The Day Democracy Died

Today I was among the people who were protesting around the Diet building in Tokyo. The government and the LDP were trying to vote the new law to keep the national informations secret from the citizens. The law makes us remember the old one called "chian iji hou", a law for order-keeping, which made Japan's dark days during the war. The new law has the same idea. It will shut our eyes, ears, and mouths, spys us, and threat us. Many people including lawyers, artists, scholars are against the law, and everyday they have taken actions in many ways im many places. Many people massed around the Diet building today, and all of them were calling and shouting their protest. Many people made speeches. A young boy said, "What a shamful nation! I want to get out of this country!" A young woman spoke next,"I understand you, but I still find a hope here. Don't give up. Don't be desperate. We can do some more things." In the late afternoon they enforced the voting. On the way I saw a man in a dark dress standing with a black picture frame and inside it there was a letters "democracy". He was mourning the death of democracy.

Before and after the secret trip

  The concert of "Mochiduki no koma " is over. The music is telling a folk story that has been told in this area.   I have been a member of the chorus for seven years.  At first , the music was very, very difficult for me.   Even now it is difficult for me to sing well, but anyway, I am still sinnginng. Why? The music is beautiful

and singing together is fun, I feel.

 

  Just after the concert, my husband and I made a tour to Germany. There are too many things to write when I try to tell about the trip, so, I won't.  Actually, even in Germany, we were worrying about the terrible political condition of Japan and feeling somewhat guilty to be on a tour easily. So, after coming back to Japan, we are

working as hard as we can in spite of jet lag. Ha,ha,ha.

 

 Winter has come. We have to pick all the vegitable from the garden and stock them. It's a hard work to make pickles for winter. There are so many things to do tomorrow and I should go to bed now!

   

I am also responsible

Threre was a Korean language class in the afternoon. Usually it's once every two weeks, but there was only one week since last class.  And the teacher gave us some homework, and so, my memories were clearer than usual.  When I was at school, I always told my students to study everyday because it's the best way to remember. Telling is far easier than doing.

 

  I went to Nagano  both on  Saturday and Sunday last week. On Saturday there was a meeting of "9jo-no-kai" from all over Nagano Pref.  And on Sunday, as my husband wrote, "9jo-no-kai about education and child raising".  We could listen to many useful speeches, but we had to be assure  the situation of this country is terribly dangerous.  What the government is doing now is a kind of coup d' etat. and there are many politicians that are like Nazis.

 

  I found the sentences in the book written by Sadaka Makoto and Koide Hiroaki.

"Those who cheet people are of course guilty, but those who are cheeted aren't innocent, also guilty."Not thinking is bad." 

      

Sorrowand and anger of the victims

On the 10th of March, I went to Fukushima to join a gathering held by the women who have worked and protested about the nuclear polution. In the meeting, a declaration was read. I tried to translate it to have many people hear their voices. I'm not sure if I could have translated it well, but you can know their sorrow and anger.

The Declaration of the Victims' Right from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident

On the 11th of March, 2011, the TEPCO accident at the Fukushima 1st Nuclear Power Plant that followed the earth quake and tsunami suddenly and completely deprived us of our daily lives. Although the damage was huge and serious, we, the victims, have been kept from the information we needed. Without receiving adequate support, we continue to suffer exposure to radiation, and along with the resultant anxiety we are seperated and hurt very deeply. More than 150,000 people had to seek refuge, and the people living in the poluted area have to deal with the radiation every day.without hope for revivification. We have been deprived of the human right to live happily with dignity.
Embarking on the second year of the aftermath of the TEPCO nuclear disaster, we, the victims of the accident, declare today to protect our lives and dignity.
* We are the victims of the accident at the Fukushima 1st Nuclear Power Plant that was brought about by the negligence of the Tokyo Electoric Power Co. * Everything that was deprived by this man-made disaster should be fully compensated by those responsible for the radiation.* We have the right to live happily with dignity. * We have the right to live in safe places.* We have the right to have our choices respected, whether to stay in Fukushima or to leave, and in both choices, our lives should be secured.* We have the right to get all information regarding the accident and the danger.* We have the right to get the radiation protection measures including evacuation and refuge, and continued health care covering regulr examinations and treatment.* We have the right to participate in the decisions that concern our future , our families, and our communities
We will not be deprived any more. We will not lose any more.
We, both those who stay in our homeland, and those who leave, will overcome the difficulty together.We will survive with dignity, create a world with happiness, without discrimination, and do our duty for future generations.

What a shame!!

The Prime Minister of Japan declared that they are going to restart the Ooi Nuke Station in Fukui Prefecture. He said that he decided to restart it under the responsibility as the prime minister. His responsibility? What can he do once the nuke station has serious troubles? Nothing! Look at the disaster in Fukushima. What is he going to do with the nuclear wast or the workers who can not avoid the radiation. He has never refered those important matters. To keep nuclear power and work the nuke stations is his only idea.
The Fukushima Nuke Staton is still emitting radiation and is very dangerous with a lot of used nuclear fuel rods. More than 100000 people are even now refugees. Even though, last December, our governmet declared that the accident was over. They just want to support the electric counpanies, to maintain nuclear power, and to make the accident look not serious. What a shame!!

I listened to a speech of a dairy farmer from Fukushima some time ago. He was runnning a dairy farm with his family in Iidate village. The village is 30 to 40 kilometer in the north-west of Fukushima Dai1 Nuke Station, and now it is known as a highly radiation polluted area. All the villagers had to leave their homes after being exposed to radiation. He said he had lost everyting because of the nuke accident.

I wonder if the people in the government don't know about the danger of the nukes or about the people's suffering. Or, they are slighting us, the citizens. They don't care about the people. Why? In short they are not afraid of the citizens. They underestimate people and their opinions.

Yes. We, Japanese people don't go out and demonstrate against the government. We never raise a riot. We don't have distinct opinions about politics and don't do anything different from others. We prefer sitting in front of the TV, and laughing at the show. We smile vaguely when we are in trouble, and soon forget it, especially when it is not our burdens.

I often feel helpless regardeing our democracy. I think we have not learned what a democracy is, or how to establish it ourselves. The government is the worst it has ever been with many policies that destroy people's life . Even in this dreadful situation, nothing is happening in this country. There are people and movements against them, but they are not big, not influential enough. I want to know how to wake up our democracy. .



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SPRING IS HERE

At last cherry blossoms start blooming! Last winter was so long and cold, that I have been waiting for spring eagerly. After the freezing season, all the sprouts are popping up at the same time, and my garden is now full of tulips and daffodils. Blossoms of all kinds of trees, like cherries, apricots, plums, and soon apples and pears, are in their season. I am so happy these days, walking around my garden.

I almost forgot what I complained about during the winter ; why did our forefathers start living in this place? There must be many other places to live, warmer, richer places. Why did they choose this place? I can't help complaining during the winter.

One of my acquaintances in Fukushima said in her e-mail they can't eat vegetables from their garden. Today I read a letter from a woman in Fukushima on a magazine. She says she had been enjoying the country life there, growing rice and vegetables and wood fire in the stove. But she had to abandon all of them because of the nuke station accident. She lost everything, and now lives in an apartment in a city. If I were she, how can I bear such a loss?

　The women from Fukushima who have worked anti nuke power station have been on hunger strike in front of the Ministry of Economy and Industry. They started it on the first of April. Before that, a priest of a temple in Fukui, where they are trying to restart Ooi nuke station, went on hunger strike in the building of the government of Fukushima.. They are planning to continue the strike until May 5th, when all of the nuke station in Japan will stop working. Mass media has not said anything about the strike that has been acted risking their lives.

But spring has come here anyway. The spring season here is short, and so we should enjoy it! I'd like to have a picnic in my garden. I should plan to go out to see cherry blossoms. Before cooking dinner, I usually walk around in my garden, and I can find many kinds of edible leaves. It’s fun in this season.







One of my acquaintances in Fukushima said in her e-mail they can't eat vegetables from their garden. Today I read a letter from a woman in Fukushima on a magazine. She says she had been enjoying the country life there, growing rice and vegetables and wood fire in the stove. But she had to abandon all of them because of the nuke station accident. She lost everything, and now lives in an apartment in a city. If I were she, how can I bear such a loss?







　The women from Fukushima who have worked anti nuke power station have been on hunger strike in front of the Ministry of Economy and Industry. They started it on the first of April. Before that, a priest of a temple in Fukui, where they are trying to restart Ooi nuke station, went on hunger strike in the building of the government of Fukushima.. They are planning to continue the strike until May 5th, when all of the nuke station in Japan will stop working. Mass media has not said anything about the strike that has been acted risking their lives.

Phone call from Okinawa

Humiko Shimabukuro, an 83 year-old Okinawa woman, gave me a phone call today. She got seriously hurt in the war at Okinawa, and has been acting against the wars and army bases. A few days ago, I sent her some pictures of 3/11 anti nuke demonstration walking , in which my grandsons held Okinawa drums given by her as presents. I also sent a book written by Ruiko Mutou, a woman from Fukushima who suffers the radiation and works against the TEPCO and nuke. Shimabukuro said, ”What can we do for Fukushima? We are talking about it.” She told me to send her ten books. “I’d like to give them to my friends.”

She is one of the people of Okinawa that has been suffering because of the U.S. army bases and the government of Japan. She is old but busy to take in the activity herself. SHE is worried about Fukushima! What compassion! Should we call it solidarity of suffering people? She says, ”The issue of Okinawa and that of nuke plants are the same.”