Interview with the Promoters of “Skilled Veterans Corps for Fukushima”, May 6, 2011
On the 6th of May 2011, we interviewed the promoters of “Skilled Veterans Corps for Fukushima”, Yasuteru Yamada, Yoshio Hirai, Ms Sasaki, Ms Okuda and Maho Mabuchi.
Having worked for 30 years at Sumitomo Metal Industries as a specialist in waste treatment and plant construction, Yasuteru Yamada (72) founded the “Skilled Veterans Corps for Fukushima” when he saw that they were having trouble staffing the recovery efforts at Fukushima Daiichi. He called on older people to go with him saying, “Let’s call on the power of retired people who haven’t been exposed to much radiation and who have an accumulated expertise. Let’s do it for the younger generation so that they have even a little less exposure to nuclear radiation.” In late May of 2011, he had 165 people say they wanted to join him.
“Skilled Veterans Corps for Fukushima” website
The promoter of this project (which is also called “The Senior Suicide Corps”), Yasuteru Yamada, is a retired engineer who had worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries. He is also a graduate of the Department of Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo.
Mr Yamada had never worked in the field of nuclear power before, but he studied about it after the accident.
When the accident happened, he contacted some of his engineer friends and they talked about how grave the situation was.
“Robots are being used to stabilize the reactors, but in the end they will need human hands.”
“Who will be doing that?”
“Obviously they will be working in a contaminated area.”
“If younger people do it, mightn’t it effect their reproduction capacity?”
“It had better be done by older people, since our cell division is slower.”
“Skill is an important factor, too.”
“They need veteran workers, does that mean us? We would be the best candidates.”
This is how the project was established.
Something they had embarked upon casually had turned out to have been a fortuitous meeting.
This project should be on a national scale not a personal one. You have to raise your voice and discuss it.
It is beyond the limit of personal ability.
They found supporters for the project at the same time. But some said “It is tough because supporting means to push them into a place no one really should be”.
It is a project that is so important and serious that it’s not enough to just cheer them on, wishing them all the best.
Although the project is described as a suicide mission, interviewer Iwakami says it is not like that at all.
“Mr Yamada and other volunteers are working on their own initiative, not young, and not intending to die.”
Mr Yamada’s response follows: “I wouldn’t be motivated by the idea of a so-called suicide mission, I wouldn’t risk my life for somebody else. An engineer’s role is to have a purpose, not benefit in some way personally. We do whatever we need to do. I don’t think I felt the same way when I was young, I must have matured if I’m talking like this,” he laughs.
A great resolution and faith can be perceived in these exchanges, as it made Iwakami say “I am still immature.”
“At the moment, the workers have no support. It is the most important thing for them to be cared for. They need psychological as well as physical support.”
(Translation: Naoko Harada, Jeremy Harley)