鎌倉・円覚寺の紅葉
UNSCEAR議長への手紙（第３弾）
UNSCEAR議長あてに以下の手紙（第３弾）を送信した。
今年８月と９月にUNSCEARの事務局長に『UNSCER2020/2021報告書に日本側はどう関与したか』について、４回に分け英訳を送っていた。その内容を現議長、前議長（この報告書の責任者）と執筆者の一人（ロシア人）にも送付した。
デタラメ、線量矮小化、改竄等の非科学定な内容のUNSCEAR2020/2021報告書に代わる新たな報告書の作成を強く要請した。
以下の英文は、『UNSCEAR２０２０・２０２１報告書に日本側はどう関与したか』の第５章を英訳したもので以下で公開しています。
鈴木元氏や明石慎言氏の強い関与が記載されている。
前半： https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-02-12
後半： https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-02-13
第１弾の手紙は以下をご覧ください。
https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-12-09
第２弾の手紙は以下をご覧ください。
https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-12-16
ーーーー以下転載ーーー
Dear Dr Jing Chen Chair of the UNSCEAR Committee
Cc Ms. Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf,
Following yesterday, I am sending you the No. 3 of” How were Japanese researchers involved in the process of developing the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report?”
Science is not about what anyone says, but what it says.
In other words, science is not what UNSCEAR, an authoritative international organization, says, but what the UNSCEAR report says.
However, the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report is full of errors, dose minimization, and falsification, and it has become clear that it is far removed from science.
Please see below for the website of the "Association for Clarifying the Truth about Thyroid Exposure Due to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident".
https://fukushimakyoto.namaste.jp/akiraka/index.html
The database is as follows
http://natureflow.web.fc2.com/HP/index.html
●Publication No. 3 (2023)
Fukushima Thyroid Cancer: A High Incidence of Thyroid Cancer Due to Chernobyl-Level Exposure
-UNSCEAR report that created its own unfavorable situation by underestimating radiation doses"
https://fukushimakyoto.namaste.jp/akiraka/20230331NO3.html
●Publication No. 2 (2022)
High Incidence of Thyroid Cancer: Cause of Exposure Can No Longer Be Concealed
-Criticism of the UNSCEAR Report"
https://fukushimakyoto.namaste.jp/akiraka/20220429NO2.html
I would be appreciated if you point out any problems or errors in the content of this article.
------RESEND---
Dear Ms. Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf,
Today, I am sending you English translations of sections 5 of the booklet, which have already been published, in addition to those I previously sent you .
This sections describes how the Japanese working group, especially one of its members, Makoto Akashi, and Gen Suzuki, who published many biased papers, were heavily involved in and biased the preparation of the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report. This fact is revealed in the minutes of the UNSCEAR domestic response committee members obtained through a Freedom of Information request to NIRS, the report of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission that investigated the causes of the Fukushima nuclear accident, and their statements and papers.
I hope that you will read it with sincerity and give us your opinions and counter opinions.
As I mentioned in my previous e-mail, it is possible for us to send you this booklet, and I hope that you will take it and read it. And I also hope that you will eventually publish a new report to replace the 2020/2021 report. This will help to restore the credibility of UNSCEAR. It is our responsibility as adults to preserve the true record of Fukushima for future generations, and I hope that UNSCEAR will make a courageous decision.
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How did Japanese researchers influence the preparation of the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report?（No.3）
５． How did the Japan Working Group influence the preparation of the report?
The Japanese Working Group established within UNSCEAR had five members: Dr. Akashi, Dr. Akahane, and Dr. Aono of the former NIRS, Dr. Chino of JAEA, and Ozasa of RERF. The Japanese working group did not directly write the report but was strongly involved in providing detailed analysis and information. Its mission is to provide scientific papers and data, especially from Japan to the group of experts who wrote the draft, and to make recommendations. Arbitrary selection of papers was possible .
1.5-1. Involvement of Dr. Makoto Akashi
Dr. Akashi served in three important positions within UNSCEAR, including the Coordinating Expert Group (overall supervision), the Japanese Working Group, and a member of the Domestic Response Committee. He was in an easy position to provide the expert group of the authors with the papers that made the exposure doses look small, and to induce them to minimize the exposure doses. (See the previous footnote)
5-2 Involvement of Dr. Gen Suzuki
Dr. Gen Suzuki is a member of the domestic response committee and is currently the chairman of the Thyroid Ultrasound Examination Evaluation Subcommittee, which is established under the Prefectural Oversight Committee Meeting for Fukushima Health Management Survey. Furthermore, UNSCEAR has fully adopted the "40 Evacuation Scenarios" paper written by Dr. Suzuki, which downsized the radiation dose values of the residents in the evacuation area by ignoring the behavioral records of the most exposed prefectural residents.
At a public meeting held in Iwaki City on July 21, 2022, one of the authors, Dr. M. Balnov , revealed that the Japanese had adopted Dr. Suzuki's recommendation to reduce the uptake ratio of the thyroid gland by 1/2. This was an evidence of Suzuki's strong involvement in the project.
The 2013 report evaluated the inhalation exposure in the situation where the residents of Fukushima Prefecture were ordered to evacuate indoors, but all of them ignored the recommendation to evacuate indoors and stayed outdoors in the extremely cold weather. The dose was reassessed by considering a dose reduction factor assuming that all residents were indoors, which would have a 50% effect of evacuating indoors, and the internal dose due to inhalation was reduced to 1/2.
After a workshop held by the NPO Radiation Safety Forum, I posed a question to Dr. N, a speaker from JAEA, about the background and reasons for the halving of the indoor evacuation effect. I subsequently received the following response by e-mail.
“The value of 0.5, which is the inhalation reduction effect of sheltering indoors, was determined by UNSCEAR based on the experimental data of Dr. H (JAEA). To be precise, Dr. Gen Suzuki selected the value used as the median value of 0.1 to 1, the range obtained based on Mr. H's experimental data, and UNSCEAR adopted this value.”
Furthermore, Professor Yamazawa of Nagoya University has shown that if the windows remain closed after the plume has passed after evacuating indoors, the plume remains inside the room and internal exposure continues for a long time, rendering the indoor evacuation completely ineffective. Although the arrival period of the plume was wide, there is no data showing that the concentration remained lower indoors than outdoors throughout this period, and rather, the amount of radioactive materials deposited indoors supports the idea that a significant amount of radioactive materials entered indoors.
The responses also revealed that Dr. Gen Suzuki had a decisive impact on reducing internal radiation doses. Dr. Gen Suzuki knew that organicized radioactive iodine could easily penetrate indoors and had warned about this before the accident.
5-3. Inaction and problematic behavior of Dr. Akashi and Dr. Suzuki at the time of the nuclear accident
The inaction and problematic actions of Dr. Akashi and Dr. Suzuki at the time of the nuclear accident are as follows.
(1)Dr. Makoto Akashi:
He advised the government to stop screening surveys of all but 1,080 people, claiming that the effects of radiation were minimal and that epidemiological studies were unnecessary . The actual extent of radiation exposure was unknown . Furthermore, he asked the government to approve the standard for screening from 1.3 million cpm to 100,000 cpm.（Note１）
(2)Dr. Gen Suzuki
As per prior training, several facsimiles were sent out from NSC advising the patients to take stable iodine pills if they exceeded the screening criteria, as had been decided beforehand. Involvement in the creation of screening standards.
Dr. Akashi and Dr. Suzuki were at NIRS at the same time in the past, and there are many joint research papers. Dr. Suzuki has formally apologized for inadequate prior assumptions.
Even if the authors (the expert group) were to discuss fairly and neutrally based on the convenient papers and data provided by the Japanese working group, the conclusions will be biased in discussions based on the biased papers and data selected by Japanese working group, so that UNSCEAR's fairness and neutrality will not be persuasive. Therefore, many Japanese residents are assuming that the writing expert group readily accepted the biased information of the Japanese Working Group and the National Response Committee
Note1:In an interview with a Tokyo Shimbun reporter, Akashi admitted that the written request he submitted to the government was a mistake. According to the Tokyo Shimbun's "This is
Special Report Department" (Feb. 4, 2019), "NIRS is in a position to urge the government to start thyroid measurements as soon as possible. Yasuda, who was off-site, said, "The thyroid exposure is at a serious level," and asked NIRS to take early action, but the center's director, Akashi, replied, "There is no consensus within the institute, so we were instructed to hold off on this. Akashi's breach of trust is clear.
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I would appreciate your comments soon.
Best regards,
UNSCEAR議長への手紙（第２弾）
以下の手紙（第2弾）をUNSCEAR議長あてに送信した。
今年８月と９月にUNSCEARの事務局長に『UNSCER2020/2021報告書に日本側はどう関与したか』について、４回に分け英訳を送っていた。その内容を現議長、前議長（この報告書の責任者）と執筆者の一人（ロシア人）にも送付した。
デタラメ、線量矮小化、改竄等の非科学定な内容のUNSCEAR2020/2021報告書に代わる新たな報告書の作成を強く要請した。
以下の英文は『UNSCEAR２０２０・２０２１報告書に日本側はどう関与したか』の第６章と第７章を英訳したもので、以下で公開しています。
鈴木元氏や明石慎言氏の強い関与が記載されています。
前半： https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-02-12
後半： https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-02-13
第１弾の手紙は以下をご覧ください。
https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-12-09
ーーー以下転載ーーー
Dear Dr Jing Chen Chair of the UNSCEAR Committee
Cc Ms. Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf,
Following yesterday, I am sending you the No. 2 of” How were Japanese researchers involved in the process of developing the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report?”
A booklet in Japanese has also been published and is available for sale regarding this content.
It is also published in the following blog, "How the Japanese side was involved in the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report.”
It exposes how the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report was distorted by Japanese officials and authors.
First half : https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-02-12
Second half: https://nimosaku.blog.ss-blog.jp/2023-02-13
I would be appreciated if you point out any problems or errors in the content of this article.
------RESEND---
Dear Ms. Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf,
Today, we are sending you English translations of sections 6 and 7 of the booklet, which have already been published, in addition to those we sent you yesterday. These sections are about the issues and challenges of the public meeting held last year and the articles in the Japanese media that reported on the meeting. We hope that you will read it with sincerity and give us your opinions and counter opinions.
As I mentioned in yesterday's e-mail, it is possible for us to send you this booklet, and we hope that you will take it and read it. And we also hope that you will eventually publish a new report to replace the 2020/2021 report. This will help to restore the credibility of UNSCEAR. It is our responsibility as adults to preserve the true record of Fukushima for future generations, and we hope that UNSCEAR will make a courageous decision.
How did Japanese researchers influence the preparation of the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report?（No. 2）
6. Issues discussed at Public Meetings in Japan
6-1. Tokyo Institute of Technology (held on July 19, 2022)
The author remotely participated in a public meeting held at Tokyo Institute of Technology for radiation experts and posed the following question.
"Are you ignoring the internal exposure of residents to contaminated vegetables and milk that were home-grown and marketed until March 26, before shipment restrictions were imposed at the time of the nuclear accident?"
In response to the question, Dr. Balnov, one of the authors of UNSCEAR, responded, "The impact is low". His answer was one-sided, without any scientific basis. Residents of Fukushima prefecture are aware of the extent to which they have consumed open-air vegetables and raw milk at that time.
6-2. Iwaki City (held on July 21, 2022)
The event was open to the public but required reservations due to limited space considering the infection control. However, participants were only invited five days prior to the date of the event. The management of this event may have been extremely difficult under the drastically changing situation of Covid-19 epidemic no one could have predicted it, but from a citizen's point of view, the operation was very closed and information disclosure was inadequate.
UNSCEAR should have followed a textbook approach in its response, with the assistance of communication experts. The date of the event and the information that it would be held in Iwaki City were known by an e-mail from the Executive Director of UNSCEAR in February as I was getting this by emailing her personally. The information obtained in this communication was the only source of information for citizens interested in this issue in Japan, regardless of their position. They are engaged in heated debates day and night on the Internet, but the information kindly provided by UNSCEAR to the citizen activist was guided by a combined effort between different positions.
However, even as the date of the event approached, details of the event were not announced, and emails to UNSCEAR went unanswered without any reasons and no announcements at their web page due to the difficult Covid-19. After confirming with Iwaki City elected prefectural assembly members, Iwaki City assembly members, and Iwaki City Hall, I finally learned the location of the event just five days before it was to be held.
The author submitted questions in advance, but due to the many questions and doubts raised by citizens and experts, time ran out and the author was not able to ask any questions. Promises to update the Q&A page have been reneged on, and questions from citizens remain ignored. Questions from participants are being posted and shared verbatim on the Japanese municipalities' event pages.
The following is a summary of the meeting.
(1)UNSCEAR wasted more than an hour beyond the scheduled two hours, a very valuable time to interact directly with the residents by explaining what the participants had already well-prepared for this workshop and understood. The progression of the meeting was completely different from the previous dialogue meetings with citizens in Fukushima Prefecture that utilized a communicator.
(2)Many simple editorial mistakes were pointed out and questions were raised by scientists and citizens, but no satisfactory answers were obtained. It is questionable whether the reviewers read the manuscript seriously. Why not make it an open-peer review?
(3)Dr. Balnov revealed that he had adopted Dr. Suzuki's recommendation that the ratio of radioactive iodine uptake in the thyroid gland of the Japanese be reduced by one-half. It is based on outdated data on the eating habits of the most of young Japanese. Within Fukushima prefecture they are not in the habit of drinking miso soup especially at that season. Even though, there is scientific evidence that many children had adequate iodine intake before the accident in Fukushima, but not all did.
(4)Many questions and doubts erupted, and the discussion was not sufficient, so the group requested an extension of time and an afternoon discussion, but it was terminated due to the next schedule14 . No follow-up proposal was ever made. The situation was quite different from the previous UNSCEAR briefings in Fukushima, which were functionally held with the assistance of a communicator who used to work in Fukushima Prefecture.
７． Criticism of UNSCEAR by the Media
Following the public meeting held in Iwaki City on July 21 and the press conference of the "UNSCEAR 2020/21 Report Verification Network" at the Fukushima Prefectural Government Press Conference Hall15 , several media such as NHK, Tokyo Shimbun (newspaper), Asahi Shimbun, Sankei Shimbun, Fukushima Minpo, and the local monthly magazine Political economy North-east, began to report criticism. They were influential in shaping public opinion that the UNSCEAR report should be re-examined.
1) NHK16
“A group of researchers in Japan has announced the results of the verification of the report. In the part of the report that estimates the amount of iodine-131, a radioactive substance that causes thyroid exposure, present in the atmosphere immediately after the nuclear power plant accident, the researchers pointed out that UNSCEAR incorrectly quoted data from the original paper and underestimated the amount of radiation exposure.” “The group is demanding a retraction of its conclusions.”
NHK's critical report was a landmark report with great impact for citizens in Fukushima Prefecture, who had previously accepted the UNSCEAR report as correct.
(UNSCEAR's claims were also reported at the same time)
2) Tokyo Shimbun17 .
“There are several incorrect graphs and data. It underestimates exposure doses due to errors in citing papers. It is far from a scientific report." Criticisms by a group of researchers were reported along with UNSCEAR's claims.
3) Sankei Shimbun18 .
The Sankei Shimbun published a series of seven articles such as "Rumors Surpass Science”. The first article featured a public meeting in Iwaki City.
In the article, the author discussed the opinions of citizens and scholars who participated in the meeting, including: "Since UNSCEAR received 70 million yen in funding from Japan for the preparation of its 2020/2021 report, there are smoldering opinions that UNSCEAR is trying to make the effects of radiation exposure appear small," " Does UNSCEAR mean independence, independent from the victims and taking the side of the government without taking the victims into consideration?”
The UNSCEAR did not give the public a chance to discuss it," "An urgent statement calling for the withdrawal of the conclusions of the 2020/2021 report and a collection of questions to pursue Dr. Gillian Hirth and others are also shown," "The deposition rate is wrong by three digits," "Then UNSCEAR is underestimating the estimated exposure dose in the 2020/2021 report," " The audience voiced their opposition”. These articles were listed together with Dr. Gen Suzuki's comments. The author does not understand the meaning of this comment. The author, as a concerned citizen, simply asks for an explanation.
(4) Asahi Shimbun19 .
The article, "The Divided Views on Radiation Exposure Effects," reported both sides of the argument on October 6, 2011. The article included criticism of UNSCEAR by domestic researchers as follows.
①Professor Emeritus Tadashi Hongyo, Osaka University
He criticizes UNSCEAR for "grossly underestimating various factors related to radiation exposure by adopting values that are at or below the minimum of the range of possible estimates.“
The supporting data for the "kelp effect" that led to the reduction of radiation doses is "completely unreliable" because only 15 people were studied 55 years ago.
The most recent iodine intake of the Japanese population is not high compared to the world standard, and the assessment is not based on facts.
Even though some contaminated vegetables and other products were on the market immediately after the accident, he notes, this was not taken into account, which "also runs counter to the precautionary principle of adopting a maximum value for something uncertain."
②Professor Toshihide Tsuda of Okayama University
He said that " The hypothesis that it derives from overdiagnosis, which is believed to be the cause of the high incidence of cancer, has not been scientifically verified”.
③Dr. Yasuyuki Taneichi
To prevent overdiagnosis, the screening criteria for the size of masses that should be examined secondarily are based on strict criteria and are highly quality-controlled. As a result, it can be objectively proven that nodules smaller than 5 mm are not subject to close examination, and that this does not constitute overdiagnosis in detecting small, non-life-threatening cancers. The highly sensitive equipment allows detailed identification of cancerous growths, and the number of cases leading to surgery has been decreasing. High-sensitivity instruments prevent overdiagnosis, and the report says the opposite.
This important issue was also raised by the chairperson at the 15th meeting of the Thyroid Ultrasound Examination Evaluation Subcommittee, which was established under the Prefectural Oversight Committee Meeting for Fukushima Health Management Survey (held on June 15, 2020). These issues can be analyzed scientifically and objectively through the contributions of young researchers using image analysis based on AI technology, which has been advancing more recently.
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14Minamisoma City and Naraha Machi as they need to go to UNSCEAR to thank them for providing personal external radiation monitoring data of their residents.
16https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/fukushima/20220720/6050019402.html
17https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/191115
18https://www.sankei.com/article/20220912-6MX2OTC3TZIOVHAHXDG4OBDWLU/
19https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASQB57VYKQ9GUGTB005.html
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I would appreciate your comments soon.
Best regards,
