Thoughts from Aomori On the Occasion of the Arrival of Highly Radioactive Waste from the UK
What can one say about the folly of Japan’s nuclear fuel cycle policy? First spent nuclear fuel from Japan’s nuclear power plants was shipped at great risk to the marine environment across the high seas to Europe. There plutonium, the most dangerous substance in the world, was separated out. Next the highly radioactive substances produced in the process (high-level waste = HLW) were shipped all the way back to Japan. This waste is supposed to be dumped 300 meters below the surface of the earth. But there is a catch. There is no dump site.
The lunacy of this policy defies description. Nevertheless, it went ahead and now the first shipment of HLW from the UK is about to arrive in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture.
If we don’t soon extract ourselves from all things nuclear, we will drift inexorably towards an age where humanity, indeed where all creation is dominated by power, greed and corruption.
When the shipment arrives, we intend to be there to witness the spectacle. We will do so with yearning in our hearts for a nuclear free world and hope for a better future, but also with shame at the folly of human beings who conceived this misguided policy.
So that we can continue living on this beautiful earth, we must create a vision of a new society and work together to realize the vision.
Date: 09 /March Time: 10:00 ~ 14:00 Place: open space in front of the Rokkasho Mutsu Ogawara Port http://peaceland.jp/