Last week I received this letter of appraisal from Ms. Michiko Kimura, whom I have known for many years. I publish it here with great humility and appreciation. Yours truly, Akio.
Read in Japanese and German.
I had the opportunity to work with Mr. Akio Matsumura when I was working as the Assistant in Charge of International Relations for the late Hon. Takashi Sato, MP, and as the Chief of the Secretariat of the Japan Parliamentarian’s Association on Population and Development which was headed by the late Former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda. I have cooperated with him since then because of my great respect for his outstanding ability to achieve his goals and for his concept toward achieving international peace.
Mr. Matsumura’s most remarkable talent is demonstrated when he establishes networks and connects on an individual level with eminent people. He has forged relationships with experts and leaders in fields including politics, economics, science, religion, and medicine, without being a member of an organization which could influence his work and principles. Furthermore, he has made it possible to bring together groups in conflict over ideologies and interests, in order to discuss issues and find solutions. To capitalize on his remarkable talent for developing peace internationally, the Board of The World Business Academy of the United States established a Chair Position for Mr. Matsumura in 2005.
The danger which has arisen from the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant is a matter of utmost significance, with the possibility of gravely affecting the destiny of the Japanese people and the global community. This crisis facing Japan is unprecedented; therefore, it is absolutely imperative that the Japanese government take the best counter measures possible, based on the most reliable expert knowledge available, before it is too late. It is impossible for a nation to have a prosperous future, or even maintain its continuation as a nation, without the health and strength of its people and its land.
Japan is a country which prides itself on its advanced technology. It is a cruel irony, then, to realize that Japan was, and is, deficient in both the technology and expertise necessary to protect itself against nuclear disaster. This lack of competence is only made more painfully apparent by the stagnation in progress over the past year and a half following the Fukushima disaster. Further, this fact was underscored to the public during the ‘Meeting of Diet Members and Citizens to Deliberate the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 Radioactive Material Issue’ on 31 August 2012 when the Japanese government and TEPCO demonstrated that they do not have sufficient expertise or knowledge to address this issue.
In order to control, resolve, and recover from this dire and completely novel situation at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant, it is of paramount importance to gather the very best expertise and technology available today. However, complicated issues such as economic policies and international protocol have become entangled and pose enormous obstructions in the recovery process. Even the mass media is not immune. Despite the freedom of the press afforded to the mass media by the constitution, this freedom has, apparently, been suppressed and has, in turn, prevented them from publishing and disseminating thorough and accurate information; the resulting failure has impeded its ability to inform and precluded the people of Japan (and the world) from receiving the knowledge they deserve. In summary, however, the daunting nature of these enormous obstacles cannot be the grounds for inaction. If Japan is left in its current state, it may become a nation of ill and weakened people.
What is essential in Japan now is for the people to employ the use of their collective voices. At this point, only the united voice of the people of Japan can compel its government into action. To do so, it is necessary for each individual to muster the courage to pursue the truth and act. It is absolutely essential to listen intently to the opinions of, and information provided by, the eminent experts of the world, such as the authentic information that Mr. Matsumura has fervently made an effort to convey. It is also of great importance to elect ethical representatives with accurate knowledge of these issues and values that emphasize and give priority to the lives and health of their people.
Initially, Mr. Matsumura, too, had faith in the government and the Diet; he assumed that their responsibility to the safety of their people, would obligate them to understand the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant and take sufficient countermeasures as soon as possible. In order to do his part, Mr. Matsumura began working at the time of the disaster to convey information he gathered from experts around the world to the political and economic leaders in Japan. Unfortunately, despite the fact that a nation of ill people cannot expect economic development, those leaders have prioritized the economy over the people, and have not made themselves knowledgeable of the situation or had the courage to seek the truth and take action. Under these circumstances, Mr. Matsumura’s efforts now require more activities than were foreseen in the beginning.
The issues that have arisen from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster have been under the supervision of Japan and should be solved by the initiative of Japan. However, In order to seek the best possible countermeasures, it is imperative that an assessment of the situation be made by a panel of independent international experts with no conflicting interests. Any recommendations made by this group should be implemented through international cooperation and the use of the best available technologies. Making this process a possibility, however, requires political decision making by the Japanese government.
I strongly believe that Mr. Matsumura’s personal and horizontal network of eminent people throughout the world and his continuing endeavors would greatly contribute to the process of solving this crisis. Thus far, accomplishing Mr. Matsumura’s mission has taken tremendous amounts of effort and requires more resources than ever before. Contribution from you through the ‘World Business Academy Akio Matsumura Chair’ would support Mr. Matsumura’s efforts toward finding a solution for this unprecedented crisis and continuing this monumental endeavor.
Thank you for your continuing attention to this crucial situation.
Respectfully,
Michiko Kimura
In light of the election result especially, Japan is now at a crossroads that could determine its future to an equal or greater extent than December 7 1941. On that date Japan, despite its undoubted technical brilliance and social cohesion, after a long period of descent into political extremism and strategic folly, crossed the point of no return into disaster that almost destroyed it, and cost it its Empire, and much of its wealth and position in the world, as well as millions of lives. It did so lulled into a false sense of overconfidence and security, partly by the world situation, and actions of others, but decisively by its own at the time excessive arrogance and shortsightedness, combined with a social-political conformity that whilst a great strength in normal times and constructively applied, can become a possibly fatal liability in circumstances of exceptional risk and crisis. Now is one such time. Japan faces an extreme risk of national disaster by the fragile situation at Fukushima, which one more large quake could turn into a major nuclear catastrophe beyond anything yet seen, and which could be destructive on a global scale. The amount of toxic radioactive isotopes that could be released if the fuel assemblies are exposed in the event of cooling failure due to another possible even likely large seismic disturbance are by all credible accounts enough to render much of Japan uninhabitable for centuries at least, as well as poison tens of millions of people within and beyond Japan. It must be the no. 1 priority of the new government to take all possible prudent action to reduce and eliminate this threat as urgently as practicable, every day lost could be the last. It has been quoted in the media that there are plans to remove the fuel assemblies by 2014, this is at least one year too late, it should already have been done. And furthermore, Japan’s nuclear industry must be upgraded and rendered safe such that another such disaster is not merely unlikely, but impossible. It was thought such a disaster would not occur, but it did. That means it can certainly happen again. The reactor design was and remains a poor one with enormous safety liabilities, an urgent priority should be to a) shut down any plants that are at serious (ie similar) risk of natural disaster, b) render fuel assemblies safe and adequately dispersed to prevent the possibility of another such disaster, and c) introduce new and safer plant designs. An overall threat assessment in light of the unforeseen events and revised contingency planning would also be in order. The new government must not go back to ‘business as usual’, for that would clearly and forseeably be to risk a repeat on an even more devastating scale.
JAPAN WAKE UP NOW TO THE MASSIVE RISK OF RENEWED AND EVEN NATIONALLY FATAL DISASTER!
JAPANESE LEADERS AND PEOPLE TAKE ESSENTIAL PREVENTIVE ACTION NOW WHILE THERE IS TIME!
DO NOT LET PETTY CONSIDERATIONS OF ANY SORT OBSTRUCT VITAL ACTION!
JAPAN IS AT THE CROSSROADS AGAIN, THIS TIME CHOOSE THE RIGHT AND SOUND COURSE!
DO NOT LET THIS GOVERNMENT GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS JAPAN’S LAST AND MOST RECKLESS!
Seems like all of Danny Macaskalls videos? are better than this one. But this one is still amazing wish I could do that I’m still working on a wheelie Haha.