Japanese radio commentator quits after being told to shut up about Fukushima nuclear plant

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      Japanese prime minister  Shinzo Abe has claimed that the problems at the Fukushima power plant are under control.

      But stories keep percolating out of the country raising questions about the state of the nuclear reactors in the area crippled by a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

      Russia Today has reported that a commentator on Japan's Radio 1 resigned after he was instructed not to discuss the nuclear accident until after a gubernatorial election.

      And this commentator, Toru Nakakita, is an economics professor at the University of Toyo in Tokyo.

      Nakakita quit as a result of the censorship order.

      Nuclear energy is reportedly a major issue in the election.

      Here's part of the Russia Today report:

      In his commentary, the economist intended to discuss the fact that the cost of decommissioning of Japanese nuclear power plants reflects inadequately on the balance sheets of public utility companies. Moreover, he planned to tell about growing operating costs of nuclear power around the world, in the light of the recent surge in insurance premiums and security costs.

      Representatives of HNK [sic] company, the owner of Radio 1, argue that they wanted the broadcast to be impartial as well as to observe the principle of saturation coverage. Furthermore, according to them, they simply could not find an expert with the opposite point of view on the issue in time.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      Steven Herman

      Feb 1, 2014 at 8:30pm

      It's NHK, not HNK.

      Barry

      Feb 2, 2014 at 6:16am

      Well we all know that this guy is not anything like the true Honest Abe! This dishonest Abe wants to control everything he can to keep thing quiet and uneventful like it used to be in Japan in the old days! Robbing people of the freedom of press will only create civil unrest and more distrust of dishonest Abe! This is the Japanese Government that refused a full shipping container load of the ingestable mineral Zeolite that could have helped and safely detoxed thousands of people that were contaminated with TEPCO's Fukushima radiation! Is this how the Japanese Government cares for its people? Your answer is YES it sure is and it is horrific!

      Mike D

      Feb 2, 2014 at 9:51am

      Free speech in Japan and crushed in the US, yet another violation of our rights. The gov’t constantly violates our rights.
      They violate the 1st Amendment by caging protesters and banning books like “America Deceived II”.
      They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by allowing TSA to grope you.
      They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars.
      Impeach Obama.
      Last link of “America Deceived II” before it is completely banned:
      http://www.amazon.com/America-Deceived-II-Possession-interrogation/dp/14...

      Hiroshi Suzuki

      Feb 2, 2014 at 12:08pm

      Fallout level spiked in Fukushima city (Fukushima city is 60 kilometers away from the Fukushima plant) / Highest reading since 2013 October
      January 28th, 2014 Fukushima Diary

      Fallout level in Fukushima city (Fukushima city is 60 kilometers away from the Fukushima plant) spiked up on 1/26/2014.
      The reading was 48.3 million Bq/km2 (Cesium-134/137), which was the highest since 10/13/2013.
      The increase of fallout level was observed from January to February of 2013 too. The increase of fallout level can be linked to the seasonal wind.

      COCO Lakota (unregistered non-status Indian)

      Feb 3, 2014 at 11:18am

      Be interesting to see if there is really anything to this - colleagues of mine have taken to calling it the Fuku Flu - never understood the double entendre 'till now - Peace from the reserve Feb 03 14

      Stephen Anderle

      Feb 7, 2014 at 6:32am

      Sometimes censorship IS needed. Couldn't find an sxpert with the opposite view? They should not heve aired the story one-sided. There is too much off that all over the internet and it's all speculation, fearmongering, and make believe. Tepce and Japan should have been suing all the sites that put up patently false statements and deliberate fearmongering, over 90 per-cent. What kind of experts were they looking for and using?, armchair experts? People who had not been there at Fukushima long enough to see what was really happening and who always picked out the littlest items and expanded them beyond all proportion. People who turned speculation with no basis in fact into outright lies and made up the rest. These people doing this are the real criminals and should be prosecuted for hampering the real cleanup. Any REAL scientists and engineers who want to speak about this should be required to be there with the workers and engineers onsite for two weeks to learn the real truth, AND take a test to be sure they understood what they saw and did NOT see. Perhaps the entirenet should be censored.