Vol.XXIV #1

February 2012

NSKK NEWSLETTER
日本聖公会管区事務所だより

NIPPON SEI KO KAI Provincial Office

Editor : E. Hajime Suzuki

65 Yarai-cho, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 162-0805 JAPAN

Tel. +81-3-5228-3171
Fax +81-3-5228-3175

Fukushima Now – People are in fear and trembling at the diffusion of radiation
The Rev. Kenzo Koshiyama
Rector of the Tohoku Diocese, NSKKOn 11th March 2011, a great earthquake and huge tsunami attacked the Fukushima Daiichi (First) Nuclear
Power Plant which is located from Okuma-machi through Futaba-machi in Fukushima Prefecture. All theelectric power shut off, resulting in a huge meltdown. In order to release the pressure inside, high temperature
vapor filled with radioactive substance was vented at 10:17 a.m. on 12th March. However, it was found that thevent had no filtration equipment. Then the first hydrogen explosion occurred at 3:36 pm, and then on March
14th an explosion occurred in the No.3 reactor. This explosion caused leakage, and because of this leakage,high concentrations of radiation spread all over Fukushima Prefecture. (The concentration was, reportedly,
as high as 25 micro sievert per hour). A year has passed since the first meltdown, but nobody knows when
this situation will cease. All the people in Fukushima are continuing with their daily lives, struggling against
terror and anxiety. An increasing number of people in Fukushima are evacuating their residences.
*Koriyama St. Paul’s Kindergarten – Daily cleaning is absolutely necessary
Up till 14th March 2011, three explosions occurred, causing contamination of the soil. Although thevolume of the radiation is decreasing, the radiation level is so high that it is almost impossible to live in
the area. Koriyama City, where I live, is the terminal point for the flowing of radioactive substances whichhave drifted from the Daiichi (Number 1) Power Plant via Futaba-machi, Iitate Village, Kawamata-machi,
Fukushima City, Nihonmatsu City to Koriyama (approximately 60 kilometers from the Number 1 Power
Plant). Hayama, where Koriyama Kindergarten and Koriyama St. Paul’s Church, Tohoku Diocese, NSKK
are situated, is a place where high volumes of radioactive substances have been observed and it is called a“hot spot”, that is, a place where 1.3 to 1.7 micro sievert per hour (in some points, 3 or more micro sievert) ofradiation have been constantly observed.
In this Kindergarten, in order to decrease the radiation volume, the building is cleaned every day fordecontamination at 7:30 a.m., before the arrival of the children; then again at 2:30 p.m. after the children
leave the kindergarten, using two high-pressure cleaners. Inside the building, every room must be wiped witha wet cloth. In the garden, the surface soil was removed and replaced with new soil. As there is no place todispose the contaminated soil, it has been placed in a deep hole in the corner of the garden (the contaminationof the surface soil showed 8 micro sievert per hour).
Due to the decontamination work, the contamination has decreased to 0.8 micro sievert per hour. As it
is also reported that gamma radiation can filter through glass, the doors of the building have been partiallycovered with iron plates.
All the above efforts have had no effect on maintaining the number of children; the number continues
to decrease day by day. For the last six months, children have not been able to play outside the building. All
members of the kindergarten including the children, their parents, the teachers and myself have been under
intolerable stress every day.
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When we look at outdoors, no children are seen in the nearby park which was used to be the children’s
play-ground. A “Keep-Out” sign has been put up, instead. Green lawns where children used to play havebeen peeled off and horrible red soil can be seen.
The citizens of Fukushima Prefecture are also suffering considerably from rumors or from discrimination because of the radiation. It is a matter of great regret that no one really knows how safe the Fukushima
area is. It is also of great concern for everyone that suspicions may create a virus, which may in turn cause
the collapse of human relationships.
We are at present fumbling in the darkness regarding our future, because nothing can be seen. The
photograph shows the staff cleaning St. Paul’s Kindergarten.
The above only reports the present situation in Koriyama City. The Misono Kindergarten in Fukushima
City, which is also operated by NSKK, appeared recently in the public news media. They are having reallyserious pains and are in a far more difficult situation than in Koriyama City.
I would like to ask all members of the Anglican Communion worldwide to continue to pray for andsupport the Kindergarten children that in the not too distant future they will once again be able to freely run
around the garden with bright smiles.

Contemplating on the ‘Peace without Nuclear’ after participating in the Memorial
Service for the Atomic Bombed Day in Nagasaki
The Rev Shouzo Nakajima
Kyushu Diocese
It has been 66 years since Nagasaki was bombed and on Tuesday August 9, 2011 a Memorial Service
for Atomic Bomb Day of Nagasaki was held at Nagasaki Holy Trinity Church co-presided by Bishop Shoji
Igarashi and Reverend Noritaka Horio, the pastor of Nagasaki Holy Trinity Church with the sermon preached
by Reverend Takao Shibamoto, the pastor of Kokura Immanuel Church. The service was combined with the
opening service of the National conference and the Training Course of the Girl’s Friendly Society (GFS) andhence there were many more participants than usual.
Reverend Shibamoto told us in his sermon “I have been involved in the activities to search for themeanings of Peace from 1999 in here Nagasaki and whenever I hear of individual experiences of the bomb
attack, each and every time I am tremendously shocked. There was once a person who started to tell aboutthe Hibaku1 experience stating that ‘This is the first time to speak of my experience of Hibaku, never tellingothers not even to my family members.’ I realized then how immense the agony in that person’s heart was. In
Nagasaki, ‘the concentric circle of death’ was spreading around right after the bombing and at the same time
another concentric circle, the ‘Concentric Circle of Peace’ was going around too. In the center of the circle
there were the testimonies of the HIBAKUSHA2. The action of hearing their testimonies and touching on
their agonies are the same activities as the activities of Christianity spreading among the people who heardof the agonies of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ our Lord. The people who know the agonies are witnesses,
1 Atomic Bombing
2 Hibakusha are survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.

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it is possible for us to share the agonies each other and we are expected to work to realize the peaching ofJesus Christ our Lord.” The Rev. Shibamoto taught us the meaning of listening intently to the testimonies of
HIBAKUSHA and conveying them onto others.
On August 8, at 11:02am, the same date and time as the Nagasaki atomic bomb attack 66 years ago, allparticipants offered silent prayers, and offered flowers for the souls of the dead to the sound of a gong andwe again confirmed our wish for peace. At the end of the service, the message of Ms. Shizuka Taura wasread as her testimony. Ms. Shizuka Taura, a member of Nagasaki Church of The United Church of Christ inJapan (Nihon Kirisuto Kyodan), was working at Kwassui Girl’s High School at that time and she left a vivid
note describing the state of the students right after they were attacked. At the end of her testimony, she is tells
us; ‘There are many people who managed to survive the tragedy. They saw the reality with their own eyes
and recognized the destructive power and terror of lethal weapons. The survivors should be the witnesses
to prevent such a dreadful war as what they experienced should never occur again’. She showed them themission of testimonies to testify that war not to occur any more.
After the service was over, the GFS National Conference and Training Course was held at Nagasaki
Holy Trinity Church. At a lecture meeting, Ms. Miyako Jodai who is active as a HIBAKUSHA witness
spoke for us. Ms. Jodai told us that she was 6 when the bomb was dropped. Fortunately she was inside ahouse and survived the bombing but her friends outside in the garden died on the spot. She later she became
a teacher but it was prohibited by the police, Occupied Forces, and also by the governmental policy on nuclear
weapons to talk about the bombings.
In the course of time, some of her friends contracted cancer or leukemia and one after another they died.
She wanted to take care of her grandchild after her retirement but the child passed away when only 6 months
old. She was depressed for a while. But when she heard the news that a nuclear test was conducted in India,
she decided to tell of the terror of nuclear bomb from her own HIBAKU experiences. “If the decision to stop
the war by Japanese government had been taken 10 days earlier the atomic bombing of Nagasaki would nothave occurred”. She bitterly regrets this tragic result.
On the next day, I joined in the GFS field work in Nagasaki. There were 3 Korean ladies who joined
the group. One of them now lives in Japan. We had valuable experiences by visiting the Nagasaki Atomic
Bomb Museum, Nagai Takashi Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Peace Park. Those facilities relevantto the atomic bomb attack. Also we visited the Oka Masaharu Memorial: Nagasaki Peace Museum and it
was very meaningful for members to visit there. The Nagasaki Peace Museum is the place for Japanese toconfront what Japanese people done on the Chosen (Korea) Peninsula in the past. As I was with the three
Korean ladies to view the exhibited items in the museum, as a Japanese I was very sorry for them. These
exhibits in the museum tell us that we Japanese are the victims of the atomic bomb but at the same time veryclearly state we are the assailants of the Asian people. But how do we get hold of all the facts? At the summary meeting from each group one of the Korean participants remarked that what Japanese did in Korea inthe past was a problem shared among all human beings rather than an isolated crime of Japan. The comment
probably relieved the feelings of depression amongst Japanese participants gathered there.
There is one more thing we have to consider about here in Nagasaki. That is the answer for the question,
regarding why God released the atomic bomb on Nagasaki? At the time in Urakami, a suburb of Nagasaki,
close to ground zero, approximately 12,000 Catholics were living there. They were descendants of the early
Christians who survived the severe oppression of Shogunate3 powers of the past. 8,500 of them lost their lives
in the bomb. Why did so many Catholics in Nagasaki suffer from the bomb? For this question, Mr. Takashi
Nagai, a medical doctor, pious Catholic and a HIBAKUSHA grasped the answer through “The Providence of
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God”. If we understand the ‘Providence’ as the process by which God shows us how to approach becominga perfect human being even though we were created imperfect, who make mistakes and commit sins, forthe answer for the question ”why Nagasaki was attacked,” Dr. Nagai’s ‘Providence of God’ will give us one
valuable clue. And I think also it refers to the words that some Korean participant related as ‘it’s a problem
shared among all human beings rather than an isolated crime of Japan.’As the number of HIBAKUSHA decrease year by year, we have to be responsible to take over theirexperiences that we have heard and studied to realize peace without nuclear power.

2011 Peace Prayer Worship was held in Hiroshima, place of the atomic bombing
2011 Hiroshima Peace Worship Executive
Committee
The Rev. David Kazuhiro Hayashi
The 2011 Peace Prayer Worship in Hiroshima Conference was held from August 5 (Fri) to 9(Sat) .The
purpose of The Peace Prayer Worship in Hiroshima was to address the following 3 points:
1) Remember the Atomic bombed victims and pray for World Peace.
2) Tell of the tragedy of Atomic Bomb and the foolishness of war to the coming generations who will bear
the destinies of Japan on their shoulders.
3) Learn of the Peace that our Lord provides and pray for its fruition
The first program began at 9:30 and participants chose one of three sessions: “Introductory Course”, “Intermediate Course” or “Cathedral Course” to attend.
The Introductory Course took a study tour to the Peace Park (Atomic Bomb Data Museum and theStone Monument Tower erected for the repose Atomic Bomb Victims.
The Intermediate Course took a study tour to the Data Museum and after went exploring around the
Miyukibashi Bridge, 2300 meters from the epicenter of Atomic Bomb blast.
The Cathedral Course was a tour of the Roman Catholic Memorial Cathedral for World Peace. About
60 individuals participated in the Conference. That afternoon from 1:00 all of us were given an opportunity
to listen about the experience of Sr. Irene Keiko Saeki, a survivor of the Atomic bombings. After listening to
her experiences, we were divided into small groups and had sharing time to discuss what was said about her
bomb experience and also about war and peace. After discussion time the leader from each group presented
what their group had discussed. Each of us was moved and again felt the tragedy of The Atomic Bombing,the stupidity of war and desire to achieve peace. That evening, following the conference, all participants weremoved of the day that we had a Peace March singing and marching to the Catholic Cathedral to join the Peace
Prayer Mass.
On the second day, from 8am Holy Communion in memory of the Victims of Atomic bombings wascelebrated at the Resurrection Church. The celebrant was Rt. Rev. Andrew Y. Nakamura, Bishop of the Kobe
Diocese. The Sermon was preached by Rt. Rev. Laurence Y. Minabe, Bishop of Yokohama Diocese. The
congregation of approximately 90 participants kept silent for 5 minutes prior to the time the Atomic Bombwas dropped. Then at the bombing time the Church bell echoed high above sky around the Church. Prayers
for the desire for peace and the wish for peacefulness to all the souls of Atomic Bomb Victims were lifted
up to Heaven with the sounds of the Church bell. These heartfelt prayers came from each member of thecongregation. I was told by a member of the congregation. ”You have no experience of war, so you just listen
without words.” I absolutely have no capacity to feel the agony those people experienced during that time. It
is painful to me to be told I have no experience. All I can do is listen. Personal testimony is always beyond
what books can provide when talking about war and he Atomic Bomb. It pierces my heart. However, I know4I cannot create peace by myself, nor end the multiple wars which threaten peace.
PEACE IN CHRIST’S NAME
In the words of the Encyclical of Pope John XXIII in 1963, “Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) :The circumstance of today’s world, peace would be guaranteed only with the balance of the armament
among nations. That means they justify enhancement of armaments as a matter of course.
Everyone must sincerely co-operate in effort to banish fear and the anxious expectation of war frommen’s minds. But this requires that the fundamental principles upon which peace is based in today’s world
be replaced by an altogether different one, namely, the realization that true and lasting peace among nations
cannot consist in the possession of equal supply of armaments but only in mutual trust. /:[The Peace in Christ] is not established by human power; it is poured and given from Christ upon the
Cross. By Christ, as Christ being the pivot of men the sprout of true peace will be born. That the Peace ofChrist be extended over the World was what we asked and prayed for over the two day conference.

NSKK Asks the Japanese Government to Protect People’s Lives from Nuclear
DisasterSix months have passed since the nuclear disaster occurred at the 1st Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in
Fukushima. We consider the sufferings of those people who have been exposed to the radioactivity emitted
by the nuclear reactors and who are forced to live in the surroundings contaminated by the radiation. We
pray that this situation may come to a solution as soon as possible. We also thank the NPP workers for theirefforts to bring the nuclear reactors under control in spite of their own lives.
The NSKK Peace and Justice (P & J) Committee has examined what attitude we should take towards
nuclear power generation, what kind situation the people are placed in the disaster-hit areas, and how the suffering people are feeling about the nuclear power plants. On June 5, World Environment Day, we forwarded
to all congregations of NSKK a pamphlet titled “Nuclear power generation is NEVER a solution to global
warming,” issued by the Japanese Roman Catholic Church.
As a result of intensive examination and study, we have found it the most urgent task of advocacy toprotect the life created by God. We must strive to protect the life of the people exposed to the danger of radiation, children and those pregnant, among others. From the standpoint of defending the livelihood and life of
the people of the disaster-affected areas and the whole country, we should request the Japanese government
to take adequate measures and actions against the nuclear disaster. We consider it necessary to dedicate
ourselves to the cause of protecting people’s lives, free from any political standpoint.
The NSKK P&J Committee submitted the following request to the government in the name of Rt. Rev.
Shoji Tani, chairman of the committee:

To:

Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister
Mr. Banri Kaieda, Minister of Economy and Industry
Mr. Takeshi Hosono, Minister of Managing the Nuclear Accidents
July 21, 2011

REQUEST CONCERNING THE NUCLEAR DISASTER
AT FUKUSHIMA Nuclear Power Plant
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Four months have passed since the nuclear disaster occurred at the 1st Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima caused by the Great East Kanto Earthquake and resulting Tsunami in Eastern Japan. The developments have shown that the radiation from the nuclear reactors seriously endangers people’s lives and that theexistence of nuclear power plants in Japan is to be questioned.
The problems of nuclear power plants are:(1) Japan is a country hit most frequently by earthquakes of anywhere in the world. Disregarding this,nuclear power plants have been built without taking adequate measures against large-scale earthquakes. The
electricity companies have created a “myth of safety” without paying appropriate attention to the danger.
(2) As shown in the Fukushima disaster, once an accident occurs, it can develop into a serious one leading
to “meltdown”, thus emitting large quantities of radiation.
(3) There is no established technology to deal with spent nuclear fuel. The nuclear waste will continue toincrease, with no adequate measures against radioactivity.
(4) Through the second cooling water, large quantities of heat, not used for power generation, is discharged
into the environment.
(5) Together, nuclear power generation is an imperfect technology used for peaceful purposes.
Some people call for the resumption of the nuclear power operations immediately. But this is nothing
but logic and takes no account of the lives of people. From the standpoint of protecting life and the naturalenvironment which fosters a wide variety of life created by God, we call for the following:(1) Establish strict safety standards in terms of radiation exposure, both external and internal, publishing
the scientific and medical foundations. Strictly measure the radiation exposure (near the ground surface)in all parts of Western Japan, and obviously Fukushima Prefecture, giving special priority to assist babies,
children, young people and pregnant women –to evacuate from the areas where alarming doses of radiation
have been detected. Take the necessary actions to accept the evacuating people in other areas. Prevent
babies and children from being further exposed to radiation, taking adequate measures, including washingaway and removal of radioactive substances from the environment.
(2) Continue to survey, for coming decades, the effects of radiation on the physical condition of the people
living in the contaminated areas and provide them with the necessary medical treatment.
(3) Continue to survey the contamination of the food supply, and publish all results.
(4) Review the current anti-earthquake measures at all the nuclear reactors in view of the historical recordsof earthquakes for the past 1000 years at each site so that the structures are strong enough to survive an
earthquake and tsunami such as the one which occurred on March 11, 2011. Never resume operations of
nuclear power plants until the consensus of the residents and communities in the areas surrounding the plant
locations has been obtained, based on scientific foundations.
(5) Scrap the antiquated nuclear power plants by taking adequate measures not to emit radiation, and not toconstruct new nuclear power plants.
(6) Promote the development of new power generation systems using renewable natural resources, including
solar, wind and geothermal power. Reform the power supply policy so that the development of new power
resources may not be obstructed, including the use of the power supply from independent power suppliers.

NSKK Peace and Justice Committee Chairman Rev. SHOJI TANI

Members of the English Version of NSKK Newsletter, June 2011 are: as follows:
Ms. Kazuko Takeda, Ms Toshiko Yoshimura, Ms. Yasuko Date, Ms. Suzanne Cooper,
Editor-in-Chief: Hajime Suzuki
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