The first site we visited is Commutan Fukushima (https://com-fukushima.jp/). Its actual long name is Centre for Environmental Creation Communication Building, Commutan ('Commutan' is sort of Japanese-English to emphasize communication and community). This is run by the prefectural government to communicate the current status of the Fukushima nuclear disaster recovery as well as environmental and educational research to build a future for Fukushima with a more sustainable environment. (Unfortunately the website doesn't have anything in English, but most of the signs in the exhibition hall are done in Japanese and English.)
This is not a disaster memorial, which focuses on the disaster and the power of memory to educate the future generations, but a testimonial, which focuses on the communal efforts by both the Fukushima government and people for the present living conditions and for the future environment of Fukushima. So the emphasis of all statistical information is on the timeline and the changes in trends, i.e., how Fukushima is steadily reducing the level of radiation and how its people are working toward increasing the signs of recovery in wild plants, the air dose rate of radiation, the number of evacuees to this date, and so on. For this purpose, simple wooden blocks are used to display numbers to show up to date changes.
For example, in 2012, there were over 165,000 evacuees in Fukushima; today that number has reduced to 42,104 people.
One of the major areas of education is food safety. Now all brown rice grown in Fukushima is well below the standard level of radiation and only .15% of wild vegetation show the risk of radiation exposure.
Mr. Kiyoshi Sasaki is the Director of Education at Commutan and he explained to us the importance of food safety education they provide to visitors. He was a science teacher at a local middle school and now works at Commutan to educate a broader audience about the importance of Fukushima disaster recovery and of creating a sustainable future for Fukushima. According to Mr. Sasaki, food safety education must teach the facts about radiation to reduce the fear of radiation as it is not simply about abstract knowledge of radiation, but it must help consumers make choices about their grocery shopping. Food grown in Fuksuhima is safe. That's the fact!
Fear vs. fact.
That is the constant battle about radiation in Fukushima. Unfortunately, most of us, who only read about Fukushima and do not have to deal with daily life choices that we think mundane and insignificant such as grocery shopping, often are blinded by media-generated fear. Perhaps learning the facts will reduce the fear.
Another way to reduce the fear, an even more power evidence than the fact-based education, is to meet the people of the faith who have never left Fukushima even when the fear and threat of radiation was so much higher than what it is today.
This is not a disaster memorial, which focuses on the disaster and the power of memory to educate the future generations, but a testimonial, which focuses on the communal efforts by both the Fukushima government and people for the present living conditions and for the future environment of Fukushima. So the emphasis of all statistical information is on the timeline and the changes in trends, i.e., how Fukushima is steadily reducing the level of radiation and how its people are working toward increasing the signs of recovery in wild plants, the air dose rate of radiation, the number of evacuees to this date, and so on. For this purpose, simple wooden blocks are used to display numbers to show up to date changes.
For example, in 2012, there were over 165,000 evacuees in Fukushima; today that number has reduced to 42,104 people.
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| Number of evacuees: trends since 2012 in different parts of Fukushima |
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| 42104 Evacuees as of January 31, 2019 |
One of the major areas of education is food safety. Now all brown rice grown in Fukushima is well below the standard level of radiation and only .15% of wild vegetation show the risk of radiation exposure.
Mr. Kiyoshi Sasaki is the Director of Education at Commutan and he explained to us the importance of food safety education they provide to visitors. He was a science teacher at a local middle school and now works at Commutan to educate a broader audience about the importance of Fukushima disaster recovery and of creating a sustainable future for Fukushima. According to Mr. Sasaki, food safety education must teach the facts about radiation to reduce the fear of radiation as it is not simply about abstract knowledge of radiation, but it must help consumers make choices about their grocery shopping. Food grown in Fuksuhima is safe. That's the fact!
Fear vs. fact.
That is the constant battle about radiation in Fukushima. Unfortunately, most of us, who only read about Fukushima and do not have to deal with daily life choices that we think mundane and insignificant such as grocery shopping, often are blinded by media-generated fear. Perhaps learning the facts will reduce the fear.
Another way to reduce the fear, an even more power evidence than the fact-based education, is to meet the people of the faith who have never left Fukushima even when the fear and threat of radiation was so much higher than what it is today.
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