A veteran engineer calls for volunteers from other senior citizens for the repair of the Fukushima nuclear plants

Yastel Yamada, a retired engineer, has proposed a rational and pragmatic solution for the repair of the Fukushima nuclear plants: calling for volunteers from senior citizens (particularly retired engineers), who are biologically less susceptible to radiation and over the age of reproduction.

This rational choice poses an ethical question as well: should we support an act of self-sacrifice for society? -- a taboo topic in Japan after the World War II.



Together with other volunteers, Yamada opened an English web page, in addition to German one, Italian one, and needless to say a Japanese one.


Below is some excerpts from the site: Proposal for a Skilled Veterans Corps to install an alternative cooling system at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

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Repair or installation of the cooling system will unavoidably be conducted in an environment highly contaminated with radioactive elements with serious risk of future health complications. As such, young people with a long future should not have to be placed in a position of having to undertake such a task. Radiation exposure of a generation which may reproduce the next generation should be avoided, regardless of the amount

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Our generation who has, consciously or unconsciously, approved the construction of the Fukushima nuclear power plants and enjoyed the benefits of the vast supply of electricity generated, in particular those of us who hailed the slogan that “Nuclear Power is Safe” should be the first to join the Skilled Veteran Corps to install or repair the cooling system. This is the duty of our generation to the next generation and the one thereafter.
http://park10.wakwak.com/~bouhatsusoshi/english.html

As an experienced engineer, Yamada believes that the repair of the Fukushima nuclear plants needs a lot of manual works and that radiation exposure beyond the reasonable limit may be necessary for the workers on site, for working in a short time (like 10 - 15 minutes) would not amount to a proper repair work.

According to the video below, Yamada says that more than 60 senior citizens have volunteered so far, and he asks for all kinds of support from younger generations in Japan and abroad.


Associating Yamada's proposal with Kamikaze-Banzai Attack is wrong because, as you can see in the video below, he and other volunteers are perfectly free from heroic self-indulgence. His purpose is to fix the problem, not to die heroically from desperation. Yamada calmly suggest that a cooperation from the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is necessary.


Samurai may be a proper way of describing them for their pragmatism for a noble of cause of defending their fellow people. I'd argue that together with the example of Tokyo Fire Department's Hyper Rescue Squad (http://yosukeyanase.blogspot.com/2011/03/three-samurai-of-tokyo-fire-departments.html) Yamada demonstrates that Samurai is not dead in Japan.


For those of you who may have difficulties in following the Japanese in the interview video below, here is my summary of what they say.

Yastel Yamada (the organizer)

* From the experience as a veteran engineer, I can tell that the repair work of the Fukushima nuclear plants requires the manual work by experienced workers.

* Replacing workers at every 10-15 minute because of the radiation exposure limit is not effective for a proper repair.

* Young workers who may reproduce younger generation and are themselves more susceptible to radiation effect should not be engaged in such a work. This repair work is a call for senior citizens like me.

* I started this project (Skilled Veterans Corps) because if I act alone I wouldn't even be admitted to the site of the Fukushima nuclear plants.

* This project needs an official support from the national government for the budget and other resources. The cooling system of the plants must be restored completely and maintained for at least 10 years. Such a long term project needs a national support.

* Workers who are engaged in the repair work at the Fukushima nuclear plants must be recognized as individual persons. Workers in a highly demanding situation like this needs psychological support from the general public. [Note: The workers at the plants (Fukushima 50) are still anonymous and their words and faces have hardly been broadcasted in Japan so far.]

* I'm acting not out of desperation or heroism. I just want to do the right thing in a calm way.

* If I believe in one thing as a right thing and express it in words, my action must follow.

* People of different generations should respond differently. They have their right and duty to do so.

* I may feel scared when I actually step into the site. I must be well prepared. If some volunteers feel too scared at the site and quit, I won't blame them.

* We'd like to be equipped with the best means for the work. We need international supports as well.

* This project not like the Kamikaze suicide attack. Our mission is to fix the problem, not to die in vain.

* Personally, I don't regard this act as self-sacrifice. I do this because this is the most rational choice. This is how engineers think and act.

* This is not an attack in war against people of other nations. In this sense, I feel no hesitation to be engaged in this 'fight.'

* However, I'll never forget that this nuclear accident is not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster.

* Payment should not be the issue. If you do a job like this for money, the motivation of workers will be lost. Workers in a situation like this need psychological support from ordinary people.

* I need cooperation from the government and TEPCO. I won't be engaged in the debate concerning the nuclear power issues for now. We want to fix the problem now.



Yoshio Hirai (Ex-translator, a long-time friend of Yamada's. Instructor of Aikido, a Japanese martial art (Budo))

* I don't have technical knowledge or skills. I'd like to help the volunteers at the site for the routine works.

* Personally, I don't think I'm a nationalist. Rather I do this because this is the right thing. Gikyo-shin (義侠心), a spirit of of samurai, is something I always keep in mind. I am a man of Budo.

* At my age, I feel less scared about my death.

* If people like us do not go, the government may send the young members of the Self Defence Force of Japan. I don't want to send young people to this kind of mission.




Sasaki (Wife of Hirai, ex-translator)

* (Asked if the gender is an issue here). The gender is not an issue. I just don't want to see young people ruin their lives for this kind of work.

* Even if our generation may not be directly responsible for the World War II (we were too young at the time of the war), we are absolutely responsible for the nuclear power in the post war Japan. I have enjoyed my life so far. The current life of mine is like a extra-present.


From my Japanese blog article, which is based on the video below.
http://yanaseyosuke.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_07.html

Here is the video offered by an independent journalist, Yasumi Iwakami (@iwakamiyasumi ) and his staff (@iwakami_staff ). (Incidentally, the cozy relationship of Kisha club (the the press club of Japanese newspapers and TV stations that excludes journalists working independently or for Japanese magazines or foreign media) has emerged as a very important issue to, I'd say, 'normalize' this country. No country can be sound without good journalism.)

Interview with Yastel Yamada and his colleagues



Video streaming by Ustream

You may want to follow Yamada on Twitter,

（@officeyam ）

or send him email.

veteran_corp@aa.wakwak.com

Get more information from his web page.

Skilled Veterans Corps at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power
http://park10.wakwak.com/~bouhatsusoshi/english.html

As I said at the beginning of this blog article, I believe this is an ethical question for ourselves as well as a practical problem for the Fukushima nuclear plants.


I've blogged and tweeted about this issue a number of times so far, but I have only received one feedback. Considering the number of response that I usually receive for my blogging and tweeting, I find this rather odd.

If my friends and the general public in Japan are too afraid, I hope I'm mistaken, to even think about this issue, I believe they are betraying their ancestors of samurai, who established the ethical and moral code of this nation. That, I'd argue, is unpatriotic.





P.S. (May 8, 2011)

I've received a lot of feedback now. I particularly thank Mr. Yamada and Mr. Iwakami for their retweets.

Some corrections were made for grammar in the above article.



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Japanese citizens should not betray the trust in Japan by NOT acting

The Japanese Government and TEPCO cannot and must not betray the trust in Japan from the world.

Citizens of Japan hold moral responsibility for the international community to rectify and improve their own government and TEPCO that have only been showing insufficent measures for the nuclear disaster.


See the video taken in New York immediately after the earthquake on March 11.

Watch and see how you feel in your heart.

Can you honestly accept the goodwill now, after you've seen the insufficiency of your government and TEPCO? The Japanese government is not someone else. It is what represents YOU!


Do we, people of Japan, betray the goodwill to and trust in Japan by NOT acting?

If you don't act in Japan, I'd say you're no different from the executives of TEPCO (with due respect to the workers at the plants that are risking their lives).





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N7Jb5ssgmM&feature=player_embedded


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Three Samurai of Tokyo Fire Department's Hyper Rescue Squad

As the title of the movie "The Last Samurai suggests, Samurai are thought to be extinct. Indeed among Japanese people, SAIGHO Takamori or YAMAOKA Tesshu has often been described as the last Samurai. Rickson Gracie, a legendary martial artist, admires Samurai but declares unequivocally that he has seen no Samurai in contemporary Japan (Gracie, 2010).

Moral fiber of Japanese people has been considered in decline. The burst of the economic bubble crashed their (over)confidence of their economy. The Great Hanshin earthquake revealed the incapacity of politicians and bureaucrats evidently. Terrorism in Tokyo was committed by no other than Japanese people, Aum Shinrikyo, whose executive members were mostly graduates from prestigious universities in Japan. Most Japanese people forgot the word Samurai except when the Japanese team in World Baseball Classic used the nickname Samurai Japan. Samurai has become just a symbolic and empty word.

But maybe not necessarily so from now on, after Japan and the rest of the world witnessed the heroic actions to prevent the meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

Among the heros were the three at the press conference at midnight on March 19, 2010: Tokyo Fire Department's Hyper Rescue Squad captain SATO Yasuo, the squad' sixth troop leader TOMIOKA Toyohiko, and squad's eighth troop leader TAKAYAMA Yukio. (See the picture and a news article.)

These three firefighters, who represent other heros at the Fukushima Operation, reminded Japanese people of what Samurai were like. They were confident but humble, calm but warm, and most important of all, effective in action.

At the press conference, Sato explained the process of the operation plainly and calmly with a polite language. Without prior knowledge, you might guess that it is a report of a drill operation. His explanation was very factual and clear, which invites our reasonable guess that he is a man of responsibility and very aware of the details of what his men do. His explanation made a sharp contrast with other clumsy and often evasive explanations by government officials (with the exceptions of EDANO Yukio, whom some foreign press compared to Jack Bauer).


When Sato's 10 minutes explanation was over, the press, that has always been petty and noisy since the earthquake, was silent. Journalists were just overwhelmed by the serene dignity of the three.

"Mass-Gomi" ("Massive Garbage") is a slang to refer to and disrespect the "Mass-Com(i)" ("mass communication media") which was regarded as lacking knowledge, wisdom, vision, courage, compassion, discretion and whatever virtues journalists are required of. Many Japanese people, including me, has now begun to use the slang with little hesitation. For the past one week, too many TV stations, newspapers, and magazines were really "Massive Garbage" to the Japanese public, just agitating uneducated guesses and profiting from the human tragedies.

After a while, Tomioka was asked for a comment. Just as calm as Sato, with no appearance of triumph, he just said that it was a very tough and difficult mission, but he believes his team has reasonably accomplished what the nation expected of them. His body language, as well as his words, was telling that he and his men just did what they had to do.

After that Takayama took the microphone and added a short comment. Sato followed and added what he failed to report in the main explanation: safety of his men. He confirmed that he made sure of the safety of the operation before it was initiated.

With words like "Kamikaze" and "Seppuku", Samurai are often mistaken as irrational being, but they are not. (Kamikaze has no relation to Samurai, and Seppuku is one consequence of Bushido but right now I have to omit a long explanation about this).

If you have seen Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (and if not, please do), I can skip the explanation. Seven Samurai were depicted as very rational warriors with great compassion. Or if you argue that the movie is only a fiction, you may want to read Nitobe Inazo's Bushido: The Soul of Japan or UCHIMURA Kanzo's Representative Men of Japan. With the movie or the books, it won't take much time to realize that Samurai were gentlemen fighting for peace.

The microphone is back to Tomioka, who explained that his own mission was risk assessment and judge appropriately whether his men have been trained enough to deal with the situation. "The situation was worse than what we expected in the drill, but I was sure that my men could do it," Tomioka said again quite calmly.

But his composure was temporally disturbed by the next question: what was the toughest part?

"The toughest was carried out ... by my men." He barely spoke, and silence of about 10 seconds followed, during which he tried to stop himself from sobbing. "My men", he continued, "are high in morale and they did their best."

Still trying hard to calm himself down, he added. "But for their family, I feel truly sorry and I'd like to take this opportunity to send my apology and gratitude to them."

As if to avoid the press conference getting too emotional, Takayama took the microphone and added some technical explanation and thanked the background unit that measured the level of radiation to secure the safety of the men at the front.

The last question was asked: "How did you leave your home, and what would you like to do when you come home?"

Takayama said that he was in a different operation when he took the order and was only able to send his wife email: "I have to go and I'll be back." to which his wife sent a short reply "I have no doubt".

"When I come home, I just like to sleep." he said with a smile.

Tomioka said he was at home when he received the order. To his wife and son, he promised that he'd never initiate the operation without confirming safety. He left home with that promise.

About what he'd like to do when he comes home, he spoke with stoic understatement: "Because it is midnight now, my family may be sleeping." And he added, "I like sake, so I'd like to drink alone, reflecting what could have been done better and what can be done for the future".

Sato was also only able to send email to his wife, telling that he had to go. His wife also sent a short reply: "Save the nation".

"When I come home," he added quickly, "I just want to sleep." with a big smile, but it seemed to me that he needed that simile to conceal his tears in his eyes.



So, I wish to conclude that Samurai are not extinct.

Of course, I don't want to monopolize Samurai only in Japan. Readers of this passage must have your own Samurai in your country.

Like it or not, we occasionally have to fight, either against invaders or natuaral disasters. It is when Samurai show up and fight for you. Their plan is careful but they're decicive in action. They don't ask for praise. They just want to do what they're trained for. When the fight is over, they leave. As ordinary citizens begin their lives, Samurai quietly begin training again.

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