Civil Society Statement on right to health of the people affected by Fukushima
Accident:
December 15, 2012
Civil Society urges the Japanese government to take rights based approach in order to ensure rights tohealth for the affected people by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
Requests for a Drastic Policy Change in Compliance with the Recommendations Made by theUN Special Rapporteur Mr. Anand Grover
1. During 15 and 26 November 2012, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of theHighest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, Mr. Anand Grover visited to Japan, and conducted aninvestigation mainly on the situation of the right to health of the affected people by the Fukushima Daiich Nuclear
Power Plant accident.
Mr. Grover held interviews from the related ministries, the Fukushima prefectural government, the Fukushima
Medical University, municipalities and Tokyo Electric Power Co., as well as from many affected people. Inaddition, the Special Rapporteur visited a vast area including Fukushima-city, Koriyama, Date, Minami-Soma in
Fukushima prefecture and Sendai in Miyagi prefecture; interviewed people those who were affected by the nuclear
power plant accident and are still forced to live in highly-contaminated areas; monitored the radiation dose aroundthe monitoring posts, schools and the residential areas; and conducted field investigations as places such as
temporary houses. Furthermore, interviews with so-called “self-evacuees” in Tokyo, Hokkaido, Miyagi andYamagata prefecture, nuclear plant workers, citizens’ groups, and specialists were conducted.
Mr. Grover published a press statement on 26 November, or the day of his leave. The press statement expresses
neutral observation based on the investigation mission; however, it contains important concerns andrecommendations.
We, undersigned NGOs express our gratitude for the active investigation of the Special Rapporteur, shares hisconcerns, and welcomes the recommendations.
The UN Special Rapporteur is appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, where Japan will become a member
from January 2013, and his position is based on the international human rights standard including the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to which the Japanese government is a party state.
Based on the faithful observation duty (Article 98-2 of the Constitution of Japan), the Japanese government isobliged to implement the recommendations in good faith.
The final report of the Special Rapporteur will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in June next year,
but we request the Japanese government and the related institutions to implement the recommendations before thefinal report in June.
2. Firstly, the Special Rapporteur shows following strong concerns over the radiation safety standards on which allpolicies concerning the affected residents have been formulated after the nuclear accident: “the Government used
the threshold level of 20 mSv/year for the designation of evacuation zone. This conveyed the message that effective
radiation dose up to 20 mSv/year was safe. It was further aggravated by the Government’s release of a number of1

publications, including school booklets, informing the public that there was no clear evidence of direct risk ofcancer if a person was exposed to radiation dose up to 100 mSv.”
The Special Rapporteur accurately points out that this 20mSv threshold level is “in contrast to the statutory legal
limit imposed by the 1972 industrial safety regulation,” and the regulation “prohibits the entry of ordinary citizens
into the controlled area with radiation dose of 1.3 mSv/quarter and further prohibits workers to eat, drink or sleepin that area.” At the same time, the Special Rapporteur recalls that “in Chernobyl the threshold limit for obligatory
resettlement was 5 mSv/year or above, apart from soil contamination levels,” and concludes that “it is unfortunatethat [there is] inconsistency between the current limits imposed by policy on the one hand, and the limitsprescribed by the industrial safety regulation in Japan, radiation limits used in Chernobyl and the findings in theepidemiological studies, on the other hand.”This indication accurately shows that the 20mSv/year standard, that is becoming a fait accompli, contradicts theexisting law, and is significantly inferior to the measurements taken after the Chernobyl accident. We request theJapanese government to seriously consider the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations, and drastically change thepolicies to provide comprehensive policies necessary to protect all people living in the over 1mSv/year areas fromhealth hazards, based on the prior and existing radiation threshold level of the public.
3. The Special Rapporteur points out that “there are […] a significant number of epidemiological studies, whichindicate that cancer and other diseases could occur in low dose radiation below 100 mSv. According to thesestudies, there is no low threshold limit for the occurrence of diseases.”
We urge the Japanese government, the related investigation commissions, as well as Fukushima prefecture and theFukushima Medical University to face the fact that there is no low threshold limit for the diseases’ occurrence, andradically reform the existing extremely negative stance of the health effects of the low dose exposure, or the claimof “no clear evidence of direct risk of cancer if a person was exposed to radiation dose up to 100 mSv .” We also
request them to take a precautionary principle and make their best effort to prevent health hazards.
4. The Special Rapporteur shows a clear concern over the Fukushima health management survey. Morespecifically, the Special Rapporteur criticizes the criteria and subject of the survey by regarding that the scope is“narrow,” and the surveys “draw on the limited lessons from the Chernobyl accident and ignore epidemiologicalstudies that point to cancer as well as other diseases in low-dosage radiation, even in areas of exposure below 100mSv.”
The Special Rapporteur recommends the Japanese government to “monitor the impact of radiation on people’s
health in radiation-affected zones through holistic and comprehensive screening and provide appropriatetreatment,” and “err on the side of caution and carry out comprehensive studies, which would entail examining andmonitoring of internal radiation exposure for a considerable length of time.”
The Fukushima health management survey, currently conducted by public expenditure, is limited to surveys such asquestionnaires and thyroid examinations for children, and the scope is also limited to people living in Fukushima
prefecture. The thyroid examination is available only to those who are under 18-year-old once every 2 years. The
investigations such as blood, urine, and internal exposure examinations, requested by the residents, are yet to be2

conducted.
After the Chernobyl accident, in Belarus for example, free and comprehensive investigations including thyroid,blood, urine, ophthalmic, dental, internal medicine and internal exposure examinations, were provided not only tochildren but also to adults. Compared to this, the current health survey is clearly insufficient.
We request the Japanese government to take this opportunity to drastically improve the current measurements,
learn from the specialists of low dose exposure risks and the clinical experiences of the Chernobyl accident, andconduct a comprehensive survey.
At the same time, as the Special Rapporteur particularly points out, the fact that children who underwent a thyroid
examination and their parents were denied their right to access to the medical record is a serious human rights
violations, which needs to be altered immediately.
5. In order to implement any measure for health protection, accurate information disclosure, especially accurate
information gathering and disclosure of the contamination situation and the data on the radiation dosimetry
measurement, is a major premise.
Regarding this point, the Special Rapporteur states that through his investigation it turned out that the “radiation
monitoring stations do not reflect the varied dosage levels in areas in close proximity.”
There are monitoring stations in various locations in Fukushima set by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport,
Science and Technology; however in reality, the radiation dose sometimes rapidly increases when it is measured
outside the monitoring stations, even at the place very close to the stations.
There are hot spots with extremely high radiation doses, and some of the hot spots have dosage which easily
exceeds 20mSv/year. However, this fact is not officially recognized by the government, thus no measures such as
evacuation designation and evacuation recommendations are taken.
It is obvious that the measurement results of the monitoring stations established by the Ministry are neither
accurately nor comprehensively representing the contamination situation in neighboring areas.
We urge the Japanese government to implement, in good faith, the Special Rapporteur’s recommendation which
requests to “incorporate all validated independent data, including those from residents, and make them publiclyavailable.”
6. The Special Rapporteur reaffirms that “the residents are entitled to live in a safe and healthy environment,” andmakes two recommendations towards the Japanese government to realize the rights.
The first recommendation is “to adopt an action plan with clear timelines, indicators and benchmarks fordecontamination to reduce radiation levels to 1 mSv/year” in residential areas; and the second one is “to continue
and/or restore financial support and subsidies to all evacuees so that they can make a voluntary decision toevacuate or return to their homes, if they wish to do so.”
Since it turned out that it would take substantive time until the radiation dose decreases to 1mSv/year bymeasures such as decontamination, financial support for evacuation should be practiced sufficiently in order toprotect people’s right to live in a safe and healthy environment.
Currently, more and more people cannot get enough financial support in new places, are isolated, and force to3

return against their will. The cancellation of evacuation zones and the termination of subsidized accommodation
support for new evacuees worsen the situation. The return due to economical and psychological hardship is neither
a voluntary return nor return of free will.
We request for a policy change so that all evacuees and all people who want to evacuate from the surrounding areaof the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant from now on are able to continue a long-term life of refuge by public
support and compensation without any concern.
7. The Special Rapporteur investigated the situation of nuclear plant workers, and expressed strong concern overtheir human rights.
He points out that “some of [them] were exposed to extremely high dosage of radiation. I was distressed to learn
that there is a practice of employing a large number of contract workers through a layer of sub-contractors. Asignificant number of them are employed for short periods of time with no effective long-term monitoring of theirhealth after their employment contracts is terminated.”
The Special Rapporteur recommends the Japanese government to provide monitoring and treatment for all nuclear
plant workers. Health checks and necessary treatments should be promptly provided to all workers who worked at
the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the accident.
8. Whereas the Special Rapporteur welcomes the enactment of “the Act on the Protection and Support for theChildren and other Victims of TEPCO Disaster” as a basic law with comprehensive policies, he also recommends
an urgent implementation of this Act, which has not been realized yet.
We, in accordance with the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations, request the Japanese government to implement
this Act urgently. In the course of implementation, we urges the Japanese government to pay attention to andcomply with the Special Rapporteur’s concerns and recommendations in regards to the threshold limit, measuringsystem, health check system, and support for evacuation, and to implement policies which will never fall short ofthe policies taken after the Chernobyl accident.
At the same time, as can be seen in the Special Rapporteur’s statement, it is necessary “ to frame the basic policy
and subordinate regulations with the full participation of the affected communities.”
9. The Special Rapporteur mentions that “I have [...] heard from the affected residents, and particularly from suchgroups as persons with disabilities, young mothers and pregnant women, children and older persons, that they
have had no say in decisions that affect them,” and states that “the affected people need to be part of thedecision-making process as well as of the implementation, monitoring and accountability processes.”
When it comes to decision-making, opinions should be heard not only from high-level public officials andspecialists, but also from the affected vulnerable people, especially children, pregnant women, and young families
with small children.
We request to establish a system which includes citizens’ representatives into all the processes of implementationand decision-making regarding the designation of evacuation site, the system of radiation measurement and4information disclosure, the health check system, the all policy formulation of victim support including recuperation,and “the Act on the Protection and Support for the Children and other Victims of TEPCO Disaster.” In the system,
more than 1/3 of citizens’ representatives should be allowed to participate.
10. The final report of the Special Rapporteur will be submitted in June 2013. If the Japanese government does notlisten to the current indications and recommendations by the Special Rapporteur, the official UN report will be
published to the world which contains the criticisms that the Japanese government continues policies which ignore
the warning from the UN and thus threatens the right to health of the people affected by the nuclear accident. Thisis highly regrettable.
We urge the Japanese government to drastically change the policies as soon as possible based on therecommendations by Mr. Grover, without waiting for his final report.
2012.12.15【Japan】
Human Rights Now
Citizen’s Radioactivity Measuring Station
The Committee for Citizen Scientist Network for Radiation Protection(CSRP)
Pediatricians' Network for Saving Children from Radiation
3.11 life-note Project for Saving Children-future from Low-dose exposure
Fukushima Health Consultation Meeting
Project 47
FoE Japan
Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation, Japan
National Network for Saving Children from Radiation, Japan
Project for Saving Children’s health and futureInternational Movement against all form of discrimination and racism
Japanese Workers’ committee for human rights
Association of rainbow and green
Green future Fukushima
The Japanese Bellflower Group
Centro di documentazione 'Semi sotto la neve'
UN Women Japan National Committee, Tokyo Committee
Japan Accountability Caucus for the Beijing Conference
SapporoCitizen’s Network to Support the Great East Japan Earthquake：MUSUBIBA
3A Koriyama（Anzen Anshin Action in Koriyama)
Parents' Network Protecting Lives of High School Children
FGF（Fukushima University Forum on Nuclear Disaster）

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Tsunagarou! Mothers network evacuated from radiation, Tokyo
Tsunagarou! Mothers network evacuated from radiation, Saitama
Association of Mother and Child Fukushima evacuation in the Kanto region
Takagi School
Citizen’s Opinion 30 in Tokyo
WELCOME CHILDREN OF FUKUSHIMA! AKASHI PROJECT
Showa Shell Labor Union
Health consultation for evacuated people and children from Fukushima
Peace and Environmental Advocacy for the Child
HANGENROU-Anti Nuclear P ｌ ant Labors Action Committee
NPO Citizens Media Equal
Nuclear Free Network Ibaraki
Association for QUOTAsystem

Fuji no Fumoto no Utukushi-MuraVoices for Lively Spring
Ikata People Against MOX
Association for Citizens and Scientists Concerned about Internal Radiation Exposure（ACSIR）
Gay Japan NewsInter-faith Forum for Review of National Nuclear Policy
Network for study of radiation exposed work
Committee for Hairo Action~40years of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
Fukushima Evacuate Children Lawsuit GroupTGF (University of Tokyo Nuclear Disaster Support Forum)【International】
Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples,Hong Kong

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Thailand
Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong
Cambodian League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodia
Commission de Recherche et d'Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité,FranceGerman Society for Radiation Protection, Germany
MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, South Korea
People's Solidarity for Participatory for Democracy, South Korea
Private Scientific Unitary Enterprise "The Institute of Radiation Safety "BELRAD", Minsk, Belarus
Think Centre, Singapore
WOREC, Nepal ,Nepal
Alliance for a Green Economy, USA

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Beyond Nuclear, USA
Citizens' Environmental Coalition, USA
CASE/Citizens Allied for Safe Energy, Inc.

USA

Citizens Awareness Network, USA
Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition, USA
The Ecological Options Network, USA
Environmentalists Against War, USA
Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network,USAFukushima Response Bay Area, USA
The Helen Caldicott Foundation, USA
The Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area, USA
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc, USA
New Beginning Initiative, USA
New York Solar Energy Society,USA

Nuclear Hotseat Podcast, USA
Nuclear Information and Resource Service, USA
Physicians for Social Responsibility, USA
Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group, USA
World Network For Saving Children From Radiation, USA7