Jacques Lochard からのお手紙３

#5 Kota Nakahira to Jacques Lochard, 5 Dec 2011

Dear Jacques,

Thank you very much again for your encouraging words.
Exactly I want to do is that to reestablish connection and cooperation of
various people who have various standing position, as you mentioned.
Translation is a small work, but can help that.
I also want to inform people that we have foreign friends who give us help,
like you. They do not know that there are many reliable sources because
only not written in Japanese language.

Sorry for my late self introduction.
I am an engineer, not nuclear but automotive, living near Tokyo.
I am not virtually involved in the accident, but I have friends in Fukushima,
really involved and they are in a lot of "discordant voices".
I want to support them.

And my another motivation comes from my hometown, Hiroshima.
We recovered from ruin with a lot of sacrifices.
I think that we shall share the knowledge from our bitter experiences,
and we shall not to waste them.

By the way, I once visited your country.
It was very beautiful, not only central Paris but also rural areas.
I hope that someday Fukushima people can enjoy its beautiful site,
like your country's rural area, without any anxiety.

Best regards,
Kota


#6 Jacques Lochard to Kota Nakahira, 6 Dec 2011

Dear Kota,
Thank you for your message and your self introduction.
It is true that in the present circumstances solidarity is very
important: inside the affected areas but also at the national and
international levels.
I understand perfectly well your motivation due to Hiroshima. I always
thought that there was a strong connection between Hiroshima and
Chernobyl and now it is quite clear with Fukushima. I discovered the
book "Notes from Hiroshima" from Kensaburo Oe in the mid nineties and
I found in this book what is at stake for all those who have been
trapped by these dramatic events: it is their dignity. We have to
fight against the negative forces : the temptation to abandon the
people of Fukushima, to boycott the area and its products, in other
words the stigmatization of the affected people and places.
When I went for the first time in the contaminated villages around the
Chernobyl NPP in summer 1990, I had immediatly the intuition that
something very important for human kind was emerging in these
villages. What I heard from the inhabitants through their stories was
at the same time very dolorous but also full of hope for the future
even if they were not at all aware of this last dimension. The message
I heard was something like: life is stronger than death. Over the 20
past years I have devoted a lot of efforts to make this message true.
Of course, concretely the way to go forward is to work altogether to
allow everyone to understand the situation and to give her/ him the
means to improve it durably. This is a long way but the Belarus
experience shows that it is possible. Moreover I have the feeling that
those who have passed though this experience have something more
inside of them. They are stronger.
You country is also a very beautiful one. I have been several times in
the past in cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka and only once in
the country side in the North part close to Aomori.  Because of
Fukushima accident I already visited twice the Prefecture this year
and I am discovering the rural face of Japan. I like it very much and
I am looking forward to better know the people living there. If our
plan to enlarge and deepen the dialogue at the level of villages is
becoming a reality I am certain that I will meet many interesting
people in the Fukushima Prefecture and becoming friends with some of
them.
I do hope that we will have the opportunity to meet together at the
occasion of my next visit to Fukushima in February.
If you wish more information or material on the Chernobyl experience,
please do not hesitate to contact me. There are a few articles, Power
Points presentations and even video films available in English about
the projects we developed during the last 15 years to improve the
living conditions in some districts of the Southern part of Belarus.
Unfortunately a lot of material is in French.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
All the best.
Jacques
PS: For your information you will find her attached a report that has
been translated from English to Japanese that may be of interest for
you in case you do not know it yet.