DiaNuke.org

Standing in the midst of Fukushima’s fallout on that hot day in July, I had a visceral sense of the trouble at hand. Though assigned to produce a video for TIME with my partner, I couldn’t focus on work. Tears surfaced as I thought of the deserted towns we passed on our way to this place; the laundry left hanging on lines, schools shuttered forever, storefront windows broken (but their shelves unlooted) and brand new cars in their garages, too contaminated to touch.

Fukushima continues to spew out radiation. The quantities seem to be rising, as do the impacts. There are horrifying signs of ecological disaster in the Pacific and human health impacts in the U.S. But within Japan, a new State Secrets Act makes such talk punishable by up to ten years in prison.

TEPCO’s dilemma should make one thing painfully obvious, though mainstream political ideology cannot acknowledge it: this is not a job for capitalism. TEPCO should be abolished, and all of its assets and obligations should be assumed by the state. Soviet historians speak of the Battle of Chernobyl because it was a war against technology that required national sacrifice. Japan and the international community should have long ago realized that the Battle of Fukushima cannot be fought, let alone won, by a bankrupt corporation hiring casual workers through layers of subcontractors. A massive national effort is called for, but no one in charge seems capable of recognizing the need.

The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) condemns this secretive, illegal and fake disaster management training session conducted at Nakkaneri village just to create false records that they had satisfied the AERB requirement before they could load the nuclear fuel rods.