San Diego

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I came to Coronado, the city next to San Diego. The first reason was to attend the Cell Society meeting. This is the third of the meeting in the past but was unable to join last year because I was in the middle of my duties with the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC). It is not my area of specialization but I have come to participate in its first meeting. There have been many results in the clinical cases of adipose stem cell that are interesting from a medical point of view.

In the field of stem cell research, the breakthrough finding of “iPS” by Nobel Laureate Dr. Yamanaka is also a promising area. Although the approach differs from that of modern medicine and some of the findings of the molecular and genetic analysis cannot be accounted for by logical explanations, it is very safe and there are no other effective methods of treatment but we can get results through this approach.

In the West, where modern science was established, until roughly one hundred years ago, there were forms of treatment, such as blood transfusions and phlebotomy that would be unthinkable today. It was also around one hundred years ago that the blood types of ABO were discovered. In research, it is often times the case that new discoveries are made through such experiences.

I made some time to meet with approximately twenty young Japanaese people from Japan who were in San Diego for study abroad programs, research and business. There were many students in undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of California San Diego this gathering was organized around Dr. Maki (PhD) (in Japanese). They are all very bright and seem to be feeling the changes in their awareness that come with living abroad and are in the process of contemplating their future careers. Japan is not the only place where they can become successful and the fact that they are Japanese will not change. I look forward to their next career choices and achievements.

The following day, I gave a seminar at UCSD. It was organized by the UCSD School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IPRS) and the Rady School of Management. IPRS Professor of Japanese Business, Professor Ulrike Schaede (until last year, Professor Hoshi had been in charge) moderated the seminar. As the topic of the seminar was the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, it was not only students who were in attendance, but also professors and some Japanese who have been living in this area for a long time. Since two and a half years have passed since the accident and the recent situation has been reported widely throughout the world and there was a lively question and answer session.

In addition to students, there were many people from Japan as well as people from CONNECT (1). After the seminar, there was a reception on the terrace, where we could see a lovely sunset, typical of southern Californian. Afterwards, we had dinner at the local favorite, Sushi Ota, and I had some delicacies such as the sea urchin.

It is very important for young people to gain more experiences abroad and to expand their career choices.

Newspaper Article in the Netherlands

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The problem of leakage of contaminated water at the Fukushima nuclear power plant is still ongoing and has become widely known throughout the world. The media abroad has been reporting frequently on this fragile situation.

I served as the chairman of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC), the first independent investigation commission in the constitutional history of Japan, and the Commission’s report has been highly evaluated by the world. As a result, I have been interviewed many times by the foreign press. This is a major issue facing Japan and I feel it is my duty to speak out in the media.

Recently, I was interviewed by Trouw, the major newspaper in the Netherlands. Through this website, I received an email from Ms. Nishimoto, who read this article and kindly translated it into Japanese. This is possible in the age of the internet. I made some edits and it can be read here in Japanese version. Its English version was translated by Mr. Wouter van Cleef, who wrote the original article in Dutch.

“Japan Needs Independent and ‘Against the Grain’ Thinkers.” (Trouw, 2013/9/16)
in English
in Japanese

I would like to send my thanks to Ms. Nishimoto.

My message in the article is quite the same as you see often in my blog posts, eg, most recent one, my speech at GRIPS Commencement.

Scientific Journal ‘Nature’ Voices Concerns over Fukushima Disaster; What Must We Do?

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It may be hard to believe that the situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant is getting any better. This is a fact that is  clear to anyone.

The briefings on the situation by TEPCO are undecipherable (they are completely lacking any effort of being understood by the Japanese public as well as the international community, making statements that suggest that they think it is someone else’s problem) . And so too the information from the central government, as well as plans for the response to the crisis. With an overwhelming lack of transparency, there is no explanation as to the reasons behind the plan of action, leading to a loss of trust from the whole world as well as here at home.

Curiously, the Japanese media has also lost its courage, with less and less critical coverage, leaving the people of the nation without a voice. Even if one has information of critical importance, it is rarely divulged for fear of endangering one’s job or position. All this deception is counter-productive, and will only lead to a loss of faith from the international community.

The respected scientific journal ‘Nature’ has also lost patience with the situation, and has put forth a strong stance (Japanese version). The internet is buzzing with opinions being passed back and forth. Twitter too, has many examples of such activity.

A disaster on such a scale with dire implications on an international level as the one at Fukushima disaster would do well to pay heed to the lessons learnt through the British government’s response (1) to the outbreak of BSE.

Costly mistakes were made in the early stages, from the discovery of the first cases and the initial response, resulting in the disease spreading to humans. This was followed by  countermeasures based on the recommendations of the EU’s Scientific Steering Committee, and the struggle to regain consumer confidence in the scientific advances of the age. In the end it took more than two decades before British beef could be exported after the discovery of BSE ( it is interesting to note that here too, the Japanese government made a mess of the situation).

What we need is an independent international committee, committed to scientific principles and transparency to come up with solutions to the problem and make proposals to the government, which in turn will make decisions and execute these solutions. We need a plan of action that deals with the mid and long-term plans of the Fukushima Disaster, and we need it to be shared with the world.

Independence, transparency, public disclosure, adherence to scientific principles and an international approach are a must as a first step towards recovery of trust in this globalized day and age. It is because of these factors that the NAIIC was so highly rated and respected, earning the trust of the global community, and there is an urgent need for the public to understand this.

Visitors to my blog here, what do you think? The State Government that loses the trust of the nation will a long take time to regain it.

It’s already two-and-a-half years since the Fukushima nuclear accident.

My Support for the “Audacious Young Lady” and the Publication of The Vulnerable Evacuees

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It has been thirty months since the Fukushima nuclear accident, and fourteen months have passed since the NAIIC’s report was submitted to the Diet.

How will Japan and the world go change in the future?

It has been decided that the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo. This is good news.

There are people who have gone through a dramatic change in their careers after participating in work at the NAIIC. One of them is Mr. Tsuyoshi Shiina, who became a Diet member and another is Mr. Satoshi Ishibashi, who launched a project called “The National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission in Plain Language” to name a few.

Ms. Yurina Aikawa is one of them. One day she contacted us to join the work of the NAIIC. She had been working at one of the major newspapers for two years during which she participated in research on the Fukushima nuclear accident. This past August 30th, her book was published. The book is named Hinanjakusha [The Vulnerable Evacuees: What Occurred at the Elderly Care Facilities near the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant on that Day], which was written based on the research conducted by herself.

I paid tribute to her book by offering some words at the end of the book. Her compelling document simply moved me. I’d like to share excerpts of my comments with you.

First of all, the excerpt shown on the outer flap is as follows:

“A variety of cases emerged through her scrupulous interviews which connect readers directly to the scenes. The interviews illustrated the anguishes and hard decisions of many people by shedding light on the vulnerable people whose fates are out of their control. The people who support the vulnerable have experienced unfathomable distress. Her interview gave insight into each individual’s way of life on the ground. She reported the sufferings, heartfelt stories, and numerous tragedies.

What can we learn from Ms. Aikawa’s reports? Her reports are based on the interviews, which she conducted continuously on the ground. How should we deal with such a reality? This is a question that this book asks every one of us.”

About Ms. Aikawa:

After the Commission dissolved, I talked to Ms. Aikawa, who had resigned her job at a newspaper in order to join the work at the NAIIC, saying, “Thank you for all your work here. What are you going to do from now on?” Then she answered,

“I’m going to continue this research on my own because I must find more about those people and document them.” However reckless she might appear, there exist some young people who are audacious enough to make such bold decisions. We were surprised by her decision to join the NAIIC, but I was even more astonished with this decision. Then I felt a deep feeling coming over me.

Her lone battle began. However, people started to offer cooperation and support for her project. This is the book in which this audacious young lady’s research was documented … I’m delighted and deeply acknowledge all the credit the author deserves. I want to congratulate her with my personal support for this book.”

If you find her book in a bookstore, please take a look. And if you like it, please buy it. Of course, the book is also available at Amazon.

The wonderful video which brought the NAIIC report to life was created by young people on their own initiative as I have introduced it at the last column (1).

With young people who have such independent spirit and mind, doesn’t it make you sense a bit of hope for our future?

Visualizing Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission Report (NAIIC)

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Thirty months or two and a half years have already passed since the Fukushima nuclear accident. How have TEPCO and the Japanese government been dealing with the aftermath of the accident? The international community which has watched them with serious concerns may have been stunned with their substandard information disclosure and communication skills. The overseas media has covered this issue with as much interest and concern as the conflict in Syria.

It has already been fourteen months since the NAIIC submitted its report to Diet as the first independent investigation commission in the constitutional history of Japan.

Raising awareness about the report to the national public and making it easy to understand was not a task assigned to the Commission. However, I’m pleased to announce that there are young people who have taken up the job.

The first project that I’d like to introduce to you is called “The Simplest Explanation of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission Report”.

The website has recently added a series of videos that illustrates the Report visually.

The series is made up of the following videos.

1. What is the NAIIC?

2. Was the nuclear accident preventable?

3. What happened inside the nuclear plant?

4. What should have been done after the accident?

5. Could the damage be contained?

6. What are the issues with nuclear energy?

Each video gives you a clear explanation on the subject in just two to three minutes.

The series is an excellent piece of work with striking illustrations of the Commission’s report just within sixteen minutes in total.

A Surprise from the New York Times

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In recent days, the situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has been extremely unstable. It has become widely known all over the world. In this day and age, it is not possible to keep things hidden.

The current situation at Fukushima has been reported in overseas media as a major scandal. The New York Times is no exception. On September 4th, it was front page news on the late edition (PDF), and they quoted me in the article (it can also be read in electronic version). This New York Times article was partly reported in the Japanese media.

But what surprised me was that my words were chosen to be the “Quotation of the Day” More than just pleased, I was surprised. It shows how much of an impact it has.

The following is the chosen quote:

“Water keeps building up inside the plant, and debris keeps piling up outside of it. This is all just one big shell game aimed at pushing off the problem until the future.”

The interview was conducted by Martin Fackler, the Tokyo Bureau Chief for the New York Times. He has also published a book titled, “Credibility Lost: The Crisis in Japanese Newspaper Journalism after Fukushima”(Futaba Shinsho, in Japanese), which critiques The Japanese news coverage after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

The world is watching. The Fukushima accident occurred in a country that is one of the few major economies in the world, and has been evaluated highly in the areas of science and technology, engineering and manufacturing. Although the earthquake and tsunami set off the accident, it was still unexpected and shocking. What is more, it has been two and a half years since the accident but neither TEPCO nor the Japanese government has established any mid- or long-term plans.

It is vital that we gather wisdom and intellect from the world and prioritize transparency. It is very worrying and it is imperative that something must be done.

Down With a Summer Cold for a Week

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On the 29th, I made a day trip to Karuizawa, reaching my destination, the Old-Karuizawa Golf Club at noon. Feeling somewhat tired, I declined the invitation to play a round of golf and instead chose to rest in the club-house. It was a strange situation, me sitting in the lounge watching a beautiful and inviting golf-course.

After everyone enjoyed their game of golf, they came back and attended my hour-long speaking engagement. I also met Mr Takenaka, a colleague at GRIPS, as well as his parents. I also met the former president of Tokyo University, Mr. Komiyama, besides many others.

Returning at night, I still felt the same lethargy. I slept early. The next day, a Sunday, brought with it a high fever, at times reaching 40℃. I went to my neighborhood general practitioner, my friend, for a consultation, and was given an intravenous drip and told to rest. Monday also saw a high fever hovering around the 40℃ mark. To the doctor again. Although I was sick, I did not feel sick. I cancelled all my appointments for the week. Wednesday brought a respite, and I felt a bit better.

On Thursday, I had a meeting in the morning with the representative ministers from the EU. The meeting lasted about an hour, during which I briefed them exclusively about the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and its current situation. This is understandable, given the current situation. A few more meetings and I was done, and I reached home at 3 pm,  back to bed. I was supposed to visit the New Ise Jingu Shrine this week, but I was forced to cancel this trip.

I recuperated on Friday and Saturday; I felt much better. But all the same, it was one nasty summer cold.

On Sunday, 1st September, I took the Shiinkansen to Hiroshima in order to attend the celebrations and my invited special speech that would be accompanying the unveiling of a new hospital building at the University of Hiroshima. It’s been a while since I  met many of my friends in the medical profession. I returned the same day.

On Monday (the 2nd), I went to Shonan Village (Shonan Kokusai Mura) to attend a 3-day program, the ‘U.N University Global Seminar’. I met The rector of the University, David Malone, as well as the honorary chairman of Shiseido, Yoshiharu Fukuhara. I was to give the first keynote lecture, ‘Global Agenda, Post-Fukushima’. Most of the people attending were undergraduate as well as graduate students, with women making up more than 70% of the audience. Nice! The foreign students and faculty also helped make the atmosphere more lively. I talked animatedly, and the questions flew in from the audience. And of course, it was all in English.

I do not know how exactly to describe this open and uninhibited atmosphere; but I love it. This informal exchange of opinions and ideas.

The keynote delivered after mine was by Akiko Yuge, director of the UNDP Representation Office in Tokyo. She was very articulate, and had a response to every question. After attending the reception, I returned home, while the participants stayed on; they were lodging together.

It felt that a week had ended at last, giving way to a new week. I had plenty of rest as well.

At MIT

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I returned to Japan from Washington D.C. on Saturday the 21st. I took the day off on Sunday, was busy with meetings on Monday, and departed once again for the U.S. east coast on the morning of Tuesday the 25th for Boston. I took a direct flight from Narita, on the Boeing 787 that made the news with its problems of fire on its Japan-made battery last year.

I arrived around noon on the 25th. After resting briefly, I went to the MIT Media Lab. This was not the main objective of my trip, but I paid a visit to the Media Lab Director, Joi Ito (1) and the Associate Director, Dr. Ishii (1, twitter: @ishii_mit) and they showed me various projects. Ryuichi Sakamoto also happened to be there and they are talking about possible collaboration. They are involved in many interesting things. In the evening, I had a pleasant dinner with Dr. Ishii, his wife, who is a journalist and was a Niemann fellow last year (I follow their twitter), and his secretary.

The next day, I met with Professor Richard Lester, who invited me to Boston. He is the Director of the MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering. He is leading a program entitled the International Nuclear Leadership Education Program, which is being held twice this year, each for two weeks, and invited me to the course. I was there for just one day, but I participated from eight in the morning through the afternoon. Among the participants were nuclear experts from the U.S. and Europe, many of them know Japan nuclear leaders and the IAEA, and qualified people from Vietnam, Abu Dhabi, Kenya, Mongolia, and Nigeria. They will go on to make their careers in this field, so the discussion was very lively and interesting.

The English version of the well-known NAIIC (National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission) Executive Summary report appeared on-line at the time of NAIIC report in Japanese and the full report was also made available on-line last October. As the full report is available, experts and everyone around the world can study and evaluate our report.

In the evening I attended the reception at the Museum of Science of Boston <http://www.mos.org/>. The next morning, I started my return journey.

Speech at the National Academy of Sciences； Lost in Translation – “Accountability and Groupthink”

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To Washington D.C. Dulles from Paris via Chicago O’Hare.

After being picked up at the Dulles airport, Washington DC, I went directly to the hotel, where I checked my powerpoint presentation.

The next morning, I went to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which is across the street from the State Department. It has been two years since the last time I went there, and it is slightly bigger and the renovation has been completed.

Here, I attended a meeting hosted by the NAS on cooperation between countries with alliances for measures against CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiation, Nuclear and Explosives). I gave the keynote speech, entitled, “Opportunities and Challenges in Coordinating the Response to CBRNE Events: Fukushima Daiichi, A Case Study.” Executive Director of the Office of International Affairs of the NAS, Dr. John Boright, my old friend, introduced me quite a very nice way. This meeting and lecture can be viewed online.

Due to the nature and the topic of the meeting, representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the military also were in attendance.

It felt nostalgic when I met with officials from the Department of Defense whom I had met during my visit of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) to Washington D.C. and Counselor of Security, Mr. Tsugita from the Japanese Embassy, whom I have known for a long time.

It is commendable that in the U.S., there are public meetings on such topics, hosted by the National Academy of Science in response to governmental request.

This year happens to be the 150th anniversary of the NAS, founded by President Lincoln, and there are many events going on. The founding spirit of the NAS is that it is an independent, private entity, which provides the government with advice on policies. This spirit has withstood many years of change and is the foundation of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, which represents the scientific community and is widely trusted by the American public and the world.

Even if such an example is imitated in Japan, without an understanding of the spirit, history and civic culture of the nation, many things will be will be lost in translation. In these past 150 years, there have been many such cases in Japan’s rapid modernization. This tendency has not changed and is still apparent today.

In this lecture, as an example of this, I pointed out the word “accountability” and how it’s meaning has been lost in translation (see top image, it has been edited slightly for this website). I explained that in Japanese, accountability is translated as “the responsibility to EXPLAIN.” Upon hearing this, the audience showed a surprised reaction with laughter. The true meaning of this word is “the responsibility to carry out the duty it has been given.” It has more weight than the word ‘responsibility’. In every job or position, there comes a duty, and it is fulfilling this duty that is the job of people in higher positions. It makes me wonder who started using this mistaken translation. I hope it is not someone who was in a top position.

Furthermore, I talked about ‘groupthink’ (see above image). Please ‘Google it’ in English and in Japanese. What does everyone think about the meaning of this word in Japanese? My view is that it is a herd of elites that never learns. My comments are on this site.

Underlying this mind set is the refusal to understand the significance of the “obligation to dissent” (see above image) and a society that excludes individuals who are different, who disagree and dissent. This can be seen in the weakness of the elites. If they do not acknowledge their weakness, they will forget to be humble and become arrogant.

It is this tendency for elites to take things for granted that is in the backdrop of the Fukushima nuclear accident. This self-serving mindset afflicts many elites resulting often major man-made disasters to the nation and the public.

Among the participants, there were many who had looked over the NAIIC report, of which I served as the Chairman. Some people said to me, “I understand better by listening to your talk. I have worked with many Japanese government officials before and I finally understand the things that were always unclear and did not make sense. Thank you.”

The NAIIC report is fact based and aims to have as little speculative and judgmental comments of the commission members as possible. For this reason, everything other than the introduction does not address specific matters of culture or society and presented ‘facts’ we found and learned. It may be difficult to grasp the true core message of the human factors, even for Japanese people.

This is the meaning of the ‘mindset’ and ‘single-track elites’ that is mentioned in the introduction at the beginning of the NAIIC report. In the English version, it is also mentioned in the “Message from the Chairman.”

I attended a dinner with the speakers and the hosts and departed the next morning. This was my third world-round trip this year.

Return to St. Gallen Symposium

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Once again, I attended the St. Gallen Symposium. This year’s theme is “Rewarding Courage.”  This theme shows the significance of the input of the students who are hosting the symposium. On May 1, I flew from Narita Airport.

I did not attend last year because of my duties at the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, but this year will be the fourth time I have attended since 2007.

Both of the two days had wonderful plenary sessions and everyone seemed satisfied.

The last general panel of the first day was called “Leaders of Tomorrow: Essay Competition” and was moderated by Professor Yoko Ishikura, whose dynamic and ad lib style allowed for an engaging and lively discussion. Out of over one thousand essays written by young people around the world, three were chosen. The discussion among the twelve young people on the panel was very inspiring.

The interactions with young people are always fun and older generations have important roles.

On the second day, I talked at the workshop entitled “Global Agenda in Post-Fukushima” and Prof. Ishikura was the moderator. As the flow of this session shifted toward focusing specifically on the Fukushima nuclear accident and NAIIC, it deviated slightly from the subject mentioned in the title. However, I believe this was because there were many individuals from Switzerland and Germany, who were very highly interested in the Fukushima accident. This indicates the impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the world and high awareness of people across the world. This is a lesson should such accidents happen and I will try to focus more on the subject of Post Fukushima next time.

The symposium at St. Gallen started in 1971 and this is the forty-third year. It was started by students in St. Gallen and students continue to choose the theme and organize the program today. The night I arrived, at the reception I was seated with six St. Gallen alumni who had been involved in the symposium thirty, twenty and ten years ago. It made me reflect on the virtuous cycle that exists in the relations between older and younger generations. As young students at St. Gallen, these alumni must have met many leaders of society as well as faced many obstacles in planning the symposium. These experiences are valuable and are rewarding later on as alumni. I admired and was moved by the senior- junior relationship over years that is fostered through the symposium

On the second day, I checked out of the hotel immediately after my workshop and went to the airport to depart for Heathrow in the UK.