Michio Ishikawa, the former head of the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute and the current "most senior" advisor to the Institute, appeared on an Asahi TV program on April 29 and shared his candid assessment of Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident.
He is known as one of the most ardent proponents of nuclear power generation. The Japan Nuclear Technology Institute was set up in 2005 by Ishikawa in order to represent the interest of the nuclear industry in Japan and promote nuclear energy.
People who watched this Asahi TV program were surprised to hear him contradict the official government "narrative" (I hate that word, but in this case it is exactly what it is, a "narrative" as opposed to reality) about the plant accident, even as he continues to insist nuclear power plants are safe and 100 milli-sieverts cumulative radiation is perfectly safe not just for the plant workers but for everyone.
Here are some of the comments he made during the program, jotted down by a viewer as he watched the program, and supplemented later with tweets by others. He weaves his own narratives like "no one anticipated such an accident" (oh yes many people did). Original in Japanese, my English translation, [my comment in italic in square bracket]:
「世界が予想しなかった事故」
"It's an accident that no one in the world anticipated."
[Uh huh. "Who could have known?" That's what every crook in a government anywhere says.]
「天災というのはそんなにしょっちゅう起きてたら天災じゃない」
"If an Act of God happens all the time, it's no longer an Act of God."
[Literal translation of the Japanese word 天災 is "calamity from heaven", a calamity that mere mortals have no control over. The government, the industry, TEPCO are therefore guiltless.]
「福島の事故は津波がなければ起きていなかった」
"The Fukushima accident never would have happened without tsunami."
[Nice try, Mr. Ishikawa. But it was a power failure caused by the earthquake that triggered the accident, and the only transmission tower TEPCO owned that fell during the earthquake was the one that supplied power to the plant. More later.]
「8時間以内に電気が来ていれば、今の事態にはなっていない」
"If the power was restored within 8 hours, we wouldn't have the situation we have today."
[Yeah? How could the power have been restored in 8 hours?]
「福島は地震や老朽化によって事故を起こしたわけじゃないんです」
"The accident didn't happen because of the earthquake or the aging plant."
[Yes it did.]
「原発は30年どころか、60年、100年だって大丈夫ですよ」
"A nuclear power plant lasts not just for 30 years, but for 60, 100 years."
[And uranium and plutonium will last for "eternity" in human scale.]
「いま福島原発で通常時のルールのまま些末な対策ばかりやっている、非常時の対応が必要」
"At Fukushima I Nuke Plant, they've been applying minor countermeasures as if it is a normal situation. They need the emergency response."
[Thus the bath salt as tracer - the only comical relief in the whole sorry saga.]
「今は放射線との戦争状態、まったく東電の対応はなっていない」
Right now, it's the war with radiation. TEPCO's response is horrendous.
[And where is the government? The response from your own industry, other than trying to win a contract for cleanup jobs? And what do you expect from a utility company?]
「今の福島原発は戦争状態、戦場なんですよ」
Fukushima I Nuke Plant is at war, it's a war zone.
[That I agree. But the US NRC has now joined the Japanese government and says it's under control. Hahaha.]
「政府の発表は間違い。燃料棒は全部溶け落ちてしまっていると思う」
The government announcement is wrong. I think all the fuel rods have been melted down.
「水棺などといってモタモタしてないで、炉心を早く冷やすことに一心になれ」
Don't bother with water entombment. Focus on cooling the core as soon as possible.
（トレーラーハウスを被災地に導入すべきとの意見に）「また津波が来ますよ」とにやけながら発言。
(Responding to the idea of introducing trailer houses in the earthquake/tsunami affected area, with a smirk on this face) Another tsunami will come.
[So he's expecting another big earthquake that will cause big tsunami?]
「20mSvぐらいで避難させているのはおかしい。100mSvまで安全なんだから帰らせたらいい」
It's wrong to evacuate people at mere 20 milli-sieverts. It's safe up to 100 milli-sieverts, so let them go home.
[There we go. Speaking like a true proponent of safe nuclear power. It's safe up to 100 milli-sieverts for civilians! Maybe he should go up there and cheer up the residents.]
「原発の作業員だって250mSvまで大丈夫なんだから」
Nuclear plant workers are safe up to 250 milli-sieverts.
[Mr. Ishikawa, why don't you take TEPCO's top management with you to the plant, and scoop out the contaminated water with a bucket and help the workers? No need for protection. It's safe.]
（原子力を推進したのは東電なのか政府なのかという質問に）「東電ってことはない、政府の方だ」
(Responding to the question whether it is TEPCO or the Japanese government who has promoted nuclear power) Not TEPCO. It's the government.
「浜岡原発はやめる必要はない。強度はしっかりしている。マグニチュード９でも福島は持った。浜岡でも心配することはない。津波は、電源さえきちんとしておけば大丈夫」
No need to stop Hamaoka Nuke Plant [the one on the earthquake faults and in the supposed center of Tokai quake]. It is built strong. Fukushima survived a Magnitude 9 earthquake. [Well, not really.] So, no need to worry about Hamaoka. As long as electricity is available, no need to fear tsunami. [Rrrriiiggghhht. Haven't you heard the news yet, that the nuke plants in Japan do not have adequate backup power supplies to keep cooling the reactors? ]
「私の仲間で原爆の仇をとるんだといって（原子力発電の道に）進んだものもいる」
Among my colleagues, there are those who embarked on the career in nuclear power generation as a revenge against the nuclear bombs [dropped on Japan].
[Well, that revenge has turned out to be the revenge against their own people. How sad.]
For those who understand Japanese, here's the video (part 2 of 11) where he discusses the melted core:
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