Abstract
Conflict has arisen between those who have convinced themselves it is all right to stay in Fukushima and those who have not, due to the cover-up after the earthquake and to the prefecture's campaign to raise the level of exposure considered safe to 100 millisieverts. This has caused mental health problems, with opinions divided in the home, at the workplace and in the community. With at least 75% of schools in the prefecture situated in "radiation control zones," the central government's decision to permit use of schools with radiation levels as high as 20 millisieverts has caused an increase in unnecessary exposure. Local governments push responsibility off on each other, municipalities and the prefecture claiming they are helpless without instruction from the prefecture and the central government respectively. Panicked parents on May 1, 2011, launched the "Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation." They began decontamination operations to make up for delayed efforts by the authorities and established citizen radiation measurement centers. They are engaged in a wide range of activities to protect children, including providing information, helping with evacuation and recuperation, holding lectures and health consultation events, and opening the "Vegetable Cafe Hamoru" to provide safe vegetables.
