２０２１年９月４日英海軍空母「クイーン・エリザベス」横須賀入港反対行動
(スピーチは松本麻里さん）
クィーン・エリザベスの乗組員のみなさんこんにちは。私たちは横須賀の市民,ヨコスカ平和船団といいます。初の長い航海と任務でお疲れと思いますが、どうかメッセージを聞いてください。私たちは米海軍基地、および空母の母港に反対しています。
残念ながら今回のあなたがたの寄港も歓迎できません。
私たちは英海軍のインド太平洋地域への進出を深く憂慮しています。
私たちは砲艦外交は望まず、平和的な外交を望みます。
私たちは戦艦や基地のない、平和な横須賀を望みます。
私たちは戦艦のいない太平洋を望みます。
海は市民のためのものであり、軍隊のものではありません。
海は戦闘や軍事演習のためにあるのではありません。
クィーン・エリザベス、どうかあなたの母港にお戻り下さい。
どうか平和のために母港で、とどまっていてください。
Hello！Good afternoon all
the member of crew of Queen Elizabeth.
We are a group of Yokosuka citizens called Yokosuka Peace
flotilla.
You may be exhausted and tired after a first long
voyage and mission, but please listen to our message.
We oppose the US Naval bases and the home
porting aircraft carriers in Yokosuka.
Unfortunately, we also do
not welcome the arrival of Queen Elizabeth this time.
We are deeply concerned about
the Royal Navy's advance into the Indo-Pacific region.
We hope peaceful diplomacy rather
than gunboat diplomacy.
We hope peaceful Yokosuka without
Naval base and Warships.
We hope
peaceful Pacific Ocean without battleships.
And we want to say
that the sea belongs to the citizens, not to the military.
The sea is not
for military exercises or combat.
Queen
Elizabeth, please return to your home port.
Please stay at your home for peace.!
Queen Elizabeth, please return to your home port!
Please stay at your home for peace. Stay Home for
Peace! Stay home for peace!
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「非核市民宣言運動・ヨコスカ」では７月２５日、コロナ対策のため定例デモに代えて横須賀来て前でスタンデングをしました。
参加者は３０名でした。
下記は松本さんによるスピーチ。
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2021年7月25日(日) ゲート前スピーチ 松本麻里 さん
Hello everyone
in and around the naval base. Recently, unusually hot day has continued. Are
you all feeling sick? Are you tired of these Japanese hot summer days?
Please let us
introduce ourselves. We are citizens of Yokosuka and people who live in nearby
town. We all love peace and want a society without violence and war.
Before covid-19
Pandemic, on the last Sunday of each month, we demonstrate on the street to
make a world without a violence, and to call for Nuclear free Yokosuka.
But past
several months, we didn’t demonstrate on the street to help prevent spread of the corona virus. Today, instead
of a demonstration, we are standing here to express our will for peace. It will
be a short time, but everyone’s thoughts are so deep. As you know, Tokyo Olympic
have begun. Honestly speaking, we guess that there are many people who are not
happy. Because…off course covid-19, We are deeply saddened by climate change, economic
disparity, racism, and all sorts of problem in the world.
For Yokosuka
citizen, the most important problem is the military conflict the United States
and China. Even though the new democratic party’s President Biden, the tension
between US and China became day by day. Meanwhile, He has announced that the US
troops withdraw from Afghanistan before September 11th. We think this is the
good news. But we know that many precious life has been lost regardless of “enemies” or “allies”. We hope that such a tragedy will not be repeated in Taiwan, and in
other region of Asia. And we want say “Hard time come
again no more”. Thank you for listening.
海軍基地、そして周辺のみなさん、こんにちは。最近、暑い日が続いています。体調を悪くされていませんか？日本のこの暑い夏の日々にうんざりしてはいませんか？
私たちの自己紹介をさせてくださいね。私たちは横須賀と近くの町に住む市民です。平和を愛し、暴力と戦争のない社会を望んでいます。新型コロナの感染拡大前は、毎月さいごの日曜日に戦争と暴力のない社会、核のない横須賀を求めて街をデモしていました。けれどこの数か月、新型コロナの感染拡大防止に協力するためにデモは控えていました。そのかわり、今日はここで私たちの平和への意志を表現するために、ここでスタンディングをしています。とても短い時間ですが、わたしたちの思いはとても深いのです。ご存じのように東京五輪がはじまりましたが、正直、あまり喜んでいない人々も少なくありません。なぜなら、新型コロナはもちろん、気候変動、経済格差、世界中の人種差別などあらゆる問題について私たちは深く悲しんでもいるからです。とりわけ横須賀の住民にとっては、もっとも重要で悩ましいのは合衆国と中国の軍事的対立です。民主党バイデン新大統領のもとで、日増しに緊張は高まっています。
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Hello！everyone. For the past three months, we didn't organize any activity to
help prevent the spread of the new corona virus. Today, for the first time in
three months, we demonstrated
throughout the town silently to here. Some of your
friends or family members may have died of,or be severely impacted by Covid-19.
We wish you a speedy recovery and care.
In the past several
months, news of corona virus infections in Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan
has surprised us. There is data that there are twice as many people infected
with the virus in the army than in the general society.
How is working in a US military base？In a narrow warship
or submarine ,Can you keep enough distance? Is everyone's health protected at work? Is there any task that
you find risky? Do you have enough time off to rest and recover? Is there any
racial discrimination? We, the people of Yokosuka, don't want such a huge
military base of the United States in Yokosuka or anywhere else.
But for now, as equal
human beings, we are worried about how you are doing beyond our political or
national differences.
This global pandemic has
made it clear that what the world needs is compassion and cooperation, rather
than conflict and competition. In March, António
Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, appealed for "Global Ceasefire"
to prevent the spread of the virus. Despite his appeal, the US, Japan, and the
alliance continue their military exercises including RIMPAC…and so on.
Strangely,
even a splendid aircraft carrier or submarine can't defeat the pandemic. They
only help the spread instead. Now, in
every country in the world, what is needed is medical care, adequate welfare,
and peaceful life.
So there is
no time for a military conflict with any particular country.
We wholeheartedly wish you well. Please stay safe and let's
survive this together.
If you feel what we are saying here, wave your hands at us. Of
course, you are always welcome to join the demonstration. We are waiting for
you to walk &talk with us!
こんにちは。みなさん。この3か月間、わたしたちはデモをお休みしていました。もちろん、市民として、新型コロナ感染拡大防止に協力するためです。きょうはひさしぶりに、このゲート前まで、街の中をサイレントでデモしてきました。
哀しいことですが、みなさんのご友人や、ご家族で、もしかすると、コロナで亡くなった方もいるかもしれません。また、重症化している方もいるかもしれません。一日も早い回復を祈ります。
この数か月、原子力空母セオドア・ルーズベルトや、ロナルド・レーガンでの感染のニュースはわたしたちを、とても驚かせました。軍隊は、一般社会の倍のコロナの感染者がいるというデータもありますね。
米軍基地内や、狭い軍艦、潜水艦の中の任務はどうですか？職場では、みなさんの健康が守られていますか？無理な任務はありませんか？じゅうぶんにお休みはとれていますか？人種による差別はありませんか？
私たちは、ほんとうのことをいえば、あなたの国のかくも巨大な基地を、心から歓迎してはいません。でも、いまは、みなさんのことを立場や国籍を超えて、ひとりの人間として、とても心配しています。このグローバルな感染症によって、いまの世界が必要としているのは、対立や競争よりも、協力と相互理解、相互扶助だということがあきらかになりましたから。どこかの国を敵視して、対立している時間はありませんよね。
3月に、国連のアントニオ・グテーレス事務局長が、コロナ感染防止のため「グローバル停戦」を呼びかけました。にもかかわらず、リムパック含めて、アメリカ、日本も軍事演習はずっと続けています。
奇妙なことに、とても立派な空母や潜水艦でも、コロナウィルスに勝つことはできません。むしろ広まってしまいます。いま、世界のどの国でも、必要なのは医療ケアと十分な福祉。そして平和な生活です。どうかみなさん、まだまだ気を付けてください。ともに、生き延びましょう。
そして、もし、私たちとおなじ気持ちだったら、手を振ってください。もちろん、デモに入っていいし、おはなしすることも。お待ちしています。
January 27, 2019
Hello, everyone in
and around the Yokosuka U.S. Naval Base. How have you been weathering this cold
wave? Today is this year's first march against war, which our citizen's group holds
on the last Sunday of every month. Our goal is a peaceful Yokosuka, without
nuclear power or a military presence.
We started this monthly march in
1976, just after the Vietnam War, more than 40 years ago. The U.S. Naval Base,
however, is still here, its warships and attack planes having been sent to America’s
battlefields, including the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other
areas around the world.
Japan's Self-defense
Forces have been trying to strengthen and expand their military power, having
purchased a great number of armaments and high-tech weapons from the United
States, in spite of the fact that the Japanese peace constitution renounces war
in its Article 9.
According to
newspapers and TV news stations, the world is full of armed conflicts and other
disputes. If we fail to resolve these problems peacefully, another even more
serious world war could break out.
Why can’t
people learn from the past? Why can’t we care of others with a broader mind and
a bigger heart? These questions remind me of the title of one of my favorite
books: The World Is Richer and Human
Beings Are Kinder and More Generous Than You Think by Mori Tatsuya, a
Japanese writer.
We believe strongly
in peace through dialogue and diplomacy, without the use of arms or coercion.
We hope to have a chance to talk with you about these issues sometime in the new
year.
Now the flu is
going around. Please take care of yourselves and stay well.
2019年1月27日
横須賀米軍基地のみなさま、こんにちは。この寒い時期をいかがお過ごしですか。わたしたちはヨコスカの市民で、基地も核もない平和なヨコスカを願い、毎月最終日曜に町中をデモをしています。今日は今年最初の月例デモです。
私たちはこの月例デモを1976年に始めました。ベトナム戦争が終わった後で、40年以上前のことです。残念ながら、米海軍基地は未だヨコスカに存在しています。その間この基地から、湾岸地域、アフガニスタン、イラク、その他多くの戦場に艦船や攻撃機が出撃していきました。
米海軍のみならず、日本の自衛隊も米国から多くのハイテク兵器を購入し、基地の拡大整備も図っています。日本国憲法により日本は戦争を放棄したにもかかわらずです。
新聞やテレビのニュースによれば、世界中あちこちでさまざまな紛争・対決が起こっているようです。このまま放っておけば、再び大きな、深刻な戦争が勃発することもありえます。
なんで人間は過去の経験から学ばないのでしょうか。なんでわたしたちはもっと広い大きな心をもって他の人のことを心にかけることができないのでしょうか。こう問うことで、森達也という日本人作家が書いたわたしの好きな本のタイトルを思い出します。「世界は
もっと豊かだし、人はもっと優しい」というものです。
私たちは平和は武器や圧力によっては得られない、対話と外交によって得られるものと強く信じています。こうした問題について今年いつかご一緒に話し合う機会があればと思います。
今、インフルエンザがものすごく流行っています。お気を付けください。どうぞお元気で。
August 26, 2018
Hello Everyone!
Every last Sunday of the month, we march through the
streets of Yokosuka urging people to work for a peaceful world free of war and
military bases. Today, I would like to share with you some of my personal
memories of war.
Japan was defeated in World War II on August 15, 1945,
73 years ago. I lived in Yokohama at that time. The city had been almost
completely burned to the ground by incendiary bombs dropped from B-29 bombers.
I was ten years old. With the war’s end, I felt greatly relieved that there
would be no more air raids.
A year before the end of the war, Japanese school
children, particularly those in large cities, were evacuated to safer areas. In
many cases, whole schools were relocated to the countryside, and the pupils
lived there together with their teachers. They were primary school students
from the third grade to the sixth grade, ranging in age from 9 to 12 years old.
My school was moved from Yokohama to Yugawara in
Kanagawa prefecture, a hot-springs spa, now a well-known tourist spot. Since Yugawara
was not an agricultural area, the food shortage was serious. Separated from
their families, children were hungry both for their parents’ affection and for food.
Under these circumstances, bullying soon became a common occurrence. I, too,
was bullied and became severely depressed as a result.
Two months after the defeat, classes resumed in a
barracks-like temporary classroom. The first thing we were instructed to do was
to erase those parts of our textbooks that were no longer considered correct. Grown-ups,
who the day before had assured us that the emperor was a god, that Japan was a
divine nation, and that we would surely win the war, now told us that these ideas
were wrong—without so much as a simple apology.
My short war experience taught me that adults were
liars and children were cruel. I told myself that I hated war, and I vowed
never to become like the adults who had deceived us children. I would do
nothing to betray the trust of the younger generation.
But I am sad to say that I was not able to honor that
pledge. For example, the current Abe administration has arbitrarily changed the
interpretation of the Constitution’s pacifist Article 9, which outlaws war.
Abe’s interpretation now gives Japan the right to exercise “collective
self-defense.” In 2015, the government also forcibly passed security-related laws,
which now permit Japanese Self-Defense Forces to use weapons. This means that
now Japan can actually wage war, in spite of the Peace Constitution. But that
is no reason to give up. As long as I live, I will continue to do what I can to
create a truly peaceful world, one that is free of war, nuclear weapons, and
nuclear reactors.
みなさん、こんにちは。
わたしたちは毎月最後の日曜日に戦争も基地もない平和な世界を求めてヨコスカの街をデモしています。今日は個人的な戦争の記憶を少しお話ししたいと思います。
1945年8月15日、今から73年前、日本は第二次世界大戦に負けました。わたしはB-29の大空襲で焼け野原となった横浜でその日を迎えました。10歳でした。子どもながらに思ったのはもう空襲がないという安堵の気持ちでした。
その前の年から、日本、特に大都市の子どもたちはいろいろな形で疎開させられました。多くの場合は集団疎開で、親から離れて空襲のあまりない農村地帯に学校ごと送られ、集団で暮らしました。国民学校（小学校）3年生から6年生、9-12歳の子どもたちです。
わたしの学校は温泉地神奈川県の湯河原でした。今は観光地として栄えていますが、当時は生産地でないので、ひどい食糧不足でした。子どもたちは親から離れて家族の愛情にも食べ物にも飢えていました。そんな中では子ども同士のいじめが起こります。わたしもいじめられ、暗い子どもになりました。
敗戦後2ヶ月してから学校は仮校舎で授業が再開されました。最初にしたことは今までの教科書で間違ったことを書いてあるところを墨で塗って消すことでした。昨日まで天皇は神で、日本は神の国だから必ず勝つといっていた大人たちは、今日はそれは間違いだったと謝りもせずに言いました。
わたしがわずかな戦争の経験から学んだことは、大人は嘘つきで、子どもは意地悪だということでした。そして戦争は嫌だ、自分が今責めているように、次の世代の子どもたちに責められる大人にはならないと誓いました。
残念ながら、その誓いは果たされず、責められる大人になってしまいました。たとえば、現在の安倍政権は戦争を禁じる憲法9条を勝手に解釈改憲し、日本は「集団的自衛権」行使をできるとしました。また、2015年には安保法制を強行採決し、それにより今や自衛隊の武器使用を可能としました。ということは、平和憲法に反して、日本は戦争ができる国になりました。
それでも諦めたら終わりです。生きている限り戦争も核兵器も原発もない真に平和な世界をつくるために少しでもできることをしていきます。
@March 31, 2013
at Yokosuka Main Gate
Good
afternoon our friends in the 7th fleet. We hope you are enjoying a happy Easter, a
day of hope around the world. We hope
you’ve been enjoying your time here in Japan.
While you are here, please take a good look around you. You will notice a few things. You will notice there is almost no
crime. You can feel safe walking the
streets here. And, we’ve got great health
care here. I got an MRI done at a
hospital here in Japan. I didn’t have an
appointment. They said OK but you’ll
have to wait. Can you believe that? I waited about 30 minutes. They did the MRI. When we were done, the nurse said, “The
doctor is on his lunch break, but he can see you.” I went in and the doctor spent thirty minutes
of his lunch break showing me the MRI pictures.
Then, I got my prescription, 20 dollars.
And then I paid the MRI bill, 40 dollars. Total bill, 60 dollars.
Most
of you, I assume, are working in the war-making industry somehow, either in the
military or working for a contractor.
You don’t have to worry about your medical care now, but the millions of
hard-working American taxpayers who pay for your free medical care, can’t get
medical insurance themselves. You find
out you can’t get insurance. And then, your
child has a medical problem, so you gotta sell the car, then you can’t pay the
rent or your mortgage and then you got no money left, maybe the company laid
you off, too, and now you’re in trouble.
What are you going to do?
Several
years ago, when my friends and family still had a job, every time I would talk
about the Japanese health care system, they would say “That’s socialism!” I said, “Well, I don’t know if it’s socialism
or not, but it works really well.” You
might say, it’s almost as good as the free socialized medical care people in
the military get.
And,
then my friends and family in America say, “But, in Japan, you can’t choose
your own doctor.” I tell them, “No, I
can walk into any clinic in Japan and choose any doctor anywhere in the country
I want to. I can walk into the clinic
down the street, and I can walk into the biggest university medical center in
Japan any time I want to and get all the high-tech world-class care I need.”
And
then my friends and family in America say, “But, in Japan, you have to wait
months to see a doctor, right?” I tell
them the truth: “No, I walk in, give
them my card, wait about twenty to thirty minutes, and the doctor sees me. And, you get the feeling that everybody in
the health care system in Japan really cares about YOU. The nurses and doctors are real friendly, and
the clinic office people are real polite.”
“But,
Japanese health care is really expensive, yeah?” they say. I tell them the truth: “No, in fact, it’s a lot cheaper than American
insurance. A family of four in Japan
pays about 200 to 300 dollars a month for insurance. In America, it’s 600 to 800 dollars a month,
and that’s if you’re one of the lucky ones that a private, for-profit insurance
company will accept.
“But,
the Japanese health care system is a bureaucratic mess, right?” my friends in
America ask me. “No, here in Japan I
filled out one form at the city hall twenty years ago, I’ve never had to fill
out any other forms at all when I see the doctor here, they never cancel your
insurance or deny you medical care even if you are months behind in payments,
and the amount I pay has barely gone up the last 20 years.”
And,
do you know what? Lately, when I have
this conversation with my friends and family back in America, they don’t just
say, “Oh, well, that’s socialism and then stop listening. Nowadays they listen and they kind of like
what they hear. Do you know why? Because they don’t have jobs, or the jobs
they have don’t pay a decent wage for the hard work they do. You drive around the neighborhood and the
“For Sale” signs in the front yard of house after house, all in a row
practically in some neighborhoods, say “Bank Owned,” “Bank Owned,” “Bank
Owned.” Yeah, they couldn’t pay the
mortgage any more, they had their homes repossessed and now they’re living in a
small apartment or with family somewhere.
The economic stress has caused so many more divorces, stress-related
diseases and mental depression among my friends and family back in America.
If you stay in the military long
enough to retire with all the benefits, you’re one of the lucky ones who get
the monthly pension and good health care for the rest of your life. But, what about the vast majority of military
people who don’t get the benefit of the military’s socialized pension and
socialized medical care? What’s going to
happen to you when you leave the military and go back home?
If
you’ve been to Okinawa, you probably know the name of a US Marine base there
called Camp Smedley Butler. Smedley
Butler fought in China, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and
in Europe in the First World War. For a
long time, he was the most highly decorated Marine in history.
But, then, he turned against killing and destruction. He quit the Marines and changed direction 180
degrees. He started speaking out against
the for-profit American war machine. He
toured the US during the depression talking to unemployed people who had no
social safety net. And, amazingly, this
Smedley Butler who rose to the highest rank in the Marine Corps, realized he
had been wrong the whole time and wrote a book called, “War is a Racket.” He says in the book,
“I spent thirty-three
years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's
most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks
from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most
of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and
for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I suspected I was just
part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the
military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service.” These comments by the most decorated Marine
of his time.
Since 1946, the
US has been involved in at least 80 military interventions and wars and the
invasion or military intervention in over 40 countries, including the Philippines
where US Marines between 1902 and 1909 killed over 800,000 Filipinos who wanted
their independence, Puerto Rico, the Korean Peninsula, Iran in 1954, for 21
years in Vietnam, Central America, Iraq in the 1960s, Cuba, Syria, Somalia,
former Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Haiti, Grenada, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and Morocco and the list goes on.
And, not once, in the last 70 years has the American continent been
attacked by any of these countries I just listed. In all of these cases, the American government said our brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, uncles,
aunts and friends were dying to protect democracy and freedom. That’s what we’ve been told we’re supposed to
believe. But, if you look at the historical
facts, you will see for yourself that all of these planned military
interventions were to get, by force, oil or other natural resources that big
business wanted or to prop up US friendly, un-democratic dictatorships.
And, finally, we
appeal to you today, our friends in the US military, stop helping the
corporations make their billions and bilions of dollars while hard-working
Americans can’t get a decent job, a stable place to live or affordable health
care for themselves and their families while more than 50%, more than 50%, of
all the federal taxes we pay goes to subsidize the war industry that makes the
rich richer while the economic situation and quality of life for the working
poor and middle class people in America gets worse. When you go back to America, we hope you will
remember some of the good points of the Japanese way of life, and we hope that
you will continue the struggle back home in America, not for the big
corporations anymore, but for a better America and a better world. Have a good day on this Easter Sunday, this day
of hope. See you again the last Sunday
next month. God bless you and your
families on this Easter Sunday.
July 31, 2011
Dear Friends on and around the base,
The anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are almost here again. It was 66 years ago, in early August 1945, that the world’s first nuclear bombs were dropped on the two cities by the United States, reducing them to ashes and taking the lives of 300,000 people. Even today, many bomb survivors continue to suffer from the aftereffects of radiation.
On March 11 of this year, Fukushima sadly joined this list of nuclear tragedies.
Following U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1953 policy proposal to pursue the “peaceful use of nuclear power,” Japan committed itself to the development of atomic energy and today has a total of 54 reactors. The March 11 earthquake and tidal wave devastated the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, causing multiple meltdowns that unleashed a world-class nuclear catastrophe and shattered the myth of “safe atomic power.” The situation at the stricken plant has yet to stabilize, and every day brings fresh revelations of expanding radioactive contamination and continuing trauma for the people of Fukushima.
It is clear that whether atomic energy is used for weapons of mass destruction or for electric power generation, it poses the same threat to humanity and nature. Radiation, whatever its source, damages all life forms equally.
We are told that nuclear power is “clean,” “efficient,” and “cheap,” yet no solution has been found for disposing of radioactive waste. For that reason, nuclear power plants have been called “mansions without toilets.” The spent fuel contains massive amounts of highly radioactive materials, many of which have extremely long half-lives. According to the documentary film Into Eternity (Michael Madsen, 2009), Finland has built the Onkalo nuclear waste repository deep in the ground to keep the country’s nuclear waste for the next 100,000 years. It will take such an unbelievably long time before the waste becomes harmless.
Japan is a small country prone to earthquakes. There is no place here where radioactive waste can be safely stored.
Have you heard about recent research findings on active faults below the Miura Peninsula where Yokosuka is located?. Weakened by the Great East Japan Earthquake, these active faults could slip at any time, triggering a huge quake of Magnitude 6 or 7. Surrounded by sea, the peninsula, including Yokosuka, would likely be engulfed by an enormous tsunami. The USS George Washington, equipped with two nuclear reactors, is said to be hardy and safe, but is it strong enough to survive a major earthquake and tsunami? Should its reactors suffer a fate similar to those in Fukushima, the U.S. Navy would become not just a victim but also a victimizer. Included among the victims would be you Navy personnel and your families, and as well as base workers of several nationalities.
No Nuke voices have been rising in Japan. The time has come for nuclear-powered warships to withdraw from Yokosuka and Japanese waters. In the event of another natural disaster, failure to do so could have grim consequences for American military personnel as well as Japanese residents.
June 26, 2011
People on and
around the base! Good evening!
As you know, the situation at the
Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant remains the same, and we have no idea when they
will be able to get the fuel cooled. Will it take twenty years, or thirty
years? Or it could take more than 100 years… What we face now is helplessness
against a manmade monster that cannot be tamed by human technology, and which
acts on its own. It’s just like a Frankenstein.
What we have learned is that we should
not accept explanations or propaganda from anybody who tries to convince us of how
safe nuclear power plants are. It’s time for us to look for alternative ways to
get electricity and adapt our way of living to the scale of power we can
generate.
I’d like to talk about a conscientious
expert from Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries who participated in the
construction of commercial nuclear power plants. His name is Kojima, and he
retired three years ago. Even before the Chernobyl Accident, he had already
started distributing leaflets at the main gate of his firm to share his conviction
not to accept the myth of safety of nuclear power plants with his fellow
workers. He knew that a nuclear power plant is a complex structure with pipes stretching
out like a spider web. In return for his conscientious action, he was only paid
a basic pay. But he pushed it through. After 35 years of work, he came to the
conclusion that we have to stop relying on nuclear power plants.
Crew of the George Washington! Have you ever
met an officer who is free from the safety myth of nuclear power plants? If
not, I hope you’ll be the first. Then you’d be the one to serve the future of
humankind.
Let us think about Okinawa. It’s the U.S.
government that decided to transfer the F15 station from Kadena to Iwakuni to
increase the safety of its deployment and the lives of its Okinawan neighbors.
How dare the U.S. government plan to
introduce Ospreys to Futenma, while the words are still fresh in their mouth?
It’s clear that Futenma will be a terribly dangerous base, terrifying local
residents with its noise and the fear of accidents. Why doesn’t the U.S.
government decide to withdraw from Okinawa? It has been 66 years since it has
held the island.
As people get older, their ideology and
beliefs can change. It’s good to change from bad one to good ideas, but not
from good to bad. I would like to see Hillary Clinton, a contemporary of mine
who was involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement, recover the pure soul she
had and make use of it now for the liberation of Okinawa.
Ms. Clinton is a little younger than Mr. Kojima, a Japanese expert on nuclear
power plants. Which baby boomer is serving the world better?
Thank you.
May
29, 2011
Dear
everybody in the US Navy 7th Fleet,
We are a group of
citizens of Yokosuka
and those gathered from various parts of the metropolitan area to call to
restore peaceful living environment. We march through the downtown of Yokosuka on the last
Sunday of every month as most of you probably know, to share our message with
the people. Today, we would like to raise two points. One regards to CVN George
Washington who recently returned to the port after a month away. The other
regards to the death or killing of Osama bin Laden.
The recent earthquake
and tsunami caused CVN73 George Washington to leave the homeport for a month,
due reportedly to avoid any radioactivity to be detected on her. If radioactivity
was found on the ship, no way to find where it is from; from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power
plant, or from the vessel? There has always been concern or almost a threat of possible
radioactive leak or possible accident on the ship among us. Our anxiety has
become heightened by the accident in Fukushima.
The power companies here have been telling us that the nuclear power plant is
safe. This has been proven not to be true by the accident. Nuclear power plant
is designed and built by people and so is nuclear power driven vessel. Designed
by and built by human being can break. No ABSOLUTE SAFETY can be guaranteed for
the manmade. Let’s be reminded that there have been numerous accidents that
involved the nuclear powered vessels. We do not believe that the nuclear power
is safe.
Just briefly, on Osama
bin Laden. Personally, I was shocked and felt very uncomfortable when the TV
screen showed the people were in celebration near White House early May. I’d
believe this feeling is shared by many here and across Japan. The news of the US special
force, US Navy SEALs, accomplishing the operation of killing Osama bin Laden
successfully has been received by the American people with such great cheers. But
life of one human being should not be more disrespectful than that of the others.
We all have equally respectful lives that must be naturally pursued and not be
disrespectfully terminated artificially. bin Laden should have been tried
fairly, for instance, in the International Criminal Court, before he was
killed. The US conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan do not seem to be
finding solution. We must look at the fact that the wars continue and people
continue to be killed after the death of the leader.
April 24, 2011
Good evening, friends
living on and around the base!
The George Washington has returned after
one month of evacuation offshore. You must have been uneasy when you were told
you had to leave, knowing nothing about where you would go and when you would
come back. You must feel uneasy about not receiving any information about the
earthquakes that struck many times since the land of Japan is located on the
border of different continental shelves that move and push against each other.
Now you know that the worst possible place has been chosen for the home-porting
of the George Washington. Geologists warn it won’t be long before a huge
earthquake may strike the Kanto region, and people need to be ready for it.
What do you think? Would you like to become the cause of another disaster here,
or would you like to bring the George Washington back to Virginia?
Incidentally, we thank you for the rescue
operations you were involved in in the disaster areas, searching for victims and
recovering bodies in a way that can only be done by the best equipped troops.
More than 20,000 service people from the US Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine
Corps participated in efforts to reconstruct Japan. Thank you again for the personnel
who went there. I’m sure you are the first to have utilized the latest
technology to rescue people.
If the 7th Fleet remains as troops for peace
from now on, I’ll not oppose your deployment in Yokosuka. I’ll rather welcome
you. I’ll support joint drills between you and the Japanese Maritime Defense Forces.
Your work in the disaster areas this time
was given the name of operation “Tomodachi.” It reminds me of an English saying
I learned in junior high, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” How much I
wish we could realize friendship like this, helping each other, helping those
in need, wherever on this earth they may be together. Let us develop our
friendship not to be temporary imitation but a real one, eliminating
exploitation of one by the other, and secrets in between. People sometimes cheat
and exploit others under the guise of friendship. Let us not be like that. We
should build a real friendship that listens to the voices of the other well and
stops pushing things a friend hates. It’s fun to imagine Yokosuka becoming a
base for peace troops that reach out to people in need everywhere on this
planet. No more killing! No more destruction! And put an end to the home porting
of nuclear-powered vessels in Tokyo Bay.
March 27, 2011
Greetings to all who remain at Yokosuka Naval Base,
We are citizens seeking a peaceful world without nuclear weapons, nuclear power or military bases.
We were surprised to find out that the CVN George Washington suddenly departed Yokosuka on March 21, before the completion of its ongoing maintenance work. Is the George Washington really safe? We have also heard that the families of many sailors, civilian employees and engineers who were here for the maintenance work have flown back home to the United States to escape the danger of the serious nuclear accident at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant that was triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11.
A number of countries have offered assistance to Japan to cope with this grave disaster. From the United States, the USS Ronald Reagan, among other resources, has been working in the area, providing precious help. We would like to express our gratitude for that.
Japan is an earthquake-prone land. There have been a number of big earthquakes in the past, but the recent one ranks as one of the greatest. An enormous tsunami triggered by the earthquake struck a wide area along the Pacific of the northeastern region, swallowed thousands of people and left behind total devastation. Above all, it drove the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, which was supposed to be “totally safe,” into a gravely critical dysfunction.
Four of the six reactors at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant are in a critical situation. Although all-out efforts have been made to avert catastrophic disaster, a large amount of radioactivity has been already released. In the worst case it could become worse than Chernobyl, contaminating the entire world with radioactivity. Nuclear power is as dangerous as it is. The government and electric utilities have kept saying that the nuclear power is “safe.” But there is nothing “absolute” in what human beings do. As far as nuclear power is concerned, the “unexpected” cannot be allowed.
CVN George Washington, which is no longer at port, is driven by two nuclear reactors. Since the time we learned about its deployment plan, we have continued to oppose the deployment, as it represents a grave threat to us. The U.S. Navy, however, stated that the ship was “absolutely safe,” without disclosing any information on its reactors, and claimed that even if an accident should occur, the radioactivity would never escape from the base.” There are active faults in Yokosuka, and in the past, tsunami occasionally triggered by big earthquakes. Does the Navy still say “it is absolutely safe,” even after seeing the recent disaster?
We once again state strongly, as we have kept saying, that “We don’t want a CVN in Yokosuka!”
February 27, 2011
Dear everyone in the US Naval Base
Yokosuka,
We
noticed the tent has been removed on the deck of George Washington. We could
not help wondering how the maintenance work has been going on. We were not able
to see what maintenance works have been performed so far and wonder how much of
waste which is radio-active contaminated, would be resulted this time. Would we
see it being transferred from George Washington to some tender facilities also?
Last year, it was about 1 ton of radio-active contaminated waste which was
transferred from George Washington to Noble Star. In Japan, we are pledged to no nuclear
arms; which means, we do not manufacture, own, nor use nuclear arms. What’s
happening in Yokosuka
contradicts our pledge.
Incidentally,
as we and world has known, in Egypt,
true democracy is be being rooted. We should all be happy about it. We should
especially congratulate those courageous people. They worked on it and
initiated the movement. They still have a long way to go, but it’s a start.
The
movement is spreading to other countries in northern Africa and the Middle
East, even to China.
Bahrain, one of the Middle East countries, is the home of the US Navy 5th
Fleet. Looking at their website, they are not involved in the people’s movement
and we hope they stay that way, stay out of the people’s movement.
In
Afghanistan, one of the Middle East countries, the situation shows the stark
contrast. Fighting continues there. In the recent fighting between ISAF and the
insurgency, about 60 people were killed. This 60 people includes 20 children
and 20 women.
Unless
all the forces withdraw from Afghanistan,
fighting continues and people continue to die.
Love and Peace,
December 26, 2010
Dear everybody in the US Naval base in Yokosuka,
The year
2010 is closing and it’s time for us to mumble “time flies”. At the year end,
let’s recall how the world has been for this year.
In Haiti,
after the earthquake in Jan, the country has not been fully recovered. The
people are already poor enough and the earthquake worsened the situation. In
Nov, they were hit by the hurricane Thomas which was followed by the spread of
cholera. The two incidents, the hurricane and the cholera epidemic link
closely.
Tuvalu, the
country consisting of 7 islands in the South Pacific, is on the verge of
extinction. It’s only the matter of time before the country is swamped by the
rising water. The rising water, by anybody’s guess, is mainly caused by the
global warming.
Myanmar, the
election in Nov was not conducted according to the democratic process, and a
military dictatorship has been chosen to rule the country. In this 21st
century, there Is a country where people are governed by military dictatorship.
There are
more in the world where people are forced to live under inhuman condition. At
the end of a year, let’s extend our thoughts to those who are less blessed.
Fighting
continues in Afghanistan,
not to mention in Iraq.
Soldiers are coming home to the States on wheel chair, and being suffered from
PTSD. According to the recent CNN news, the Defense Department’s Medical
Surveillance report from Nov examines “a large, widespread and growing mental
health problem among the US
military members”, and it reports that the incidents of the diagnoses of PTSD
increased nearly six-fold from 2003 to 2008. It’s staggering to know that in 5
years, 6 times more young people are advised as having mental disorder. Another
report says in 2010 so far, 700 death of coalition forces stationed in Afghanistan.
The total death of 2009 was 521.
With the
time passing, more lives of people and soldiers are taken out in war, which, if
we stop and think, can be stopped. Let’s raise our voice that needs to be
heard. “No more War”.
Merry Christmas!
Dear Friends Bａｃｋ
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２０２１年４月の写真です。
