Foreword

Foreword
Kaori Kuroda

CSO Network Japan
Executive Director

The events of March 11, 2011--the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima
Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident that it triggered--have provided us with aprofound opportunity to reexamine our lifestyles and the path of economic growth thatsociety has pursued until now.
This booklet was spurred by a desire to find the commonalities that exist between
the ongoing nuclear disaster and Minamata disease, which emerged some fifty
years ago in Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture and the Agano River basinin Niigata Prefecture. These disasters have been more than just "human-caused;"
their disastrous impacts were multiplied as a result of information being kept in thedark. They have both resulted in divided communities. If we do not apply the lessons
learned as a result of Minamata disease to the situation that is now unfolding inFukushima, there is a real fear that the health, basic rights, and human dignity of theregion's people may continue to suffer.
Apart from those who played the roles of either "perpetrators" or "victims" of the saga,or beyond a small circle of supporters or environmental administrators, the story of
Minamata disease has faded over time, becoming seen as a sad sideshow, isolated
from the achievements of Japan's high- economic-growth society. A half a century
later, however, many now harbor doubts in the face of an unsustainable society where
the economy reigns supreme, and are asking themselves what action they can taketo change things. The Great East Japan Earthquake further fueled this impetus.
In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, citizen groups rushed to provide support
to farmers, while researchers and companies from Fukushima and beyond havebeen carrying out research and offering technical assistance. Researchers, farmers
and various citizens of the area have begun a shift toward small-scale, distributed
renewable energy, using biogas, hydropower, and solar energy. In Minamata City,
the wisdom and experience of an older generation is being passed on to a younger
generation that is starting to make salt in a beautiful area where salt ponds formerly
operated.

2Foreword

Now would certainly seem to be the right time for us to gain a renewed appreciationof the value that is generated by agricultural, forestry and fisheries activities, and toshine a light on the potential that exists to support community development throughharnessing local resources and fostering local industries. There is a new sense ofhope for a new era of collaboration among citizens, companies and researchers.
I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the support provided
by the Japan Fund for Global Environment of the Environmental Restoration andConservation Agency for the production of this booklet. I would also like to thank eachof the contributing authors, and the many other collaborators who have helped tomake this publication a reality.

3

Contents

Contents
Foreword
2

Kaori Kuroda

1

Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the
Fukushima Nuclear Accident: For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where
Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony
5

Masanori Nonaka

2Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as Seen Through the "Fukushima
Miracle"12

Kiichi Nakajima

3

Benefits of Ongoing Agricultural Product Testing18

Makoto Ebisawa

4

Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People
Power and Farming Power:
We will still sowing the Seeds of Hope23

Seiji Sugeno

5

What Minamata is Calling into Question: A Message from Niigata
32

Hideo Takano

6

From Minamata to Fukushima
37

Kunio Endo

7

Our Life in Minamata
42

Soji Takakura

8

A Biodiversity-Based Approach to Community Development
46

Makiko Imai

9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:
A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capital
Koyu Furusawa

51

Postscript: Farming to change our communities
59

Tadaaki Oe

4

1 Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony

Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease
Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People andCommunities Exist in Harmony
Masanori Nonaka

Dean, Graduate School for Management of Technology, Niigata University / Professor, Doctor of
Agriculture

As a result of the Ashio Mine pollution incident and the Niigata Minamata disease
incident, we--the people of Japan--have learned the importance of constructing
a society where nature, people and communities can coexist in harmony. The
agricultural damages caused by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident
have a structure that is similar to these previous pollution problems. Here, we seethat organic farmers in the community stood up for a sustainable community, and we
can find clues to reflect upon our ways of living.

1. The Starting Point of Modern Pollution Cases:
Ashio Mine Pollution and Shozo Tanaka
The Ashio Mine pollution case is said to be one of the starting points of modern
pollution cases in Japan. In the process of mining operations, forests had been cut
down for firewood; acidic gases were released into the air during the refining process,resulting in acid rain. In addition, rain water that fell on the barren mountains gushed
down with massive momentum and washed down heavy metals from the tailingponds into rivers. The downstream areas of the Watarase River suffered severe
damages from pollution, on both farmland and crops. Moreover, a retarding pool wasconstructed to prevent heavy metals from flowing into the Tone River, a major riverthat provides water to a large proportion of the Kanto region (including Tokyo), but thisresulted in further damages. This construction led to the disappearance of Yanaka
Village and to many farmers leaving the area.
A member of the House of Representatives from the region, Shozo Tanaka, pressed
to halt operations at the mine during the Second Imperial Congress in 1891, and5

1 Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony

filed a formal protest against the unfairness of the proposed final settlement; heresigned from office and directly pleaded with the Emperor, and fought against theretarding pool along with affected farmers, living together with them in Yanaka Village.
However, in 1911, 137 farmers from Yanaka were evicted by force to the Sarobetsu
Plain in Hokkaido, and Shozo Tanaka passed away in 1913. One year before his
death in 1912, which is just about a century ago, he left the following words in hisdiary after seeing with his own eyes the disappearance of Yanaka Village:“A true civilization shall not ruin mountains, shall not ruin rivers, shall not tear apartvillages, and shall not kill people.”
I believe that the radioactive pollution affecting the forests, farmland, and food as aresult of the Fukushima nuclear accident is the worst case of pollution in history. We
must make the best of what we have learned from previous pollution cases, startingwith the Ashio Mine pollution case.

2. Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident
The current damages to agriculture (damage to forests, farmland, livestock, andcrops) are similar to that seen in previous pollution cases.
Chisso corporate, the company responsible for the Kumamoto Minamata disease
incident, was a company under the protection of the Japanese government sinceWorld War I, under its policy to increase domestic food production. With its protected
status, the company knowingly poured methyl mercury into Minamata Bay in
Kumamoto Prefecture, causing the illness that came to be called Minamata disease.
In the Niigata Minamata disease incident, the first known patient was found two years
after methyl mercury was officially acknowledged as the cause for Minamata diseasein Kumamoto. However, the Japanese government did not take any action.
The company responsible for the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident, Showa Denko,
developed as a chemical fertilizer production company in the early Showa Era andenjoyed a privileged position in a country aiming for increased food production, much
like Chisso. The company began producing acetaldehyde since 1936, and through its
operations, knowingly dumped methyl mercury into the Agano River.
In both cases, people who had nothing to do with the companies suffered health6

1 Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony

effects from eating fish from the bay or river. Even after half a century, many patients
continue to be victims of these harmful effects. Moreover, because there was no legal
framework to oversee the companies' operations, neither company faced criminal
charges for the damages they caused.
Looking at the course of events that took place from the disease outbreaks to thecourt rulings, we can see that the Japanese government was not on the victims’
side. At first, they acted as agents for the companies. Aiming for an early settlement,
the government officials persuaded the victims to accept a very modest amountof compensation. Experts aligned with the government cast false theories so thatthe companies could evade responsibility, and facts were falsified. To prove thetruth, the already exhausted victims had to stand up for themselves. The country
gave economics priority over people's lives, and did not penalize or regulate those
responsible until they were 100% certain and had scientifically proven that something
was dangerous. Therefore, by the time the cause was proved, many people's lives
had already been lost.
In July 2011, when beef with levels of radiation higher than the prevailing provisional
standard was produced at a ranch in Tohoku, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries repeatedly made statements to the effect that the ranch owner
was responsible, due to having used domestic rice straw. By repeatedly making
statements that pitted the ranchers and farmers against consumers, they evaded the
responsibilities of government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).
For this accident which was the result of human error, there was no legal framework
to exercise strict control over such pollution affecting forests and farmland. In otherwords, there was no means to take the assailant TEPCO to task for the massive
spread of radiation in the first place.
Farmers were worried about the radioactive pollution affecting the mountains, rivers
and soil. In many communities, people were concerned about the food grown on
polluted soil. Families were torn apart and local communities were broken up.
March 24, 2011, a farmer in Sukagawa, Fukushima, who had produced safe andhigh quality organic vegetables for thirty years (which had been used for local school
lunches) committed suicide. Once the soil was polluted, it could not be undone;that was how he felt. Crops were often damaged by cold weather in many areas of7

1 Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony

Fukushima. People managed to use resources from local forests and mountains,combined organic farming with stock raising, and based their style of organic farming
on growing a variety of crops in small quantities. They also developed methods tomake and utilize fertile soil.
In the current situation, as with previous pollution cases, the victimized farmers at
Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa stood up and fought to be able to continue
farming on their lands; they began taking measurements of radiation on their own.

3. Radioactive Pollution, Organic Farming and the Power ofFarmers
In August 2011, an organic farmer in Nihonmatsu City, Mr. Shinichi Ouchi, said:“The spring vegetables in March saved the soil from being polluted by radioactive
material. The growth and spread of the leaves of spinach plants under the sun served
to block the radioactive particles. I was crying as I pulled the spinach out and said
‘thank you’ one by one and buried them in a ditch within the farm premises. Thanks
to these spinach plants, not one summer vegetable was detected to have beenradioactively polluted.”
Nuclear power plants, needless to say, cannot coexist with organic farming that hasemphasized producing safe crops in harmony with nature. But it also cannot coexist
with any style of farming. Mr. Ouchi’s abilities to make keen observations and hisreverence for nature are things that we were about to lose or forget. This is the powerof farming. It was the same at Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa. In April 2011,about 270 members of “Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa Furusato PlanningCouncil” met and shared their worries:“Isn’t it impossible to farm this year?”“The crops might not be edible even if we grow them.”“Will there be anyone who wants to buy from us?”“Can our children and/or grandchildren live together with us?”
However, in the end, they decided to go on farming. The people at this non-profit are
originally farmers who opposed a golf course construction project that was planned
as part of the resort development boom that took place in the 1990s. They came
together, raising doubts about the benefits of their town’s merger with Nihonmatsu,
and when the merger was finally decided, they founded the non-profit “Organic Village8

1 Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony(Yuki no Sato) Towa Furusato Planning Council” to preserve their hometown’s name.
In the Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa Declaration, the following words are
written:“To the east of this land are the Adatara Mountain Ranges. The waters from Kohata,
Kuchibuto, and Hayama mountains flow into the Abukuma River. In this landscape,our workings with nature and our communal forests were passed down fromgeneration to generation.…We will be kind to our hearts, be strong and healthy
and foster pride and a joy for life through collaboration. We will proceed with ourparticipatory community revitalization planning under the following slogan; ‘your selfreliance and my self-reliance will lead to our town’s self-reliance’ . We will protect
the historical and cultural environment, foster an organic relationship among people
and between people and nature. Through networks of face-to-face relationships, wedeclare that we are a town where community resources sustainably circulate. We are
Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa.”
Since its foundation in 2005, Towa proactively accepted 36 new farmers, and went onwith their community revitalization. Even after the Great East Japan Earthquake, they
accepted six new farmers.
We, the concerned members at the Academic Society of Organic Farming, begancollaborating with this nonprofit organization for disaster relief and recovery efforts
starting in May 2011. The local farmers are the ones most knowledgeable about theland and weather conditions at the time the accidents took place at the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The content of this disaster relief and recovery
program was developed through two months of discussions with local farmers. This
program was combined with one of the nonprofit’s projects intended to revitalize
the community, farmland and forests titled ‘Satoyama (Communal Mountains)
Revitalization Project,’ which started in 2009. This collaborative project was titled‘Measuring, understanding and lowering radiation levels of people, soil, water andfood, and bringing local communities back to life.’ We at Niigata University invitedthe participation of faculty members from the fields of agriculture, water use, civilengineering, forestry, and nutritional sciences. A total of 300 people, including
graduate and undergraduate students, participated in the research. There wereeven students who decided to proactively take part in the promotion and recovery offarming in Fukushima.

9

1 Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony

On February 9, 2013, members of the Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa, along withten researchers, held a public interim report meeting in Towa entitled “Understanding
the pollution on farms and fields, mountains and people’s hearts, the workings ofagriculture, and the promotion of farming ~ measuring radioactivity and protecting
communal mountains” with the 250 farmers’ participation.
We believe that the efforts by the Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa can be applied
as a model case for the revitalization and promotion of farming in Fukushima. In otherwords, we believe recovery efforts will bear fruit when farmers and scholars overcome
the barriers separating them and collaborate together.
To make this a reality, we will collaborate based on the following principles:
1. The farmers are and will be the leaders of the efforts. We are only supporters of the
farmers’ efforts. Things are best accomplished when farmers get actively involved.
2. “Measuring,” first and foremost, is the origin for any recovery and promotion effort.
Revitalization and promotion of farming is the final goal.
3. Local residents must feel a sense of security. Farming methods and crops that aredesired by the locals should be prioritized.
4. Efforts by producers, consumers, distributors and scholars should be integrated.
Opportunities for mutual understanding should be sought. All barriers that exist
between the different actors should be removed and all practical know-how should
be shared.

Radioactivity measuring station in the Michino-eki(Roadside Station) Fukushima Towa

10

1 Lessons from the Niigata Minamata Disease Incident and the Fukushima Nuclear Accident:
For Sustainable Farming and Local Societies Where Nature, People and Communities Exist in Harmony

4. What We Can Do Now
The ongoing problem of environmental pollution in the form of radioactive fallout fromthe nuclear power plant is, in a way, an opportunity for us to rethink how our nation’s
food and farming should be pursued. We say “I-Shoku-Dou-Gen” in Japan. This is
written in kanji characters that mean “medicine and food have the same origin.” Thisin turn means that eating the right foods leads to a healthy body. However, because
the soil was polluted, and the food grown from the soil also became polluted, thisway of thinking falls apart. We, in the field of agricultural sciences, also say “ShokuNou-Dou-Gen,” which is written “farming and eating have the same origin.” By this
we mean that the workings of farming, agricultural landscapes and an agrariancommunity lead to food safety. But this notion was also torn apart. These notions,which were so fundamental to the philosophy of farming, had been destroyed due toa social system that gave economics the highest priority. This destruction of thoughts
was taking place even before the earthquake, for example in problems pertaining to
the use of pesticides and herbicides, and problems related to genetically modified
crops. Food and farming were already facing a crisis in Japan. Consumers andproducers must collaborate to advance the concepts of “I-Shoku-Dou-Gen” and“Shoku-Nou-Dou-Gen,” and to take action for a society that is better than what we
had before the nuclear accident.
Now is the time to take action forsustainable farming and to nurture
local societies where nature,people, and communities exist inharmony.
The Declaration emphasizes ‘self-reliance’
because the stated benefit of the town’smerger was that the economy would not
be viable otherwise. (Note by translator)
Produce and processed products, etc. made in Towa
community are sold at the Michino-eki (Roadside Station)
Fukushima Towa

11

2Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as Seen Through the "Fukushima Miracle"

Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as
Seen Through the "Fukushima Miracle"
Kiichi Nakajima

Professor Emeritus, Ibaraki University

Fukushima’s agriculture hit by the nuclear disaster is in process of revitalization
through “Fukushima Miracle” supported by the power of soil. Although radiationfrom the accident settled on farmers’ fields, only very low levels of radiation havebeen detected in the crops grown in these fields. The revitalization of Fukushima’s
agriculture will be achieved by having those who are engaged in ordinary farming
support one another and continue to forge ahead based on self-sufficient farming andpeaceful community.

About the "Fukushima Miracle"
Ever since April 2011, I have been making first-hand visits to rural areas affectedby the nuclear disaster, and have come away astonished as a result of seeing what
could be called the "Fukushima Miracle." Although radiation from the accident settled
on farmers' fields, and while such radiation is virtually impossible to remove, thereality has been that only very low levels of radiation have been detected in the crops
grown in these fields. There have been some exceptions, but these have been rare,
and mostly can be explained by special circumstances.
The radioactive cesium, which had been deposited in a very thin layer on the surfacesof the fields, became mixed in with large amounts of soil as a result of plowing thefields. Thus, while radiation definitely does remain in the soil, the levels of radioactivity
found at the surface are now dramatically lower; what is almost universally observedis that no more than small amounts of radiation actually migrate into the seeds thatare planted and the crops produced. The soil readily absorbs the radiation and binds
it, making it difficult to be taken up by the crops; the soil even acts as a shield against
the radiation (gamma rays) that is further emitted.
Amid spreading fears concerning the safety of Fukushima's agricultural products,
the prefecture instituted an unprecedented "bag-level" inspection for its entire 201212

2

Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as Seen Through the "Fukushima Miracle"

rice crop. Special detection equipment
was urgently developed, and inspections
were carried out not merely for samples,but directly for each and every bag ofrice produced. The inspections even
included all broken rice and rice that was
consumed directly by farming households.
A total of 10,116,588 bags of rice were
inspected. This was the largest-scale andmost detailed agricultural product safety
inspection the world has ever seen.

Table 1

Inspection of All Bags of Rice Grown
in Fukushima Prefecture 2012
All Bag Inspection Results

Below Measurable
Limit (＜25 Bq/kg)
Numberof Bags

25~50 51~75 76~100
Bq/kg Bq/kg Bq/kg

10,094,223 20,042
99.78%

%

1,381

Total

87 10,115,733

0.2% 0.01% 0.0009%

99.99%

Further Inspection Results
Below
25~50
25 Bq/kg Bq/kg

51~75
Bq/kg

40

295

Numberof Bags%

132

76~100 Over
Bq/kg 100Bq/kg
317

71

Total
855

0.0013% 0.0004% 0.0029% 0.0031% 0.0007% 0.0085%

Radioactive Cesium means the total amount of Cesium 134 andCesium 137
Area of Inspetion: The Entire Fukushima Prefecture
Inspection Period: August 25, 2012 – January 26, 2013
Number of Bags Inspected: 10,116,588 Bags

Radioactive Contamination
The results of this inspection areof Agricultural Productss u m m a r i z e d i n Ta b l e 1 . R i c e b a g s
A Initial Estimation of Contamination Distributionthat exceeded the 100 Bq/kg standard
B Estimation at the time of setting the Provisional
Standard
numbered only 71 (representing 0.0007%
C Estimation based on the All Bag Inspection Resultsof the total; these were destroyed as aAmatter of course). The remaining 99.9993%
B
were found to meet the standard; 99.78%
C
had levels below 25 Bq/kg, equivalent to
Bq/kg
100
500
one-quarter of the reference value. Further
inspections of those items having levels
below 25 Bq/kg also found that most of these had levels of only several Bq/kg.
Figure 1

Number of Inspected Products

Figure 1 is a graph indicating the radiation levels. The figure indicates the current
legal standard of 100 Bq/kg as well as the provisional standard of 500 Bq/kg in force
through March 2012. Line A in the figure shows the values which experts had feared
would be found immediately after the accident; line C is based on the actual results ofthe bag-level inspections that have been carried out.
There is no threshold providing an absolutely "safe zone" in terms of radiation risks;
the risks from radiation must be understood in terms of probabilities. Nevertheless, it
is a bit much to merely state that there is no absolutely safe level; we must add that it
is possible to determine a probabilistically safe level. If we do not acknowledge this,then the foregoing scientific explanation might only serve to provoke unnecessary
fears.

13

2

Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as Seen Through the "Fukushima Miracle"

The measurement results for the 2012 Fukushima rice crop as indicated in Figure
1 demonstrate that the rice produced in Fukushima Prefecture definitely falls withinprobabilistic safe zone.
To repeat, there is definitely radiation in the soil. Nevertheless, almost universally,such radiation migrates into the rice only in extremely minute quantities.
This is markedly different from the experience of Chernobyl. In the case of Chernobyl,
although various measures were taken to reduce the radioactive contamination ofagricultural products, it was only after several years after the accident that the levelsof radiation in crops were observed to decline. It is because of this fact that I statedthat what happened in the case of agriculture in Fukushima has been a "miracle."
What I am calling the "Fukushima Miracle" started to become evident about threemonths after the accident, in fiscal year 2011, and was quite clear in FY 2012.
Fukushima's agricultural products inspection system is in fact quite thorough, withinspection results being reported on an ongoing basis. As a result, we can say
that, apart from a very small number of exceptions, the agricultural products from
Fukushima are probabilistically safe.
A brief comment is in order here concerning the "very small number of exceptions."
These include crops such as mushrooms, which do not require soil for theirproduction. Additionally, levels for some bamboo shoots do occasionally exceed
standards, because fields where bamboo shoots are grown are not plowed. Fruitis very occasionally found to exceed standards. Trees have also been exposed
to radiation as a result of the accident, and orchards can be difficult to plow; thus,
despite thoroughgoing decontamination measures, some slightly high radiation levels
have very occasionally been detected in harvested tree crops. In the case of field
crops for which seeds are sewn and the crops harvested within the first year (andmost agricultural products fall into this category), there can also be a risk of exposure
to radioactive contamination flowing in from the surrounding environment, and there
have been cases in which this has occurred; nevertheless, the volumes of such
crops are extremely small, and it has been found that the soil quickly binds up suchradiation.

14

2Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as Seen Through the "Fukushima Miracle"

About "Food Safety Policies"
The main ways of preventing food-related radiation risks fall under the two areas of"controls on food (crops)" and "controls on dietary intake."
The information described above is relevant to the realm of "controls on food (crops),"with the setting of standards under food hygiene laws being a key point in this regard.
Nevertheless, "controlling dietary intake" is also important. After the Fukushima
nuclear accident, we have also witnessed improvements in this regard, in terms of
consumers' food choices and improvements in eating habits.
Because of the probabilistic safety of Fukushima's agricultural products, there is no
reason for anyone to avoid products "made in Fukushima." Instead, the key is tomaintain a habit of eating foods that are wide in terms of variety. Because it is also
becoming known that radioactivity can also be reduced to a certain extent throughcooking, this reinforces the importance of cooking in the home.
These steps are nothing out of the ordinary, however. We can be protected throughmaintaining a normal and balanced dietary regimen.
Table 2 shows the results of a household dietary survey conducted by the Japan
Consumer Cooperative Union. It indicates that even in Fukushima Prefecture,radiation intake through foodstuffs has been negligible.
However, there is actually another, additional policy area that is important in termsof avoiding risks from food-borne radiation. This relates to the management of ourbodies and our health, in order to rid our bodies quickly of ingested radiation.
It is fortunate in this regard that the radioactive contamination from the nuclear
accident has mainly been limited to three isotopes: iodine-131, cesium-134, andcesium-137. Because the half-life of iodine-131 is eight days, most such radiation
was gone within one month after the accident. It is therefore thought that the radiationthat could be problematic is that associated with cesium, which we know to be a typeof radiation that does not accumulate readily in the body, and which can be easily
eliminated even when ingested. Its residence time in the body is some 100 daysin the case of adults, and around one week in the case of infants. Measurements

15

2Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as Seen Through the "Fukushima Miracle"

have also shown that if we compare the amount and speed of the radiation that wasabsorbed following the Fukushima nuclear accident with the amount and speed of theradiation that our bodies eliminate, the latter is actually greater.
As a result, with the passage of time, the radiation that we detect in our bodies (using
whole-body counters and other means) continually decreases.

Revitalizing Affected Areas through Everyday Farming with
Community Support
As a result of the "Fukushima Miracle" brought about through the power of the soil,
farming continues in areas that had been directly hit by the nuclear disaster. Now,
after efforts aimed at sustaining farming in the region have spanned two years, weare faced with the question of how to best revitalize the region's agriculture, and what
path forward will lead us to the most promising future. In this connection, a variety of
support measures have been discussed, and support projects are beginning to move
forward.
While these developments are to be welcomed as a general rule, I have thesense that such initiatives misunderstand or overlook some essential points. The
revitalization of Fukushima's agriculture will not be achieved as a result of special
support policies or through conducting special projects. Instead, after working withthose in the affected region over the past two years, the conclusion I have arrived atis that the revitalization of the affected areas will only come about through continued,
mutual encouragement among those pursuing ordinary, everyday farming in theregion.
No "special trick" will be needed to bring back Fukushima's agriculture. All that canbe done is to have those who are engaged in ordinary farming support one other andcontinue to forge ahead. I believe that there is no other option. But I believe we cancertainly do what needs to be done.
The mountain village of Abukuma has been one of the main areas affected by thisnuclear disaster. It is an area with an ageing population, but one where the older
generation continues to play a central role in the community's traditional, selfsufficient style of farming. After the nuclear accident, the area's farmers were ofcourse deeply shaken, wondering whether they should remain where they were and162Life-Sustaining Food and Agriculture as Seen Through the "Fukushima Miracle"

whether they should continue farming. Still, most of the farmers located outside of thedesignated evacuation zone did in fact continue on with their farming, in the face of
the unknown. By continuing to farm in their traditional manner ever after the nuclear
accident, they have succeeded in preserving their health and a positive existence.
Central to the decision to carry on, and taking action on a daily basis, have been anumber of older farmers who have been sustaining their self-sufficient farming. They
have thus been able to maintain their way of life, with its self-reliant ethos rather thanthe pursuit of profit, and their peaceful community thereby lives on.
If the farming villages in the affected area had been more economically focused--that
is, if they had been areas with a greater so-called modernization of their agriculture-this outcome may not have been possible. If the affected region had been a large citysuch as Tokyo, this sort of outcome would most likely have been unthinkable.
Our challenge now will be to take to heart the lesson that is offered to us by theelderly farmers in the mountain village of Abukuma, and the way that they are living
their lives. Many elderly people had been living in this place--and it is this very factwhich is now allowing this region, and its way of farming, to be sustained. As we
ponder the future of agriculture in Fukushima, I think we should firmly grasp this truth.
And so I would like to say it once again: success on the road ahead will not be thanks
to any "special trick."
Table 2

Dietary Intake of Radiation Japan Consumer Cooperative Union October 17, 2012
The Number of Participating Household by Prefecture and Results
First half of 2012

Prefecture

Number ofHouseholds

2011

Number
Detected

Bq/kg

Number ofHouseholds

Not Detected~3.2

Number
Detected

Bq/kg

250

11

Not Detected~11.7

Total

334

3

Iwate

20

0

none

10

0

none

Miyagi54

1

Not Detected~1.1

111

Not Detected~1.0

Fukushima

100

2

Not Detected~3.2

100

10

Not Detected~11.7

Ibaraki

15

0

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Tochigi

120

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Gunma

15

0

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Saitama

120

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Chiba

15

0

Not Detected

11

0

Not Detected

Tokyo

11

0

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Kanagawa

100

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Niigata20

0

Not Detected

90

Not Detected

Yamanashi

100

Not Detected

90

Not Detected

Nagano100

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Gifu

2

0

Not Detected

20

Not Detected

Shizuoka

100

Not Detected

100

Not Detected

Aichi

5

0

Not Detected

50

Not Detected

Mie

3

0

Not Detected

30

Not DetectedFukuoka

100

Not Detected

100

Not Detected*Detection limit is 1 Bq/kg for Cesium 134 and Cesium 137, respectively.
*Detected value is a total amount of Cesium 134 and Cesium 137 combined17

3

Benefits of Ongoing Agricultural Product Testing

Benefits of Ongoing Agricultural
Product Testing
Makoto Ebisawa

Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa Furusato Planning Council

We launched a crop radiation testing program at a time when consumers faced
uncertainty about whether Fukushima's local agricultural products were safe to eat,
and when criteria for determining safety were not even known. Through ongoing
monitoring, however, consumer fears in the face of the invisible have been waning;
having visible data has offered a certain sense of security. This monitoring programis expected to bring about a variety of ripple effects that will positively influence bothproducers and consumers, and it is being viewed as a model case for Fukushima's
revitalization.
The "Michinoeki (Roadside Station) Fukushima-Towa," which is a communitybased market and highway rest stop, operates in the Towa area (former Towacho) of Fukushima Prefecture's Nihonmatsu City. Earlier, when this locality was to
be incorporated into Nihonmatsu City, some of the local residents banded together
to form the "Organic Village (Yuki no Sato) Towa Furusato Planning Council," withthe aim of preserving the special character of Towa, and to help bring a halt tothe depopulation trend that was occurring in this semi-mountainous region. With
the permission of the Association, where I work as a staff member, I would liketo introduce the activities we have been carrying out since the Great East Japan
Earthquake.

Satoyama Revitalization Project and Disaster Recovery
Program
Fukushima Prefecture is a place that epitomizes Japan's special furusato ("oldhometown") communities and its natural beauty. It is a place that is so much morethan what has now made "FUKUSHIMA" a household word. People are continuing tolive their lives there, even after the events of March 11, 2011. Those who have had tomove away did not do so out of their own choice. Many of the prefecture's residents
continue to grow the rice and vegetables that they wish not only to sell to others, but18

3

Benefits of Ongoing Agricultural Product Testingalso to eat in their own homes.
Someone evidently made a frightening remark to the effect that if the farmers of
Fukushima were to disappear, Japan's overall agricultural production might drop
slightly, but it would not have much of an impact. But the area's children continue toeat the food that is produced locally on a daily basis; they do so in order to be able
to survive. Safety is not only something that is a concern to agriculture as a businesssector.
In Towa, like elsewhere, the earthquake-triggered disaster at TEPCO's Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant stole from grandfathers and grandmothers that simple
pleasure of being able to watch their grandkids enjoy eating the food that they had
grown with their own hands, the food that represented such meaning in their lives.
People suddenly faced a situation in which they did not know if it was safe to eat
their food this year, even though the seeds had been sewn and the seedlings planted
the same as in every other year in the past. They had no place to turn, and nothingthat could tell them what to decide. It was in the midst of such circumstances that
we began our "Satoyama Revitalization Project and Disaster Recovery Program." Its
goals were to allow each of us to know the reality of our own situation, and to help us
to ensure that we were not eating anything that could cause us harm.
Our activities began in May, right after the earthquake, in our region which lies only
about 45 kilometers from the nuclear power station. With the help of companies
and university
professors we had
previously worked
with for promoting
organic farming, wewere able to obtain
the information,measuring instruments
and know-how that
we needed. We also
benefitted greatly fromthe insights of theolder members of ourcommunity who have
hard-won expertiseMichino-eki (Roadside Station) Fukushima Towa19

3

Benefits of Ongoing Agricultural Product Testing

gained over long years working the soil. At first, our monitoring activities were focusedon avoiding risks and gathering data; but as the data from our measurements began
to accumulate, we discovered that radiation could be detected more easily fromvegetables grown in certain fields and less easily in others. We found many cases inwhich we could not detect cesium in post-harvest vegetables even when it had been
detected in the soil, as well as cases that were just the opposite, in which cesium wasfound in the crops despite low levels in the soil.
Now, nearly two years later, over 90% of our area's key crops are considered"radiation free" (with radiation detected at levels lower than 10 Bq/kg). Most fields
also show lower levels than had been detected in the first year. We have tested morethan 3,500 samples so far; our members must have their products tested in order tobe able to offer them for sale, and this achievement is a testament to the efforts ofour members. And while our testing activities must be continued into the future, we
wonder why we need to undertake such efforts ourselves in the midst of all of the
difficulties we face.

Demonstration of a Model Case
There may be hidden powers to Japan's soil, and the soil of Fukushima. I look forward
to great things that could be discovered through cooperative research with academic
experts; we may discover things that that could save Japan or save the world. If so,"Fukushima" might once again be known for its original meaning, island of bounty.
Circumstances differ across the various regions within Fukushima Prefecture. Not
only do radiation levels differ, but there are also wide variations in terms of people's
awareness. Revitalization activities naturally should match the different circumstancesin the cities, suburban plains, hilly and mountainous areas, or areas along the coast.
The whole area cannot be characterized in broad-brush terms; in the various localities
there may be low, medium or high levels of radioactivity; plumes of radioactive
contamination fell more densely in certain places. More than half of Fukushima
Prefecture's land area is considered as having medium or low levels of radiation,
but it remains unclear which are the areas now suitable for farming. The specificmeasures that are being undertaken are limited to making use of materials to inhibit
the absorption of radiation by crops, although in some cases these measures are
not sufficiently tailored to the circumstances found on each specific plot of land. The
prevailing view is that most agricultural plots can be dealt with through plowing well or20

3

Benefits of Ongoing Agricultural Product Testing

through spreading compost, but we can find spots where soil balance or the flavor ofcrops has degraded as a result of the over-application of potassium or zeolite. I think
we may find that Japan's traditional style of farming can be resilient to the effects ofradiation. This is the impression I have gotten from having seen a large volume ofdata from our measurements, but I hope that in the near future we can develop anddemonstrate a model case of successful measures. My wish is that this could also
provide an example that offers hope to other regions.

Data Offer a Sense of Security
Our activities also help to raiseawareness. By conducting
ongoing testing, we have beenable to reduce consumers'
fears of the unseen; visible data
can help to provide a sense of
security. Apparently one of ourmembers was asked at homeby her grandson, "Grandma,
has this potato been tested
down at the Roadside Station?"
While this was unusual, it does
Members of the Yuki no Sato Towa
reveal how deep-rooted thenotion of "protecting through testing" has become, as well as demonstrating its value
in terms of building awareness. Since one in ten of all households in our area aremembers of our association, we believe that our efforts are having significant ripple
effects throughout the community. Even those people who do not have their crops
tested are gaining an awareness of the radiation levels in the crops grown in theircommunity, which is important.
It is said that obtaining accurate test results can be difficult, but the system that wasestablished in the years following Chernobyl, through which schools and community
centers carry out testing, has been working well, using a combined approach of
conducting both simple tests and more precise measurements. This system also
makes use of the strengths of the private sector. Japan should also work to put inplace a progressive system such as this in the near future. There is a need for bothtesting aimed at reducing risks to consumers, and for undertaking efforts to work21

3

Benefits of Ongoing Agricultural Product Testingwith producers so as to reduce the migration of radioactive materials into crops. We
should seek to develop an optimal mix that combines both public and private sector
efforts, ensuring the needed support through the national budget.

The Results of a "Three Birds with One Stone" Experiment
There is also hope for the revitalization of our mountains. Cesium continues tolurk under bark and within the leaf mold under the fallen leaves. We conducted anexperiment to neutralize this contamination with a method that uses the power ofnature in a way that, in effect, kills three birds with one stone. Wood chips madefrom hillside trees were placed in net bags that were laid out on the forest floor; aftera few months, the bags were collected to provide power for the region in speciallyconstructed thermal power plants that collect rather than disperse the ash. While
there is a need to process the reduced ash that remains after burning, this approach
results both in the restoration of hillside woody vegetation and in the reduction incesium levels found in the leaf mold. The natural workings of mycelium help totransport the cesium into the wood chips. This greatly reduces contamination within
Fukushima's mushroom industry, which accounts for 70% of national production,and of the leaf mold used for composting. Governmental support for this kind of
approach could result in low-cost employment opportunities for farmers in the semimountainous regions, making good use of the insights of those who know themountains best. As a result, there will be reduced concerns related to the water thatflows into paddy fields; also, homes that are surrounded by trees can be protectedfrom reverting back to high radiation levels after they are decontaminated. I hope that
this approach will gain recognition and will be applied on a broad scale throughout theregion.

22

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hope

Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistencewith Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still sowing the Seeds of Hope
Seiji Sugeno

President, Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network

Even before the accident at the nuclear power plant, there were people in Fukushima
who were practicing organic farming in order to build sustainable communities
that can coexist in harmony with nature--and where anyone, from children to theelderly, can live in peace. We must not forget those who are working hard for theircommunities, and for the safety of our food in spite of the effects of radiation. Only
a diverse community can envision a hopeful future. For Fukushima to recover, eachone of us must reevaluate our ways of thinking.

Tombo (dragonflies) in Tambo (rice paddies)
I manage a diversified farm in the Towa district of Nihonmatsu City. I have 2.5
hectares (about 6.2 acres) of terraced rice paddies (the Japanese word for rice paddy
is “tambo”) in a mountainous area. On our farm, we also grow vegetables, 2 hectares(about 4.9 acres) of grains, about 0.3 acres of sheltered tomatoes, and also makeprocessed foods like rice cakes and steamed rice. Our farm is located some 50 km(about 30 miles) northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
I was reducing my use of pesticides and herbicides and gradually transitioning toorganic farming. It was my 15th year into the transition. I was managing my deepwater tambo that are 20 cm. deep, which helps to prevent weeds from growing andhelps to keep the water warm in this mountainous area that is lacking in sun. One
early morning at the end of June, I saw such a moving scene that I wrote a poem:

23

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hope

“Tombo (dragonfly) and Tambo (rice paddy)”
It was a lukewarm morning in early summer, at the end of June,
I was walking along the footpath to draw water into my terraced rice paddies
Then I see
New born dragonflies flying out from the rice leaves.
Not just one or two, but twenty … fifty …
Even more came flying out.
They flap their soft wings tirelessly but gently,
Basking in the morning sun, gleaming with silvery glow
I stood there with a shock and admiration,“How beautiful!?”
Between the rice leaves, a spider was spreading its web.
There were giant water bugs
There was a praying mantis
Frogs were hopping around.

©Fukushima
Organic Agriculture
Network

The tambo is a world of many lives.
The dragonflies flew up to the communal mountains.
There they spend hot summer days.
And there, they fly freely.
By the time when ears of rice turn golden yellow,
The dragonflies come back to their homes in couples.
And they lay their eggs in the fields of rice.
The dragonflies are called “tombo,” because they come and go from tambo.
Until then, all I had been thinking about was how to make good tasting rice in greater
quantities. However, after seeing this landscape, I realized that growing rice is also
about nurturing a diversity of life. The watered tambo also functions as a dam against
floods. The water for tambos flows down from our satoyama communal forests. These24

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hopeare trees planted by our ancestors; planted for us, and our succeeding generations.
The beautiful terraced rice paddies, the blessings from our communal mountains andforests are all with us today because our ancestors continued farming on this land.

Furusato-Planning: Fostering a Community That Makes theMost of Our People and Satoyama
In 2005, we started a non-profit organization called the “Organic Village (Yuki noSato) Towa Furusato-Planning Council.” Our goal is to promote development that isled by the members of the community, utilizing the rich blessings of our satoyama, ourcommunal mountains and forests. However, by “development” we do not necessarilymean economic development. Our goal is to revitalize our community while valuing
our culture, tradition and harmonious style of living with nature. With the investmentsof organic farmers, ranchers and local businesses, we started a community
composting center to support organic farming. The center makes compost from 14
different categories of locally supplied materials, including cow manure, rice hulls,
sawdust, hay, and local food residues such as dried bonito fish, as well as soybean
residues that are left over from making tofu, soba (buckwheat) hulls, and candy.
Rice, vegetables and fruits grown using this compost are used in making local school
lunches and sold to consumers in cities through consumer cooperatives. Throughthese channels, we have fostered communication between the consumers and our
farming community.
We also began growing mulberry trees, egoma (perilla), and figs on abandoned plotsof farmland, and developed methods to process these into specialized local products.
After being commissioned to operate the "Fukushima Michinoeki (Roadside Station)
Towa " we opened a restaurant, an ice cream store, and a food processing facility.
Together, we created jobs for 24 people. Organic farmers took a lead role in accepting
and training new farmers, arranging farmland for them to work, and also lending out
farming equipment, and offering technical advice. Through their efforts, over the past
decade some 30 people have settled in what used to be vacant lots in the area. We
want to pass on to our children our unique furusato ("hometown") landscape where
red dragonflies dance in the sky. This is Furusato Planning based on the circularutilization of the resources from our local mountains.
To connect with organic farmers and their communities, in 2009 we founded the“Fukushima Organic Farmers’ Network.” And just as things were beginning to get on
track, the nuclear accident happened.

25

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hope

Organic Farming Brings Hope for Recovery
Radioactive particles released by the March 11, 2011, nuclear accident contaminatedFukushima’s mountains, forests, houses, roads, parks--just about anything--and mostimportantly for us, farmland. Nevertheless, we continued to plow, and to sow theseeds, and kept producing fruits, vegetables and rice.
Farmers, residents and scholars at the Academic Society of Organic Farming (e.g.
from Niigata University, Ibaraki University, and Tokyo University of Agriculture andTechnology) conducted collaborative research and found that soils that are rich in clay
and organic matter bind the radioactive cesium in the soil and lower the movementof radiation into crops. This has meant that the revitalization of Fukushima could beaccomplished through the practice of organic farming.
In the monitoring of brown rice in Fukushima conducted in the fall of 2011, 98.4% of
all of the sacks of rice were found to have levels of 50 Bq/kg or lower. In 2012, after
conducting a complete examination of all of the sacks of rice produced (through which
over 10 million sacks of rice were examined), 99.8% were found to be below 25 Bq/
kg, or even lower. This is an astonishing result. Even in vegetables, radioactivity was
not detected in over 95% of the crops (meaning that vegetables are at most 10 Bq/kg;
the detection limit of the equipment). Professor Kiichi Nakajima of Ibaraki University
has movingly described this as “the ‘Fukushima Miracle,’ which came true thanks
to the soils’ strength and farmers’ plowing efforts” (see Modern Agriculture GendaiNougyou, December 2012).
However, wild vegetables that grow in the mountains, and berries and fruits that growon trees, tend to show slightly higher measurements. Mushrooms also tend to haveover 100 Bq/kg. It is the mountains and the forests that are heavily contaminated.
Seventy percent of Fukushima Prefecture is either mountainous terrain or forests.
We must now take measures against pollution of the water that flows from thesemountains and forests and into our residential and farming areas.

Participatory Field Investigations, Scientific Verification andthe Recovery Process
Field investigations of the actual conditions must be promptly conducted incooperation with local farmers who know best the geology, soil characteristics and26

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hopethe local climate and weather conditions. They are also the people who will need tolive with the radiation for decades to come. However, residences, rice paddies, fields,
mountains, forests, and irrigation channels all remain to be tested. It has alreadybeen two years, but this is the reality. From the Futaba area, where the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is located, to our place in Nihonmatsu in the
Abukuma Mountains, there are gently sloping mountains, which make for a complex
landscape. Effects of radioactive fallout are also complex. We should not simply
draw an arbitrary line at a radius of 20 or 30 km from the nuclear plant. But the fact
is that this kind of ad hoc line is being used to determine who is to be compensatedand who is not, and this is tearing apart communities. Last fall, when I visited thepeople at Niigata Minamata Disease Agano Patients’ Association, I heard that thebiggest problem they faced was that even after half a century, there still have notbeen adequate investigations into the health of local residents. They say that experts
and scientists did not stand together with the residents, and have not provided proper
medical certification of their health status. We need to learn the lessons from the
Minamata disease incidents, in which inequitable compensation for those with healthimpacts led to discrimination and broken communities.
Last November, the Special Rapporteur with the UN Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights visited Fukushima for 10 days, and issued a special report whichcalled upon the Japanese government with the following words:“The right to health framework requires the State to ensure the participation of
all communities in decisions that affect them…I urge the Government to ensurethat the affected people, particularly the vulnerable groups, are fully involved in alldecision-making processes. This should include their participation, among others,in the formulation of health management surveys, designing of evacuation shelters
and implementation of decontamination.”
The Japanese government should implement these recommendations as soon
as possible, and conduct participatory investigations into radioactive pollution andrelated health effects on residents.
However, on the ground, housing decontamination work is being carried out by large
construction companies. In Minami-Souma, decontamination of farmland (i.e. deep
plowing, spraying of zeolite, and spraying of potassium fertilizer) is also contracted
out to big construction companies. Under the name of recovery efforts, farms arebeing transitioned to large-scale fields or large farming facilities, mega solar power
plants, and plant factories. Corporate-led ‘recovery’ is taking place. When farms are27

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hopeconverted over to large-scale operations, children and the elderly are ousted fromthe fields, and it has been shown that such farming relies on chemical fertilizers,
herbicides and pesticides.
When environmental activist Dr. Vandana Shiva (Founder of Navdanya) came to
Japan for a talk, she gave us the following message:“Monoculture leads to a society of dominance, while diversity makes for a symbiotic
society.”Large-scale monoculture destroys the soil, and ousts people from their land. By
making diverse crops with ‘living soil’ rich with the diverse microorganisms thatthrive through the natural processes of decay, the variety of life becomes morediverse. In a village where people farm in such a way, communities spread wider
where everyone from children to the elderly can live happily. It was a very powerful
message. In a prefecture where the average age of farmers is over 65, women’s roles
are diverse. They support farm stands, the "Fukushima Towa Michinoeki (Roadside
Station)," community farming operations, and organic farming. New farmers anda diversification of approaches by small-scale farmers have also supported ourcommunities and protected our satoyama communal mountains. We must reflect
these voices in the recovery efforts.

Food and Energy Self-Sufficiency as Key
In contrast to the scenic tambo that I shared with you earlier, the kind of scene I
see today is this. An elderly farmer sighing with relief to see that his vegetables aresafe to eat after radiation testing and saying, “Our grandchildren can eat this!?” It is
important that we inspect our produce and our land in order to make visible what wecannot see, feel, or smell--radioactivity. And sharing accurate information is the only
way we can foster trust with our consumers. What we offer to our consumers should
be no different than what we eat ourselves. Therefore, we cannot, and should not, beoffering crops that we cannot let our own grandchildren eat. This also includes crops
sprayed with herbicides and pesticides. These are chemicals that we would not wantin our kitchens.
Right after the Great East Japan Earthquake, in the spring of 2011, we had no testing
equipment, but we preserved some bracken in salt. Last year when we tested its
radioactivity after desalinating and washing the bracken, it showed 0 Bq/kg. Spring
bamboo shoots that grew in our yard originally had 60 Bq/kg, but after washing and28

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hopecooking with rice bran, this dropped to 20 Bq/kg. I want consumers to think with us
and work together to find safe ways to process the crops. This shouldn’t be somethingthat only farmers are compelled to do.
In the spring, we gather shoots and wild plants in our communal mountains andforests. By summer our vegetables will be ready to eat. In autumn, the trees bear fruit
and mushrooms grow in the wild. During the winter, we eat dried radishes, pickled
vegetables and fermented soybeans. Japan’s relative longevity results not only fromour medical system but also thanks to traditions like these of eating what is available
at a given time and place. However, a reliance on imported foods and chemical
additives has lowered the strength of our immune systems and the resilience of bothhumans and farm animals. In this sense, the nuclear accident taught us anotherlesson; that we should be eating what is available locally at the right time. We
have found out that for the Japanese, eating traditional foods--such as Japaneseroot crops, seaweed, miso, pickles and other fermented products--strengthens ourdigestive organs and helps us to eliminate toxic substances from our bodies.
Energy self-sufficiency should be addressed along with food self-sufficiency. In Aizu,
an area of heavy snowfall, hydro-electric power should be considered. In Hamadoori,
where the sun shines even during the winter, solar power will be appropriate. And in
the secluded mountains of Nakadoori, livestock raising is popular, so biomass power
fits well; it can also make use of materials from the communal mountains and forests.
Hence, these kinds of distributed, as opposed to centralized, power generation
approaches, which match the circumstances in each community, should beconsidered. My tractor now runs on vegetable oil. The nuclear accident is suggesting
to us: “if you don’t transition now, then when?”

Restoring Fukushima to a Place Where Children Can Play
FreelyLast spring, a group of concerned people came to help us with rice planting, andcheers were echoing in the mountains.
“Look! It’s a frog!”“The mud is so slimy!!”They were trying their best to help out with the rice planting, which that they are
not used to doing. In the fall, people from Namie who had to evacuate from theirhometowns came over and we harvested rice together. Feeling the soils’ warmth, and29

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hope

the winds, people were smiling. Farmers don’t only make rice and vegetables. We
make the golden yellow autumn landscape, and we also foster open hearts and open
minds.
It has been about 300-500 years since the culture of growing rice was passed onfrom the people of China to Japan. This culture became the basis of songs, music
and dance. Compared to the long history of growing rice, nuclear power plants had
only been around for 50 years. We cannot let such a thing terminate our precious
rice–based culture. Our ancestors looked 30 to 50 years beyond their own time andplanted trees, and sowed seeds. In the same way, we must also sow the seeds ofhope for future generations. This is our responsibility, as the generation that formed
the current atomic age.
It’s not an overstatement to say that sustainable farming, forestry and fishing are
the workings of our ancestors that built a sustainable society. We need to take foodprocessing operations back to our communities. In addition, by promoting renewableenergy production, we will create jobs. These types of job creation are needed. Waste
dumps, military bases, Minamata disease, and now the nuclear power station…
these were all imposed from the central cities onto other regions. The root of various
modern day problems lies in the structural relationship between cities and villages,
where an unbalanced structure of overcrowding and depopulation takes shape.
Is sustainability achievable in Tokyo? Energy self-sufficiency there is only one
percent. Farmers from Tohoku were recruited to go to war from their towns during
and before the war, and afterwards, they were used as day laborers to construct
highways, Shinkansen (Bullet Train) railroads and buildings. Food is produced to be
consumed in Tokyo. Even electricity comes from Tohoku. The problems of nuclear
power plants should not be trivialized into problems of individual choice against
radiation; whether or not to eat and/or evacuate.
Now is the time to rethink the relationship between central cities and farming villages.
Scholars, businesses and people's groups should all join hands to plan sustainablecommunities based on organic farming. That is what we are calling for. We say, “Whenthe paddies and fields are ruined, our hearts will also be ruined.” We must engrave
this thought in our minds and pursue a humane recovery plan, one that values
lives and community building. We need to keep walking this path until we restore
Fukushima into being a place where the joyous voices of children echo throughout
the mountains and plains.

30

4 Creating an Age of Sustainable Coexistence with Nature through People Power and Farming Power:
We will still Sowing the Seeds of Hopei) UN Special Rapporteur’s Press Statement
UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard ofphysical and mental health, Mr. Anand Grover
United Nations Information Centre Website
URL: http://www.unic.or.jp/unic/press_release/2869/

Experimental paddy field in collaboration with Niigata
University

Drying rice plants on racks by members of civil society
groups and villagers in Namie

31

5

What Minamata is Calling into Question: A message from Niigata

What Minamata is Calling into Question:
A Message from Niigata
Hideo Takano

Secretary General, Niigata Minamata Disease Unified Front Council

As time passes, damages in Fukushima seem to be deepening and becoming more
complex. We are able to learn from the experience of the Minamata disease incident
in many ways, including investigation and record of damages, victim certification
system, and cooperation among victims. Action with scientific knowledge, compassion
based on human rights principles and a little bit of courage can overcome many
challenges.

Learning from the Exchange with Organic Village Towa
In October 2012, my colleagues and I visited “Yuki no Sato, Towa (Organic VillageTowa)” and the people from the Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network. We foundmany similarities between what happened to Minamata disease victims and what is
now happening with the people of Fukushima after the nuclear accident, in terms of
how the damages occurred, how they affected a large population, and how the victims
had been, and are being, neglected. We therefore wanted to share our experiencesin dealing with Minamata disease so as to prevent similar tragedies from occurring inFukushima.
The directors at “Towa,” on the one hand, seemed to be at a loss. They were unable
to predict what would happen, and they were unsure how long they could endure
under the situation they faced. However, on the other hand, they were constructively
thinking of ways to overcome the radioactive pollution, and how to revitalize
themselves as farmers. Having seen that attitude, we were the ones that became
empowered. Through working with the people of Fukushima, I have learned a greatdeal, and have able to bring home to Niigata many things that our activism related to
Minamata disease had previously overlooked. Below are a few messages in returnfrom Niigata.

32

5What Minamata is Calling into Question: A message from Niigata

Investigate the Facts and Record the Damages
It has already been about half a century since the Minamata disease incidents took
place. During this time, it has been said on as many as four different occasions thatthe incidents were “over”, but they are not. The case cannot be closed. The biggest
reason for this is because there has not been any comprehensive health investigationof the people in the affected area.
In terms of the Fukushima nuclear accident, no one knows when the effects will start
to show in humans. Residents voluntarily measuring radiation levels around them andrecording those numbers are both meaningful acts. However, as the ones responsible
for the damages and as the ones entrusted to protect people’s lives and health,
the government, both national and regional, must systematically and continuously
investigate and disclose information on radioactivity levels in residences, yards,
schools, roads and workplaces as well as the effects of such exposure.

Constructing a Participatory Compensation and Relief System
In pollution cases, it is extremely important to establish a proper system to define who
the victims are and who the responsible parties are.
In the Minamata disease cases, whether one is a Minamata disease patient or not(that is, whether one can be compensated or not) is determined by an administrativecertification system defined under the “Law Concerning Pollution-Related Health
Damage Compensation and other Measures.” But there are problems with thecertification standard, the selection of committee members, and the application
procedures. In brief, the system works in the following way: first, a victim must filean application for certification at city hall. Second, he or she must be examined at
a government-designated medical institution (such as Niigata University Hospitalin the case of Niigata). Based on the examination results, a certification committee
comprised of about ten medical scientists will judge whether the victim is indeed a
Minamata disease patient or not according to the national “certification standard.”
This is how the system is designed. The greatest problem here is that the certification
standard is so strict that it cannot possibly be applied in a manner that can help awide range of victims. For that reason, lawsuits by rejected victims are endless. In
October, 2004, the Japanese Supreme Court ruled against the Japanese government
for having exacerbating the situation and compounding the damages. At that time,33

5What Minamata is Calling into Question: A message from Niigata

the court cited a certification standard different from the one used by the government,
and certified some formerly rejected victims as being Minamata disease sufferers.
However, the Japanese government has not reconsidered their standard yet, andthe National Diet of Japan has also not pressed this issue. In May, 2010, the Law
Concerning Special Measures for Compensation of Minamata Disease came into
force, and a total of over sixty-five thousand people from Kumamoto and Niigata
applied for certification. But the Law still drew a rigid line according to the year andplace of birth and residence of the applicants. The fight for Minamata disease victims
is not over.
Fair and equitable disclosure and participatory decision-making processes thatinvolve affected parties must be assured. Strict deadlines should not be set for
applications. And it is also vital that a social environment is fostered through which
victims do not have to fear discrimination when they apply.

Fostering Cooperation and Solidarity among Victims
There are several patients’ organizations in Niigata. Most are distinguished by when
they began their fight; generally whether they became involved through the primary or
secondary lawsuits. But there are also differences in terms of their aims, policies andgoals. The problem is that some victims and activists are not able to tolerate suchdifferences, and at certain times, they have emphasized the differences to an extent
that they fall into conflict.
In the Minamata cases, such conflict surfaced in 1995 when a ‘political settlement’
was agreed upon; and once again in 2011, when a ‘political conclusion’ was drawn.
Even if you have different principles, it is necessary to reconfirm with one another
who your common opponent is, and where everyone will agree, together, to draw
the line regarding what they can accept. The assailants are the ones who will benefit
from victims fighting among each other. We have learned from the Minamata casesthat it is important to foster solidarity among victims, and the same can probably besaid with respect to the compensation of the Fukushima victims and anti-nuclear
movements.

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5What Minamata is Calling into Question: A message from Niigata

What is Needed is “Scientific Knowledge, a Sense of Human
Rights, and a Little Bit of Courage”
When pollution cases happen, and damages begin to surface, victims, their family
members and the region itself face discrimination from outside. Because goods
produced in the region tend to be avoided by customers elsewhere, movements occur
to try to hide or dwarf the actual damages. When that begins to happen, strong ties
that were present in the local society begin to fall apart. Oppression begins to surface
against the victims. The problem is how to overcome this syndrome. One of the key
factors is to obtain correct information based on scientific knowledge.
When we are inundated with information, we must judge for ourselves what is rightor wrong. One thing we must keep in mind is what the “specialists” have said about
the issue. Yukio Takezawa and the late Itsuzo Shigematsu, who debated the healtheffects of radiation, are also the ones who have suppressed relief for Minamata
disease patients, and obstructed efforts to reveal the true extent of damages.
Currently, the health effects of low-level radiation are in dispute. Opinions are divided
among specialists. We need to grasp and understand accurate information, and toshare what we learn with each other.
At the same time, we also need a sense of human rights. Concerning the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear accident, what is important is whether we can put ourselves in theshoes of the victims, and recognize that the damage to affected areas are a challengethat we must face as a country; they are not a problem that the victims should solve
for themselves. Without that sense of human rights and solidarity, the ongoing antinuclear movements will not bear any fruit. But when humanitarian sympathy is
combined with scientific knowledge, actions taken with just the slightest bit of courage
will begin to solve many of the challenges that we face.

Rights for Victims, and a Nation-wide Anti-Nuclear Movement
as Two Wheels of One Cart
For Niigata, the Fukushima nuclear accident is not some fire on a distant shore.
Niigata hosts the world’s largest nuclear plant, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power
Station. In addition, the Agano River, where the Niigata Minamata disease outbreak

35

5What Minamata is Calling into Question: A message from Niigata

occurred, used to be an important trade route for both Niigata and Fukushima, andthe two regions offered economic and cultural support for one another.
Until the mid-Meiji Era, Aga town in Niigata Prefecture was a part of Fukushima
Prefecture. In the Agano River Water Purification Station, sludge with high amounts ofradioactive cesium is being stored, and cesium can also be found near the mouth of
the river.
Anti-nuclear movements are taking place throughout the nation, and there are also
such movements are also taking place in Niigata. Yet, as time passes, the damages
in Fukushima seem to be deepening and becoming more complex. From myperspective, as an activist who experienced the battle for Minamata disease victims,
I can say that the anti-nuclear movements must also be linked to the movements tocompensate the victims, the efforts to rebuild people’s lives, and actions to eradicate
discrimination and prejudice. Unless such efforts can be combined, like the twowheels of a single cart, they will not bear fruit alone.
So as not to repeat the failures that were experienced in the case of Minamata
disease, I hope to continue drawing close to the victims in Fukushima and to maintainour exchanges with the affected people of Fukushima.

Informal gathering with people in Fukushima Towa, October 27, 2012

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From Minamata to Fukushima

From Minamata to Fukushima
Kunio EndoManaging Director

SOSHISHA

the Supporting Center for Minamata Disease

Can we not apply the lessons-learned from failures and experiences of the Minamata
disease incident over the last 50-plus years to the case of Fukushima? By examining
the TEPCO’s and the government’s attitude as well as that of citizens and victims, weare able to see similarities between the failures in the Minamata disease incident andwhat is happening in Fukushima. The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident arechallenging us all to seriously reconsider how we collectively envision the future ofJapanese society.
“You can see that there are all kinds of people in Iwaki right now; some have lost all
their belongings and even loved ones in the disaster; some people talk big, saying
they’re now well-off thanks to substantial compensation money from the nuclear
accident, even though they’re not from Iwaki; then there are others who have losteven the slightest interest in the aftermath of the earthquake." (A Resident of Iwaki
City)“Victims are partying in bars and pinball parlors” (A Resident of Iwaki City)You
can also find graffiti that says “Victims go home!” These are things that remind me ofwhat happened in Minamata.
In 1971, when Oishi Buichi, Director General of the National Environmental Agency
at that time, came to Minamata, a group of concerned citizens pleaded with him tochange the name of “Minamata disease,” as it had led to discrimination against the
town’s people.Just less than 100 meters from where that plea took place, a group of
Minamata disease patients were sitting in front of Chisso, the company responsible
for Minamata disease, demanding recognition and compensation as “Minamata
disease patients.”This is when the conflict between patients and residents surfaced.
Afterwards, both sides used newspaper insert ads to attack each other (this was
known as the "Ad Battle") and the conflict intensified. Fear and anxiety towards
Minamata disease stirred up distrust on both sides. We need to rethink who reallybenefitted from this antagonism.

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From Minamata to Fukushima

Minamata Disease memorial monument

Notes from a Visit to Fukushima
Friday, July 1, 2011: Sunny. Fukushima City to Isobe, Matsukawa-ura and Shinchi
districts in Souma.
8:00 a.m.: Depart Fukushima Station -8:45 a.m.: Pass by Ishida Village in the Abukuma Mountains -9:30 a.m.: Isobe District (Souma) -9:50 a.m.: Matsukawa-ura (Souma) -10:10 a.m.: Shinchi Power Station -10:40 a.m.: Shinchi Station, and other areas in Souma
I felt the same way yesterday. That is, the effects of the earthquake are not soapparent in Fukushima City. As in any other prefecture capital city, there was vibrantactivity, as could be seen in some of the traffic jams we encountered. However,seeing people walk out of a hotel near Fukushima Railway Station in Red Cross
uniforms reminded me of the earthquake and the nuclear accident. But other thanthat, there was nothing different than any other major
city.
Taking a turn on Route 115 from Route 4 coming out
of Fukushima City, we travelled along the road, cutting
across the Abukuma mountains to the city of Souma.
Since it had already been 3 months after the earthquake,there was nothing unusual in terms of the condition of theMonument placed to offer aprayer38

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From Minamata to Fukushima

roads. Passing Ryozen andinto the Ishida District, which
is probably around the peakof the Abukuma mountains,
we found a cherry grove
which was the origin of, andwhich also commemorated
the Date (pronounced Dahtay) and Souma Fiefs. We
decided to take a short
break there. But afterwards,
Modou Fishing Harbor facing a rias type coastline
the nightly news seemed tohave said that the area wasnewly designated as an area for evacuation, as it had become a radioactive hotspot.
The area was a gently-sloping hill country, and people made a living by grazing
horses. From there, we descended along the Uda River to Souma at the mouth of
the river. During the descent, we looked down into the river from a small bridge. The
water was so clear that we were able to see the sandy, granite-rich riverbed. The
beautiful landscape showed no glimpse of the "3/11" disaster.
The Isobe District in Souma was like a wasteland. Roads were cleared for traffic,
but on either side of the road were empty wetlands that looked like rice paddies
on reclaimed land. Mountains of rubble smothered in black mud showed proof thatthe tsunami had passed by. This is something I noticed afterwards, but when you
compare the view from the Route 6 Bypass which runs along the east side of Souma,
you can see how far the tsunami reached. The seaward side of the road sufferedsignificant damage. But on the other side, rice was growing in the paddies, and you
can see that the tsunami didn’t reach that side of the road. On the road between
Isobe District and Matsukawa-ura, a fishing boat sat at a crossroads, and mountainsof rubble could be seen here and there. When seen on a map, the Matsukawa-ura
inlet seemed like a scenic area. However, what we saw were overturned and strandedfishing boats, buses under the water, and bamboo poles used for farming seaweed
standing sadly in the middle of the inlet. The destruction on the first-floor section ofshops and hotels along the beach were so vivid, I was completely at a loss for words.
Yet, while there were destroyed and stranded fishing boats in the port, there werealso many moored fishing boats that remained intact. These boats seemed to havepulled out all at once to pass over the tsunami offshore when the tsunami came.

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From Minamata to Fukushima

Thoughts
The Fukushima accident is now acknowledged internationally, and is not somethingthat should be dealt with by makeshift measures. If there is something to be learned
from the Minamata case, it should be that it is important not only to accuse Chisso,
as well as the national, prefecture and local governments for their failings, but also
to squarely face the actions taken by both citizens and victims. By doing so, we canapply the over 50 years' worth of failures and lessons as a shared experience.
As a start, I will summarize the initial failures of the groups relevant to the Minamata
disease incident, which the Fukushima case can learn from, as follows:• Chisso: The company continued production activities, even though damages had
been verified.
• National Government: They had evidence that Minamata disease was due toconsumption of fish and shellfish, but they did not prohibit fishing in the area.
• Prefectural Government: They had the authority to prohibit fishing, but decided to
abdicate their responsibility to protect the residents; they did so mainly in order toprotect Chisso.
• City Government: For fear of causing trouble to Chisso, the City was hesitant toassist victims.
• Residents of Minamata: For fear of troubling Chisso, the residents of Minamata
rationalized their prejudice and discrimination towards the victims.
• Fisherfolk: Legitimate protests by fishermen got out of control and justified
government crackdowns, thus defeating their own purposes.
• Victims: Since the 1959 ‘sympathy money’ agreement forbade further applications
for compensation, victims were completely silenced, and were not able to raise theMinamata disease issue anymore.
Looking at things this way, one can see many similarities between the failures ofthe Minamata incident and what is taking place now in Fukushima. The situation in
Fukushima Prefecture is being dominated by the fact that it is an unusual situation
because a nuclear accident occurred. In this situation, the residents are trapped in amindset of holding their breath and trying to avoid conflict. Unless one takes a careful
look at what is really happening, it may look like business as usual, just as appeared
to be the case when I visited Fukushima City. But if people outside Fukushimacontinue turning a blind eye to the situation, acting in effect as though it is a fire onsome distant shore, the future of Japanese society is doomed. The earthquake,40

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From Minamata to Fukushima

tsunami and nuclear accident are calling into question not only how to recover andrehabilitate the region, but also how we should steer Japanese society as a whole
into our future. And this is everyone’s problem.

41

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Our Life in Minamata

Our Life in Minamata
Soji Takakura
Avaconne

A future for "MINAMATA:" it is something that we will weave together, with various
different strands contributed by those who bring to it their own rich individuality. A
new generation has joined together in Minamata, and is now taking action under thename "Avaconne." It is in a sense an experiment--one conducted by a group of young
people who have simply wanted to work together, to get to know the "real" Minamata,to develop new ties to the community, and to sketch out new connections with theirworld.
We call ourselves "Avaconne." We are a group led by those in their twenties andthirties who are living and working (or is it "playing"?) in and around Minamata. Someof us have always been here, while others have returned after some time away, as
well as those who found new jobs and homes here moving from other (big) cities.
"Avaconne," in the Minamata dialect, means "Come on Over!" or "Will You Join Us?"As the name implies, we want a lot of different people to "feel free to come visit
Minamata" or to "learn Minamata's true colors." If they feel inclined to linger a while-and we would of course love it if they can stay for good--we will help them to feelat home and give them folks they can play with. We only ask that "we who are here
really get to know and enjoy Minamata".
While one thing we may have in common is living in the vicinity of Minamata (although
our active members can currently be found also in Kumamoto city and even Tokyo),
we are varied in terms of our origins, occupations and outlooks. We are often asked
about this, but we also have different views about Minamata disease and related
events. We want to respect the different possibilities for people, things and ideasthat emerge organically as the result of connecting together a diverse collectionof individuals. Through listening to different perspectives and witnessing different
approaches to life, we can activate and bring to life the values we hold deep inside,which can bring forth new things within each of us. This may be difficult to achieve,
but this is what we seek.

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Our Life in Minamata

At the same time, we do tend to share similar views on a number of things. For
one, we do not want our activities to be constrained under any given organizational
structure. We want to maintain our flexibility. People join together with us when they
have that moment when they are doing something and they find themselves saying,"Aha--so this is Avaconne." We want to weave together the linkages between people,
creating an atmosphere in which it is easy for anyone to propose something new;people can share the ideas that come to them, and those who share their interest
naturally form a team to make a plan and carry ideas forward.
Another commonality we share is that we all want to make links and interconnections.
We feel that it would be a waste to have the good things in our community happen
in isolation. We want connect these dots together and make new spaces and areasof action. These new structures could serve as the foundation for the activities of thegeneration that comes after us--and the generation after that, and then the following
generation. We don't believe that what we are doing is, in itself, something great
and which will have immediate effects. But we at least want to do what we can, andwe want it to be something that contributes to the next connection that can be madedown the line.
What matters most is individuality. The individuals who make up "Avaconne" are all
engaged in work and activities. There is a woman who loves the Kugino village (justone of the places in Minamata) and is working to protect it. One young man does
calligraphy and organizes a youth book club and traditional poetry recitals. There isa falconer who is planning a U-Stream broadcast series about "Avaconne." There isa young businessman who is racking his brain to figure out how to increase sales ofthe local variety of amanatsu pomelo fruit. The deputy director of a nursery schoolthat aims to bring smiles into the lives of Minamata's children has another life leadingan outrigger canoe group. There is the couple that runs a construction company witha side business trying to sell Minamata's specialty agricultural products throughout
Japan. There is the guy up in the mountains producing pesticide-free tea who travels
around the country enough for three people all at once. There is a single mother,
who has taken it upon herself to transmit the history of Minamata disease to the next
generation. Then there is Mr. Samurai, who visited us by walking all the way downfrom Kyoto (he's trying to determine the shape of Japan by walking its entire length byhimself). These are some of the people who have come to spend time and play with
us in recent years.

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Our Life in Minamata

These are the folks who come together once in a while to hold a "meeting" (drinks
are served). There is also a small open-air market for those who wish to join in.
Some folks have planted daikon radishes in some previously unused fields, and areattempting to bring back Minamata's special style of pickled radishes. Others aremaking scrapbooks so that people can bring the lovely scenery of Minamata back totheir homes.
Formerly, Minamata had extensive salt ponds, and salt was one of its products. The
salt was carried to Oguchi in Kagoshima, over what was known as the "salt road."
But with the coming of modernization and industrialization, nature has reclaimed
the old "salt road". However, starting more than ten years ago, some local people
created a "gang" to revive local salt-making. Their activities may not amount tomuch, but one or two times each year they are out there making salt. We decided
to carry on their tradition, and, through trial and error, have been making salt under
the guidance of that "gang". To make the salt, seawater is pumped from a place thatthe local fishermen call the "Yu no Hana;" this is a place where the area's copious
groundwater, which has filtered down from the mountains through the ages, comesbubbling up out of the sea floor. This place, where the blessings of the mountains
and the sea join together, is a very "productive place". The blessings of the sea areconnected to those of the forests and mountains. So we boil down this salt…this saltthat gives us a new way to see the sea that meets Minamata…this salt which wehope will lead people to think back to the mountains and forests from whence it came.
Local Salt-making

DryingBoilingRough Boiling44

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Our Life in Minamata

Every one of these actions is small. But they can add up to a movement, somethingthat gradually grows a little stronger, something that can shift Minamata's settled
landscape. Nothing would make us more proud than if we could prepare the groundwhere future generations feel they can live happily.
The tapestry that is Minamata's landscape is laid out before us. Each of its many
strands must carefully be taken in hand. We should ask ourselves, what are the manycolors that together paint this scene? Surely, gray and black are among them. But wemust acknowledge them all, absorb them all, and express them in our own words. We
cannot break the mold unless we can see its shape. Now, the more we are able tomove, the more we can sense the presence of "walls" that surround us. Sometimes
we face conflicts and contradictions, but we forge ahead all the same. We propose noalternatives, offer no criticisms; the way we live our lives will stand as what we haveto offer. We have no desire beyond the multitude of connections we can make withpeople. You, too, can be a part of our plot, and we would happily welcome you; will
you join us?

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A Biodiversity-Based Approach to Community Development

A Biodiversity-Based Approach toCommunity Development
Makiko Imai

Biodiversity Network

Can the concept of "biodiversity" really become something that is deeply rooted in
our lives? Perhaps it is the political and academic worlds that need to get closer tolanguage of the citizens.. Participating in international conferences has taught me theimportance of understanding the sense of living-in-harmony-with-nature which has
been developed in local community, and bring its reality to the policy-making field.

"Global Issues" Grounded in the real life
I first encountered the term "biodiversity" at the beginning of 2009, as at that tiime
I happened to be living in Nagoya, the host city of the Convention on Biological
Diversity's COP 10 (10th Conference of the Parties) and I joined the secretariat of an
NGO network, Japan Civil Network for Convention on Biological Diversity (JCN-CBD).
As someone having no experience as an environmental activist, participating in COP
10 was like an encounter with a different culture. The air in the meeting hall was
filled with jargon, and the issues being discussed seemed very distant. Although I
participated as an NGO who was involved in the t process, and needed to work on
the awareness raising of biodiversity issues, I nevertheless had a sense deep insidethat I’m not so sure if I understood biodiversity myself. It seemed something awayfrom my sense of living.

C re a t i n g a n I n t e rc o n n e c t e d S o c i e t y S u p p o r t i n g t h e
Interconnections of Life
After the COP 10, I had a chance to give a talk at an environmental educational
facility back in Tochigi Prefecture. There, I showed an aerial photo of the watershedof the Kinugawa River which flows through the city of Utsunomiya, where I was bornand raised. Searching for the words to express myself, I pointed out how there were46

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A Biodiversity-Based Approach to Community Development

no borders that could be seen from the air--and yet, we have all somehow come to
pay attention to what are just artificial lines that have been drawn by governments.
The river that flows through Utsunomiya eventually flows into Tokyo Bay. The river's
route must pass through many different administrative districts; the thing that createsthe "interconnection" between these places is none other than biodiversity. After mytalk, an official responsible for environment issues in a local government office sharedwith me that when they held a study session on biodiversity, local citizens had madethe very same point. I really came away with the feeling that for awareness raising,a key challenge will be to somehow overcome the compartmentalized thinking which
exists at so many levels.
Biodiversity is a word that conveys the interconnectedness of life and livelihoods.
But those things which may be seen as being naturally interconnected by the people
living in their communities somehow end up being treated in a disconnected manner
when it comes to things such as policymaking and budgets. This naturally leads tothe question of which of these approaches is the strange one.

Listening to the Voices of Community People and Learningfrom their Wisdom
What can be most persuasive in influencing policies is the voice of the people in acommunity and their views which are grounded in their real lives. So I then went out
and visited various places first-hand, in order to find out just what "biodiversity" reallymeans to people within their communities.
In Suhara, a town on the shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, the area's rice
farmers and fishermen have been working with local officials to develop the "FishCradle Rice Paddy Project." This area once had a rice paddy landscape where fish
regularly traveled back and forth between the lake and the surrounding rice fields--but
this interconnection was completely lost since the area's agricultural lands became
developed over a span of decades, and the height of the paddy fields was raised
above that of the local waterways. This kind of "development," which at first had been
welcomed for the "convenience" it brought, had stolen from the fields and the lake
the area's rich diversity of species. The fishermen of the region rose up to "bring backLake Biwa's bountiful nature." When they learned about the importance of protecting
the area's forests, which serve as the source for the water that flows down from themountains into the lake, they then also became involved in forest conservation. I

47

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A Biodiversity-Based Approach to Community Development

People in the region voluntarily preserve Aster kantoensis Kitamura

heard about the quiet but passionate efforts of local people to preserve the special
flavors of the region, such as by one member of the community who launched a "minitour" of the area and which includes meals of carp sushi and other regional cuisine ata price which average people can afford, saying "we want to bring back to our dinnertables the Lake Biwa's fish, which once were plentiful."
I heard people say things such as that "the choices made in the past may not havebeen the best," and "is it right that something that everyone once took for granted isnow some special thing that is out of reach for the community people." Biodiversity
can even be something vital that can shed light on the past, and even leading us toreconsider what in our lives truly has "value."My father is working to protect nature in the Utsunomiya area. He is also anenvironmental counselor--but he claims that his motivation has never been to "protect
the environment." Rather, he says, "what I want is to pass on to future generations thebeauty of our hometown." When one thinks in this way, it becomes obvious that one
should want to conserve nature and protect biodiversity. Although nature conservation
organizations and farmers may not always agree on everything, even as they bothare working in their own ways to build communities that coexist with nature, I did learn
about how these different groups do in fact collaborate to conduct "winter paddy fieldflooding." My father, who is also a part-time farmer, said that he learned from firsthand experience just how difficult it is to pursue both nature conservation and farming48

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A Biodiversity-Based Approach to Community Development

within our society as it currently exists, which focuses so much on how things "ought"
to be. Hearing this really made me realize how there are things related to biodiversitythat we simply cannot talk about with just a logic-oriented, urban mindset.
What should we do when find ourselves in a situation we cannot fully express? How
can we reconcile the boundaries that people have drawn with those of the natural
world? I strongly believe that in order for us to find the answer to such questions, it isessential to ensure that policies created to protect and nurture biodiversity be basedon an appreciation of the viewpoints of people in their communities, along with theindigenous knowledge that they can offer.

The Choice of Life is Ours
I heard the following from some people who had moved from the Tokyo area to
Fukushima in order to become organic farmers: "We chose to become farmers who
were self-supporting; then we learned we needed to be self-reliant--and ultimately
we will need to be self-governing." I think this can be expressed in other words as"building and preserving our own lives and livelihoods."
The term "biodiversity" has come down to us from the worlds of public policy andacademia. If we tried to redefine this concept from the perspective of people's lives,
I think that it means "democracy that is rooted in the community." What many of therepresentatives from civil society have been saying at international conferences isthat, in fact, "the biodiversity crisis is a crisis of democracy."
While it can be useful to attain a perspective that transcends a specific time or place,what we need to do is to live our lives consciously, aware of the real interconnections
that exist between what we produce and what we consume. I think that the key tohaving our policy decisions support biodiversity lies in regaining this sort of "life-sized"
sense of who we are and the impacts that we have--which is a sense that we seemto have lost somewhere along the way. What will make this possible will be to bringourselves back to real lives as they are lived in our communities. It may well be that
where people have lost their affection for where they live, and when their connections
with the others in their community have weakened (in other words, when they lackthat "life-sized" sense of reality within their lives), democracy has difficulty taking root.
For the sake of biodiversity, it is vital for everyone to consider things in light of their49

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A Biodiversity-Based Approach to Community Development

own circumstances. With the spread of the Internet, each of us may now find it asimple matter to connect with others. Our challenge, however, will be to ensure thatthose connections retain and carry with them the language of the local people whichis real and alive. Thinking in terms of my own situation--that is, being someone whoworks with words--I feel this to be a particular challenge that I face.

50

9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capital

Creating a Society in Harmony with
Natural Cycles: A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capital
Koyu Furusawa

Chief Executive,
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES)

Our fossil fuel-dependent civilization, which has been built upon mass-production,
consumption and disposal, has already reached its limits. What is required now is thecreation of a society that is rich in diversity and focused on life and natural capital.
On its path of rapid industrial development ever since the Meiji Era, and especiallysince World War II, Japan has experienced a history of environmental destruction
and pollution, as well efforts to rise above these problems. As we now experience
the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 nuclear disaster, there are hopes that Japan candevelop a new type of civilization.

Questioning Our Modern Society and Lifestyles
The grave situation that has arisen as a result of the earthquake and nuclear
accident of March 11, 2011 provides us with a warning which fundamentally calls into
question the meaning of the development path we have taken until now. The events
triggered that day can be said to have deeply shaken the confidence that we have
had concerning the approach to development and growth taken by modern society,liberated from the constraints of nature, through which we had gained a certain
degree of prosperity.
In the little more than one hundred years since the Meiji Era, and in the half-century of
the Post-War Period, Japan succeeded in traveling a path of modernization that had
taken the countries of the West several centuries. Japan experienced first-hand not
only the benefits of such modernization but also its dark side: the tragedies of nuclear
weapons, severe pollution problems, and now the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which
embodies the contradictions and tragedy of our modern system. Japan's experience
as a country serves as a microcosm bringing into sharp focus both the light andthe dark sides inherent in the history of the development path that modern society(civilization) has followed.

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9

Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capital

Japan's growth-oriented society peaked in 2005, when its population began to
decline; it is rapidly becoming a highly aged society. The economy in recent years
continues to stagnate, ever since the end of the bubble economy of the late 1980s;
Japan's experience seems to have presaged the economic downturn seen in Westerncountries since the 2008 financial crisis. While the Japanese names of "Minamata"and other places hit by pollution may have become household names around theworld, other places in Japan have also become known as the starting points forconcrete efforts to address global environmental problems, including as the 1997
"Kyoto Protocol" under the international climate change convention and the 2010
"Nagoya Protocol" and "Aichi Target" under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Twenty years have already passed since the 1992 United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (the "Rio Earth
Summit"), which in June 2012 also hosted the UN Conference on Sustainable
Development (known as "Rio+20"). Given the many difficulties facing modern society,
the Rio+20 conference should have been an event of great interest, but it received an
unexpectedly low level of attention from the international community. There were twomain themes of this meeting; one was the creation of a "green economy" that could
lead to sustainable development while at the same time reducing poverty, while theother was reviewing the framework of the international system, including reform of theUnited Nations. In the background to these discussions was the reality that a numberof international environmental agreements had been adopted since the time of the
Rio Earth Summit, but their operations were becoming increasingly specialized within
their different fields, without sufficient mutual coordination. The Rio+20 meeting was
expected to result in consolidated frameworks integrating such efforts.

Transitioning from a Fossil-Based Civilization to a Life-Based
Civilization -- The Significance of the Convention on Biological
Diversity
Economic development since the Industrial Revolution has resulted in material
prosperity through the large-scale consumption of various mineral and energy
resources, especially coal and oil, which have allowed for dramatic expansion ofindustrial production, built upon the foundation of mass production, mass consumption
and mass disposal. Production has expanded rapidly in keeping with the increasing
reach of the market, resulting in a globalized economy that now envelops the entire
Earth, and which has led to environmental problems, especially global warming,52

9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capitalwhich are altering the environment on a global scale. The use fossil fuels increased
more than ten-fold during the hundred years of the Twentieth Century, while the scaleof industrial production increased by a factor of more than 20 times. It is projectedthat if these trends continue, serious problems will emerge in multiple ways, including
through the worsening of environmental problems, declines in biodiversity (species
extinctions), and the depletion of resources.
In former times, because of limited natural resources (boundaries), societies
developed and were sustained in various different geographical regions and whichwere characterized by their sustainability and recycling of resources. Having
developed the abilities to conduct large-scale development and use of undergroundresources, modern society grew, breaking the cycle of resource recycling andaccelerating exploitative destruction of nature, creating the world we know today. This
has led to resource depletion and environmental destruction on a global scale, which
now requires us to move in a different direction.
The two new international environmental agreements adopted at the Rio Earth
Summit (the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on
Biological Diversity) should be seen as twin treaties marking a key turning point in
humanity's modern civilization. While the previous development approach had been
dependent on the large-scale consumption of fossil fuels (non-renewable resources),the Framework Convention on Climate Change signaled major changes and possibly
an end to the "Fossil Fuel Civilization" (the non-cyclical, throw-away society). At thesame time, the Convention on Biological Diversity served as a warning about thefragility of an approach in which mankind alone is allowed to flourish, indicating a path
toward a "Life-Based Civilization" (a society based on enduring re-production). While
the substance of the Convention on Biological Diversity remains far from adequate,
we should turn our attention to the great untapped potential that it holds.
This context, of the momentous transformation of civilization that is occurring,illuminates the historic significance of the potential contained within these twotreaties, and provides a vital perspective that should not be lost in the ongoing andfuture debates concerning the substance of these two treaties. In particular, in lightof the birth of a new Life-Based Civilization, the Convention on Biological Diversity
can provide fresh perspectives on the opportunities offered by agriculture and otherprimary industries, which may have been seen until now as old and out-of-dateindustries.

53

9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural CapitalAt the 2010 Conference of the Parties (COP 10) meeting of the Convention on
Biodiversity Diversity held in Nagoya, Japan proposed the launch of the "Satoyama
Initiative." This initiative opened new horizons for the Convention on Biological
Diversity, in keeping with a recognition of the important opportunities offered throughthe conservation of human-tended secondary natural landscapes, such as thosefound in agricultural lands and in fishing villages, not only through preserving nature
in a untouched state. Maintaining areas where people and nature have interacted toform a stable relationship, as exemplified by Japan's "satoyama" (in contrast to theWestern view that sees humanity as separate from nature), is of particular importancein the context of the densely populated landscapes of Asia. The importance accorded
to areas currently facing decline and the loss of their traditional culture and lifestyles
can be enhanced through recognizing that the cause of biodiversity can be served
through preserving traditional plant varieties and farming practices in those areas.
This recognition further leads to an appreciation of the close interrelation between
cultural diversity and biodiversity. In this way, the Convention on Biological Diversity
holds within it the potential to illuminate the ways in which things which may havebeen seen as outmoded can actually be at the forefront of the transition to a newcivilization.

Green Economy and Community Development Based the
Cycling of Nature and Life
"Sustainable Development" has now become a key phrase on a global scale; but inorder to realize environmental sustainability, activities must be based on the "threeprinciples of sustainability" as offered by those such as environmental economist
Herman Daly and the Natural Step program. In particular, sustainability cannot be
achieved without ensuring that: (1) renewable resources are utilized at a pace thatis within their capacities for renewal; (2) we work toward a transition from the use of
exhaustible resources to resources which are sustainable; and (3) contaminants are
released only within the limits of what can be cleansed.
Not only should the unregulated use of non-renewable resources (concentrated
energy sources formed in former geological epochs, that is, mineral resources
including coal and oil) not be allowed, but taxation systems on their use, which giveconsideration to sustainability and equity, should be put in place. In this connection,
it is significant that in July 2012 Japan introduced a feed-in-tariff system favoring
renewable energy, which establishes prices based on a distinction between fossil

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9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capitalenergy (stocks of energy that have formed over geological time-scales) and naturally
renewable energy (dispersed flows having low density).
Into the future, humanity is being called upon to create a society that is based onsustainability, and renewable energy must therefore become the basis of our energy
supply. This can also bring about fundamental realignments to support the creation ofindustries that support society and economy.
Until now, the path of economic development has been based on growth anddevelopment through a transition away from the primary industries that are closely
related to nature (industries dependent on natural capital) toward secondary
industries (industries dependent on man-made capital and fossil resources) andtertiary industries (commerce and service industries). The so-called "Petty-Clark's
Law" sees economic development as a path from primary to secondary to tertiaryindustries. The following figure depicts these as forming a pyramid; we can clearlysee how this view of the development of human society is in contrast with the"ecosystem pyramid" of nature, which forms an inverted pyramid. The formation ofthis inverted pyramid can be attributed to the large-scale consumption of fossil fuels
and other forms of concentrated energy. What society needs to do now is to correct
this unreasonable state of affairs.
Humanity's socio-economic system has developed as if it existed with no connection
to the limits of the natural environment and ecological systems. But as the current
situation of today demonstrates, the expansion of human production capacity has
exceeded environmental limits and has reached the point where our interrelationships
with natural ecosystems (the web of nature's cycles) have broken down. Our
challenge is to now reorganize our systems of production that have mushroomed
in size into something that will exist in harmony with natural ecosystems. I think wemust therefore achieve a green economy, one based not on artificial industrial capitalbut rather on the preservation of natural ecosystems; this will foster industries and asocioeconomic system that is based on nature's capital.
A simple conceptual diagram that could be drawn to illustrate this change would
depict something like what is shown in the figure labeled "De-growth and a Society
in Harmony with Nature," which fixes the inverted triangle. The constraints of the
pre-modern structure of society and industry (with productivity being dependent on
nature) were overcome through the utilization of resource deposits such as fossil fuels

55

9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capital(that is, energy sources which were accumulated and concentrated through time),
which allowed for the large-scale production of the industrial revolution; the market
economy, with its formation of networks for the division of labor, further spurred onlarge-scale development; as a result, the industrial society of the Twentieth Century
gave birth to mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal. In the case ofJapan, a pre-modern farming-centered society (in which the majority of the population
had been engaged in primary industry) experienced a period of high-level economic
growth as a result of modernization and industrialization (with the rise of secondary
and tertiary industries); Japan's current post-industrial society is centered on theinformation and service sectors (primary industry accounts for only a few percent,with under 30% engaged in secondary industry, and about 70% engaged in tertiaryindustry).

(Figure)Development of Human Society and Economy

Tertiary Industries

Tertiary Industries

Secondary Industries

Secondary Industries

Primary Industries

Goshawk,
Gray-faced buzzard, etc.
Great tit,
Japanese striped snake, etc.
Golden ringed dragonfly,
Silk spider, etc.
Weevil (Attelabidae),Japanese oak silkmoth, Spangle, etc.
Red oak, Konara oak,Japanese red pine, etc.

Development of
the Traditional Industrial
PyramidHigh-level Consumer(Carnivorous animal)

Multi-lateral Service

Primary Consumer(Herbivorous animal)

Nature and Life-Cycle
Industries

Producer(Plant)Natural Capital,
Ecosystem Service

Decomposer(Soil animal)

Spring tail, Carrion beetle,
Earth worm, etc.

Primary
Industries

De-growth and a Society
in Harmony with Nature

Ecosystem Pyramid56

9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capital

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been seen as a useful economic indicatorof a country's production capacity, but GDP is ultimately problematic for the societyof the future in that it does not account for the special role played by the energy andresource-recycling processes that form the very foundation upon which economic
activity depends. If we are to operate in accordance with the principles of sustainable
development, we must create economic incentives which reduce consumption
activities that deplete exhaustible resources (legacy stocks from the past) or thatadversely affect ecosystems; instead, we should incentivize activities which increase
reliance on natural resources that can be used in perpetuity (renewing flows such as
found in renewable energy and biomass) as well as the cycling of ecosystems.
Applying this to the development of industrial structure as explained above, we willneed to reconfigure the industrial structure which has prevailed until now and as
depicted in the inverted-pyramid, creating instead a system that adapts its structurefrom the ecosystem pyramid. Such an approach would have some overlap with the"six-level industrialization" approach to agriculture (the notion of fostering synergies
among primary, secondary and tertiary industries) that has recently entered themainstream, but will require developments to be based on the cycling within
ecosystems not just some formalities. In the coming age, which should be based onnature and life-based industries, the fundamental place of primary industry will be
restored within the economy; and through creating qualitatively valuable systems
that are built on renewable energy and pursue organic production placing a value on
natural materials, we can realize a society and economic system that will support theflowering of regional diversity.
This, in other words, is the achievement of a human society which finds expression
much as we see with the diversity of nature--what we might call "a world woven
together through the complex, kaleidoscopic workings of ecosystems." We are thus
called upon to create a future, with its mosaic of elements embodying advanced andsophisticated systems of appropriate-scale production, processing, distribution andconsumption (including the greening of the information and service sectors), which
will, in a sense, build a society and economy that value indigenous cultural andartistic expressions.

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9Creating a Society in Harmony with Natural Cycles:A Diverse Economy Based on Natural Capital

Member of La Via Campesina, the international movement which brings
small-size farmers to the Rio+20

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Postscript: Farming to Change our Communities

Postscript: Farming to Change
our Communities
Tadaaki Oe

Co-President, Pacific Asia Resource CenterIn the 1970s and the 1980s, political scientists such as Keiichi Matsushita called for“people’s governance.” Other people, such as then-Kanagawa Prefecture governor
Kazuji Nagasu, called for an Era of Local Communities. Both have affected many
people. Ideas and movements emerged in in various fields, such as participatory
city planning, welfare, culture, environment and international cooperation, and havebecome the basis for many policies. However, in my memory, not much was said
about farming. I was working at a publisher, where I had worked on publishing aseries of 15 books entitled “Making Governance Work.” But in the 180 or so papers
published in these volumes, not one was mainly about farming. For those who wereinterested in civic participation and urban problems, farming was not in their field ofvision and interest.
From those times, I had always thought about and addressed issues concerning
farming and local communities. By 1989, as an editor, I began asking myself, andJapanese society, how we might carry out “city planning with a focus on farming.”
Therefore, the subtitle of this book “Sustainable Farming and Community Resilience”
is deeply moving. I feel that the times have changed.
On the one hand, movements for the promotion of organic farming had been gradually
gaining momentum, especially among urban consumers since the 1970s. Thesemovements have emphasized food safety, cooperation and face-to-face relationships
between producers and consumers. However, as many readers may already know,
the people most affected by radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident
are organic producers--not only those practicing in Fukushima, but also those in thewider Northern Kanto region and elsewhere.
Many of the consumers emphasizing food safety and strong ties with producers,
even many elderly people (who do not need to worry much about the health effectsof radiation in comparison to younger people), have distanced themselves from these59

Postscript: Farming to Change our Communities

producers. Some consumers, including NGO staff members and social activists, have
moved out of Fukushima Prefecture. Some have even decided to leave the Tokyo
area. The majority of those who left were consumers of organic produce.
Originally, the Japanese concept of “Teikei (tie-ups)” was characterized by a close
relationship between consumers and producers. Families visited the farms manytimes to help out. In the spring, they held meetings to discuss what to grow (however,the disinterested men in the household rarely participated). They say that they felt
close to the producers, and families chatted over dinner about the farmers that
produced their food. Nowadays, however, in many “Teikei” relationships, consumers
seldom visit the farms. In most cases, consumers only show up for harvest festivals
once a year. I do understand that young producers who have just started farming are
too busy with their farm work, and that they are not able to find time to reach out totheir consumers. However, as a matter of fact, the relationship between consumers
and producers has become weakened. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that
consumers have nearly lost their earthly ties. We used to say “Shin-Do-Fu-Ji.” literally
meaning the “earth and body are indivisible;” this Japanese idiom means that what
we eat, which ultimately constructs our bodies, cannot and should not be separated
from the ground or earth that we live on. This then meant that eating and farming
are inseparable. This is what “Teikei” relationships aimed for. Yet, in practice, “Teikei”
relationships have shifted into a simple division of labor.
The committee on the promotion of organic agriculture from Japan Organic Agriculture
Association describes “Teikei” relationships as follows:“The currency exchanges that take place in ‘Teikei’ relationships are not ‘payments’for organic produce. In a typical trade of merchandize, payments are made tosettle the deal. Another way to put this is that payments are made to 'terminate
the relationship and communication'. In contrast, the currency exchange in ‘Teikei’
relationships take place as an honorarium to the farmer and mother earth. It issomething that guarantees the farmer and his or her family’s costs for living andproducing. It is essentially 'matchmaking money'; something that begins a relationshipbetween consumers and producers and between people and nature, whereby
produce is exchanged as a medium.” (i)Nevertheless, networks of 'strong ties' as emphasized in this statement are seldom
seen in actual “Teikei” relationships these days. When “Teikei” relationships are60Postscript: Farming to Change our Communities

constructed solely for the purpose of “eating safe vegetables” on the consumers’ side,
it may be natural that "relationships are terminated" when that purpose cannot be
met. In such a relationship, there is something decisively missing. The consumer has
no consideration for the situation that the producers are facing. In that sense, they
are no different from someone only looking at a narrow aspect of the overall situation,or the bureaucrats and politicians who have no thought for the feelings of disastervictims. Without any producers farming, there is not even a chance for access to safe
food. The very foundation for food security will fall apart if we continue turning a blindeye to the situation faced by producers.
In reality, as Kiichi Nakajima mentions in this book, 99.8% of the rice grown inFukushima in 2012 measured 25 Bq or less. This was not a randomly sampledinspection but a complete inspection of all sacks of rice produced. Most vegetables
were also below the measurable threshold; meaning it would be just a few becquerelsor less (if any radiation could be detected at all). This is thanks to the efforts offarmers and the blessings of the earth. However, such information does not spreadthat easily. In some cases, measurements released from the government are simply
not trusted. So when some Fukushima schools reintroduced locally grown produce
for their school lunches, many NGOs criticized the decision. Some people still say “I
don’t eat fish from Minamata Bay because it’s dangerous.” The same discrimination istaking place against farmers in Fukushima.
Tetsuo Akemine has questioned the outcomes of organic farming movements, stating
that, “Movements for the promotion of organic farming succeeded in creating a robust
class of producers, but I question whether it succeeded in creating a robust classof consumers.”(ii) This is an incisive argument against organic farming movements,
but there is no way that a group of people who only think about "consumption" canconstruct a robust body and mind. They don’t have a sense of imagination for the
producers, and that is why they easily cut ties and distance themselves from theproducers.
On the other hand, those who grow even a small proportion of their own vegetables
in kitchen gardens or community gardens work with the earth on a daily basis. Their
earthly ties are closer than those who only live on a consumption-based “Teikei”
relationship. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, most such people were worried about
the radiation fallout, but they still planted, harvested, did their own radiation tests,
and in the end, ate what they produced. They probably had a sense for the joy and61

Postscript: Farming to Change our Communities

meaningfulness of producing and working with nature.
I borrow a rice paddy in Yasato (City of Ishioka) in Ibaraki Prefecture with somecolleagues and make rice without using any pesticides, herbicides or chemicalfertilizers. It’s a place 150 km. away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. I
was upset with the nuclear accident, but for me, not sowing the seeds was simply not
an option. I wanted to make good rice for myself as I had done in any other year. After
harvesting, we inspected our crop for radioactive cesium and found none. This was
fortunate, but I would have eaten the rice anyways even if it showed contamination ofseveral dozen becquerels. I put a lot of effort into my crops.
These days, new concepts and slogans are spreading, mainly among young people.
“Han-Nou-Han-X” for example, literally means “half-farming, half-something else,”
and is a notion where one earns a living partly by farming and the rest by somethingof their choice (such as part-time jobs, writing, art, etc.). Another notion, “Hei-Kin KyuNou” is a lifestyle where one works fulltime on weekdays but farms on weekends andholidays. Urban dwellers who also farm are not minorities anymore. Some two million
people use community gardens. If you include various styles of kitchen gardens, there
are quite a few people who make some portion of their food for themselves. These"quasi-farmers" learn from nearby farmers or they educate themselves through theirown experiences. Through that learning process, they sympathize more and morewith farmers and with farming as a job. When that takes place, it is no longer easierfor that consumer to distance themselves from the blessings of a farm.
The individual powers we have to farm, and the powers we have as citizens to voice
our concerns, can come together. Farming for our own food casts a message. It says
something about what we want in our communities. ‘Farming consumers’ and thefarmers themselves can cooperate to construct an alternative community. We canchange the present high-economic-growth society which depends on nuclear energy
and fossil fuels, into a sustainable one based on the use of renewable energy andwith an emphasis on primary industries. This is how our communities ought to be.
i) The committee on the promotion of organic agriculture of the Japan Organic Agriculture Association(2013.2) “Fusyoku ga Tsunagu Mori, Sato, Umi no ‘Teikei’ Network wo Tsukurou – ‘Ryuuikijikyuu’ to‘Teikei’ kara Hirogaru Yuuki Nougyou” (Let’s Build a “Collaborative” Relationships between Forest,
Village, and the Sea through Humus, - Organic Agriculture developed by “Self-Support in a Basin” and“Collaborative Relationships” ) Tsuchi to Kenkou (Soil and Health)62

Postscript: Farming to Change our Communitiesii) Tetsuo Akemine (2013.2) “Fukushima” kara Yuukinougyou Undouron no Saikouchiku wo (Rebuilding atheory of Organic Agriculture movement from “Fukushima”) from Symposium “Genpatsujiko to
Yuukinougyou” (Accident at Fukushima nuclear power plant and Organic Agriculture )63

CSO Network Japan aims to contribute to achieving a just and sustainable society in which
individuals can earn a dignified living and the disempowered can participate meaningfullyin decision-making, by way of linking up different actors beyond boundaries and sectors. In
collaboration with Japanese and overseas CSOs and with a focus on multi-sector partnerships,
CSO Network Japan works on action-oriented research, information dissemination, andholding events and seminars. The current priorities of its activities are (1) promotion of “social
responsibility” and “sustainability”, (2) research on new trends of international development, (3)information dissemination about MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and post-MDGs, and(4) efforts to support sustainable local community building.
In order to support reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake, CSO Network
Japan carried out a feasibility study for recovery of dairy farming and organic farming inFukushima prefecture. Based on the relationships generated by the study, CSO Network
Japan is providing an on-going support for the Fukushima Agricultural Revitalizing Network(FAR-Net), the Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network and others, especially in information
dissemination of their community restoration activities. This booklet was produced as a partof the project that aimed to build relationships between people in Fukushima and those in
Kumamoto and Niigata who experienced a serious human-made disaster from the Minamana
disease incident.
Sustainable Farming and Community Resilience
Lessons Learned in Minamata, Niigata and Fukushima
Copyright © 2013 CSO Network JapanAll rights reserved.
Editorial Support: Makiko ImaiTranslation: Richard Forrest and Shigeru Tanaka
Illustration provided by Shingo Inoue and Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network
Designed by Kawase Printing Co.,Ltd.

CSO Network Japan
Avaco Building 5th floor, 2-3-18 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0051
TEL: (+81)(0)3-3202-8188 FAX: (+81)(0)3-6233-9560
Email: info@csonj.org URL:www.csonj.org

This booklet was made by the Grant from the Japan Fund for Global Environmentof the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency.
Cover photograph: restored terraced paddy fields and mulberry field in Towa, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima

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