ID :
172615
Sat, 04/02/2011 - 18:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/172615
The shortlink copeid
Kan visits Fukushima nuclear operation base, tsunami-hit area
FUKUSHIMA, Japan, April 2 Kyodo - Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited an operation base Saturday in Fukushima Prefecture to encourage Self-Defense Forces members, firefighters and other workers in their efforts to contain Japan's worst nuclear crisis.
''I want you to fight with the conviction that you absolutely cannot lose this battle,'' Kan told the SDF personnel and workers of plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., upon his visit to the operation base set up at the J-village soccer training facility, around 20 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex.
Ahead of his Fukushima visit, Kan flew on an SDF helicopter to Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture, a city devastated by the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, and met with evacuees there to assure the government's prompt aid.
This is his second inspection of areas stricken by the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis.
Under fire for his government's lack of foresight in preparing for the worst-case scenario at the nuclear plant, Kan has been keen to show that he has a grip on managing Japan's triple disasters of the quake, the tsunami and the nuclear crisis.
Kan was also criticized by the opposition camp for taking a trip by helicopter to the plant on March 12, a day after the disaster struck -- a move critics say blocked TEPCO from responding promptly to the emergency.
With the situation at the plant still critical, Japanese authorities, TEPCO and the other personnel involved continued to work around the clock to restore the cooling functions that were lost in most of the plant's reactors and prevent further radiation leaks.
''By all means, the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant needs to be put under control with your collective efforts,'' Kan cheered on workers of TEPCO, its subcontractors and affiliated firms at J-village.
''We have to work hard until we reach a point where we can say our country has overcome the quake and the tsunami disaster,'' Kan said, also telling the SDF personnel there to exert their effort in the ''fight to determine Japan's fate.''
The one-day trip first took Kan to Iwate's Yonesaki Elementary School, currently a shelter for about 160 evacuees. He approached some of the evacuees at the school gymnasium to listen to their conditions and requests, and give words of encouragement.
Donning the blue protective clothing, which has since March 11 become the uniform for officials in dealing with the disaster, Kan cheered on an elderly man to carry on and promised that the ''state will firmly address'' the evacuees' problems.
During his 20-minute stay at the evacuation center, the premier also promised, in response to an evacuee's request, to quickly build temporary homes after addressing the issue about location.
His visit, coming three weeks after the disaster, was not welcomed by all the roughly 60 people present.
''I wonder how well he can grasp the situation facing victims...There are shelters still without electricity or water. Some people haven't even been able to begin searching for bodies. I want (the premier) to turn his attention to those matters,'' Kazuo Sato, a 45-year-old fisherman, said.
In Fukushima, local residents who were forced to evacuate municipalities near the Fukushima plant also did not seem happy to hear about the premier's visit to the operations base.
''The situation would not change even if (the prime minister) comes,'' a 50-year-old man said, while noting that the government must put more focus on compensation and other issues stemming from the nuclear crisis.
Kan was also briefed by Rikuzentakata Mayor Futoshi Toba and Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso at the city hall building about the current condition in the devastated areas, and the three discussed how to go forward with reconstruction efforts.
Departing from the building, Kan spoke to some 20 firefighters there, telling them to keep up their work.
''This is going to be a long fight, but the government will work together with you until the end,'' Kan said.
Kan also inspected city streets heavily damaged by the tsunami.
''We have to think of support measures from the central government's side on how to revive fishing here,'' he told reporters.
Kan's earlier scheduled visit with evacuees in another heavily affected city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 21 was canceled at the last minute due to poor weather.
''I want you to fight with the conviction that you absolutely cannot lose this battle,'' Kan told the SDF personnel and workers of plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., upon his visit to the operation base set up at the J-village soccer training facility, around 20 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex.
Ahead of his Fukushima visit, Kan flew on an SDF helicopter to Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture, a city devastated by the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, and met with evacuees there to assure the government's prompt aid.
This is his second inspection of areas stricken by the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis.
Under fire for his government's lack of foresight in preparing for the worst-case scenario at the nuclear plant, Kan has been keen to show that he has a grip on managing Japan's triple disasters of the quake, the tsunami and the nuclear crisis.
Kan was also criticized by the opposition camp for taking a trip by helicopter to the plant on March 12, a day after the disaster struck -- a move critics say blocked TEPCO from responding promptly to the emergency.
With the situation at the plant still critical, Japanese authorities, TEPCO and the other personnel involved continued to work around the clock to restore the cooling functions that were lost in most of the plant's reactors and prevent further radiation leaks.
''By all means, the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant needs to be put under control with your collective efforts,'' Kan cheered on workers of TEPCO, its subcontractors and affiliated firms at J-village.
''We have to work hard until we reach a point where we can say our country has overcome the quake and the tsunami disaster,'' Kan said, also telling the SDF personnel there to exert their effort in the ''fight to determine Japan's fate.''
The one-day trip first took Kan to Iwate's Yonesaki Elementary School, currently a shelter for about 160 evacuees. He approached some of the evacuees at the school gymnasium to listen to their conditions and requests, and give words of encouragement.
Donning the blue protective clothing, which has since March 11 become the uniform for officials in dealing with the disaster, Kan cheered on an elderly man to carry on and promised that the ''state will firmly address'' the evacuees' problems.
During his 20-minute stay at the evacuation center, the premier also promised, in response to an evacuee's request, to quickly build temporary homes after addressing the issue about location.
His visit, coming three weeks after the disaster, was not welcomed by all the roughly 60 people present.
''I wonder how well he can grasp the situation facing victims...There are shelters still without electricity or water. Some people haven't even been able to begin searching for bodies. I want (the premier) to turn his attention to those matters,'' Kazuo Sato, a 45-year-old fisherman, said.
In Fukushima, local residents who were forced to evacuate municipalities near the Fukushima plant also did not seem happy to hear about the premier's visit to the operations base.
''The situation would not change even if (the prime minister) comes,'' a 50-year-old man said, while noting that the government must put more focus on compensation and other issues stemming from the nuclear crisis.
Kan was also briefed by Rikuzentakata Mayor Futoshi Toba and Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso at the city hall building about the current condition in the devastated areas, and the three discussed how to go forward with reconstruction efforts.
Departing from the building, Kan spoke to some 20 firefighters there, telling them to keep up their work.
''This is going to be a long fight, but the government will work together with you until the end,'' Kan said.
Kan also inspected city streets heavily damaged by the tsunami.
''We have to think of support measures from the central government's side on how to revive fishing here,'' he told reporters.
Kan's earlier scheduled visit with evacuees in another heavily affected city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 21 was canceled at the last minute due to poor weather.
