contamination due to absorption of radioactive iodine, etc.
○Decontamination
The removal of radioactive substances to reduce the level of radiation contamination in the living environment.
Editorial Supervision:
[The Great East Japan Earthquake], [The City of Iwaki], [Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident] by Michitaka Umemoto, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, Ph.D. (Social Engineering).
[Basic Knowledge About Radioactive Substances] by Hiroshi Matsumoto, Director of Center for Research in Isotopes and Environmental Dynamics, Professor at Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Doctor of Agriculture.
[The Great East Japan Earthquake], [The City of Iwaki], [Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident] by Michitaka Umemoto, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, Ph.D. (Social Engineering).
[Basic Knowledge About Radioactive Substances] by Hiroshi Matsumoto, Director of Center for Research in Isotopes and Environmental Dynamics, Professor at Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Doctor of Agriculture.