Message to President of the International Olympic Committee Dr. Thomas Bach sent on June 15, 2015
Mitsuhei Murata
Executive Director, Japan Society for Global System and Ethics
Former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland
Dr. Thomas Bach
President of the International Olympic Committee
Chateau de Vidy, 1007 Lausanne / Switzerland
Tokyo, June 15, 2015
Dear President Thomas Bach,
Allow me to send You a letter, motivated by my sense of mission to
inform you of the worsening situation in Fukushima, which regrettably
is being downplayed by our Government and does not seem to be well
known internationally. My own concern and that of many critical
citizens are the planned Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
Contrary to the assurances of the Japanese
Government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company TEPCO, the situation at
the site of the Fukushima – Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is not at all
under control. Many of us therefore feel, that the Olympic Summer Games
under these circumstances should be cancelled and the preparations
abandoned. Not only do we have a continued contamination of the
groundwater and the Pacific Ocean by the instable plant, but the
brittle structure of the damaged plant represents itself a serious
threat, in particular in our earthquake prone region. Given the
relative proximity of Tokyo, just some 200km South of Fukushima,
represents in my view an ongoing risk for our largest city, for its
citizens and all visitors. You might agree, that one more alarming
development as the recent earthquake of magnitude 8.1 just some weeks
ago might indeed increase the pressure to stop the planning process of
the 2020 games all together.
I would like to urge You to discuss sending to Japan
independent experts to assess the current and future risk situation
emanating from the damaged nuclear plant. Personally I believe, that
the IOC cannot and should not take on the responsibility to plan for
the Olympic games in a region, where daily 7000 workers are attempting
to clean up a contaminated nuclear reactor. The meltdown of three of
the four reactor cores in Fukushima, where the contamination is clearly
not under control and where a natural disaster as an earthquake quickly
could increase the danger in my opinion should strongly advocate
restraint.
I could gladly cooperate with you and could also
help finding independent scientists and experts, who could assist the
IOC assessing the current situation and the future risks. In this
regard allow me to copy some Phyisican friends of mine. They are part
of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War IPPNW
(Peace Nobel Prize 1985) and with others have repeatedly issued
critical statements on the poor management of the serious nuclear power
plant accident in Fukushima.
Please allow me to count on your understanding and support.
With highest regards,
Mitsuhei Murata
Former Ambassador of Japan to Switzerland
Cc: Dr. M. Vosseler, MD; Prof. A. Nidecker; MD IPPNW Switzerland
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