Photo/Illutration Masanobu Sakamoto, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, speaks to reporters on Aug. 21 at the prime minister’s office after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (Koichi Ueda)

Shortly before the government began reclaiming land off the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, to build a new U.S. military base in 2018, a short poem by Kenji Nanjo appeared in The Asahi Shimbun’s “Kadan” tanka poetry section.

“What kind of trick is it to promise to stand together with the people of Okinawa without respecting their will?”

Sadly, the poem’s message can be perfectly applied to what is happening now, simply by changing “Okinawa” to “Fukushima.”

Last week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and responded to the concerns of local fishermen about the government’s plan to release treated water from the plant.

Kishida said, “We will continuously stand together with (people concerned) as we deal with (the problem).” Just four days later, however, the treated water started to be dumped into the sea.

As reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, scientifically, the water release plan apparently meets international safety standards.

Nonetheless, the government of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party previously vowed in writing that, “No action to dispose of treated radioactive water will be taken without the understanding of the parties concerned.”

If a political decision to release the treated water must be made despite this promise, the government should at least carry out the process in a proper manner.

Yet no one in the government or the ruling party has offered apologies to local communities by saying, “We are sorry.”

The prime minister went to Fukushima Prefecture but returned without even listening to what people in the local fishing industry had to say. He showed no sense of shame when he nonchalantly claimed that the government will “stand together with” these people.

One Cabinet minister said that the government has gotten “a degree of understanding” from the local fishing industry over the release of the water into the Pacific Ocean. In other words, there is no sympathy in this nation’s politics.

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka of the LDP bowed his head to a local rookie prefectural assembly member about forcing Okinawa to bear the burden of U.S. military bases and said, “We are sorry. Please forgive us.”

The phrase “standing together with” people can only be born out of such an attitude as Nonaka’s. 

If a prime minister does not deliver on his promise or even apologize for failing to honor the government’s pledge to take full responsibility for the future of the fishing industry in disaster-stricken areas, it is impossible to believe his words.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 27

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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