To Protect Children from Risk of Radioactivity

Abstract

While the Japanese government defines 20 mSv/year as a criterion for designating special evacuation points, NGOs have demanded that the government should establish a broader, “optional evacuation area” to allow people to decide whether or not to evacuate for themselves. Since the Japanese government is unwilling to change its evacuation policy, however, people in Fukushima, especially residents of Watari District (Fukushima City), have suffered enormously.

We have launched the “POKA-POKA Project for Fukushima Children” in response to the dire situation in Watari District. While going forward with the project, we will continue to lobby the government to change its evacuation policy. The government criterion for evacuation, 20 mSv/year, is nearly four times as high as the safe limit in radiation-controlled areas. The evacuation criterion itself needs to be reconsidered.