The 26th Fukushima Dialogue will be held on Saturday, October 12, and Sunday, October 13, 2024.
2nd Oct Upload the final program
14 Sep: Zoom viewing registration link for Sunday, 13 Oct posted.
5 Sep: 12 Oct (Sat) field trip registration closed due to full capacity.
31 Aug: Programme posted.
31 Aug: Call for participants for the afternoon panel dialogue on Sunday, 13 Oct has closed.
[Date]
• October 12 (Saturday): Site Visit (Advance Registration Required)
• October 13 (Sunday): Dialogue at the conference room at the Cosmos Hall (the Regional Sports Center) at Namie Town
Online Streaming Available with Simultaneous Interpretation in Japanese and English
Schedule for Saturday 12th Registration Closed
The meeting time at Ono Station is set to match the arrival of the Limited Express Hitachi from Tokyo.
11:30 AM: Gather at JR Joban Line Ono Station
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Tour of the Interim Storage Facility (Guided by Mr. Yoichi Ohashi from Hosoya in Futaba Town and JESCO)
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Tour of Okuma Town (Guided by Mr. Masakatsu Watanabe from Okuma Furusato Juku)
Around 4:30 PM: Dissolution at Ono Station. Drop-off locations will be added based on participants’ convenience.
Your support for the chartered bus cost would be greatly appreciated. (approximately 3,000 yen). Priority registration is currently available for members of the NPO Fukushima Dialogue.
[Objective]
The decommissioning work currently underway at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is in its second phase, “the period until the start of fuel debris removal,” according to the medium- to long-term roadmap set by the Japanese government. Due to challenges in removing fuel debris, this phase has been delayed by three years beyond the originally planned timeline of ten years after the accident. Despite this delay, the third phase, “the period until the end of decommissioning,” is expected to start following the commencement of debris removal. The decommissioning is anticipated to conclude 30 to 40 years post-accident, though the actual timeline remains uncertain. For the time being waste generated from decommissioning are still stored at the Fukushima Daiichi site but their volume will increase as decommissioning progresses and their future disposal remains unclear.
The decontamination program has generated a huge amount waste that are now stored in the intermediate storage facilities in the towns of Futaba and Okuma. The final disposal of decontamination waste outside Fukushima Prefecture by March 2045 is mandated by law.
The government and TEPCO are currently striving to reduce the amount of waste through volume reduction and recycling, but there is still no clear plan for recycling or final disposal sites. In past Fukushima Dialogues, decommissioning and waste have frequently been discussed. The future of decommissioning and waste management is a significant issue not only for the towns of Okuma and Futaba but for all affected areas of Fukushima. It has been noted that residents have not been adequately involved in future decision-making processes. In the 16th Fukushima Dialogue held in March 2017, with the guidance of landowners from the interim storage facility site in Futaba, we visited their homes, which were designated for facility construction, and held dialogues with landowners from both Futaba and Okuma. They spoke about the unreasonable situation of not only losing their homes due to the accident but also bearing the additional burden of accepting waste. At the 22nd Fukushima Dialogue in December 2019, a landowner from Futaba shared updates on the situation since 2017, expressing concerns that many people might forget about the waste issue once all the decontamination waste is brought into the facility. Most recently, at the 23rd Fukushima Dialogue, which discussed the ocean discharge of treated water, the issue of community involvement in decommissioning decision-making was highlighted, including the challenges associated with it.
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• Details will be announced on the website or via our newsletter as soon as they are finalized.