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CROWNED WITH THORNS Number 54 December 6, 2011

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Newsletter of theNihon Kirisuto Kyodan(United Church of Christ in Japan)Buraku Liberation Center 2-16-14 Midorigaoka

Daito-shi, Osaka, Japan 574-0073Tel: 81-72-875-8470Emails: [email protected], [email protected]: http://www1.odn.ne.jp/burakuliberation

Makoto Higashitani, BLC Management Committee ChairpersonTimothy D. Boyle, Translator/Editor

CROWNEDWITH

THORNS

We Shall OvercomeRev. Shigeyoshi Sato, Koshien Church

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)This past April 5, the strong voice of a pastor participating in a protest sang out, “We shall overcome, we shall

overcome, we shall overcome some day!” They had gathered in support of Rev. Otani and 3 others who werebeing unjustly arrested by the police for their activity in July of last year at the Haginochaya polling station, wherethey had gathered to protest the treatment of the day laborers of Kamagasaki. As homeless people without aresidence certificate, these people were not eligible to vote, and so the basic human rights they were supposedlyguaranteed by the Japanese constitution were not being extended to them.

This reasonable protest, however, was viewed by the state as a treasonous act, and so they used their power tosquash that protest in the name of that same constitution. For those of us watching this, it was a chilling example of state violence. At the trial, however, Rev. Otani declared that his actions were not simply a political statement in theface of such state oppression, but that they were a statement of faith based in obedience to Jesus Christ. Hepowerfully demonstrated to all who heard him that it is the victory of Christ over death on the cross that is our hope inthe face of the “powers of this world” that would suppress voices of righteousness.

From this past March, Japan has been battered by the natural disasters of earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoonstogether with the manmade disaster at the nuclear power plant. The label of “nuclear contamination” pinned onFukushima and surrounding areas has led to various acts of discrimination. But in the face of all of this, politiciansand financiers have been focused on selfish interests and have left behind the poor and the weak. The state hastaken advantage of this situation to further solidify their authoritarian power. (Just recently, I heard that another pastor was unjustly arrested in Otsu.) So, what kind of hope can we see in a world in which people live only for their

own personal interests and basic human rights are ignored?The song “We shall overcome” was born out of the victory of Jesus at the cross, and it is in that that we find

hope. Our hope is in Christ, who bore that crown of thorns, and so I want to walk with those who are unjustlysuffering as I follow Jesus.

In This Issue:We Shall Overcome p. 1Looking Back at Those 111 Days in Jail p. 2Religion and Buraku Discrimination p. 3The Nuclear Accident and Discrimination p. 11Life or Nuclear Power p. 14

Buraku Liberation Center Report p. 19

http://www1.odn.ne.jp/burakuliberation

http://www1.odn.ne.jp/burakuliberation

mailto:[email protected]




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Looking Back at Those 111 Days in JailRev. Takao Otani (pastor of the Settsutonda Church of the Kyodan and

head of the Kansai Committee on Evangelism of Laborers)

Together with 3 compatriots, I spent 111

days, from April 5 to July 25, 2011, in theOsaka Detention Center after being arrestedand indicted on charges by the TakatsukiPolice. The charges were that we hadengaged in the crime of “forcible obstruction of business,” a ridiculous charge based in our efforts to encourage day laborers inKamagasaki, who have no “certificate of residence” since they have no permanentaddress, to go to the Haginochaya PollingStation and vote in the July 11, 2010 election.The action of organizing the workers to go andvote is a justifiable action designed to protecttheir rights. After all, the right to vote isguaranteed in Article 15 of the JapaneseConstitution and is also included in Article 25of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,which the Japanese government has ratified.Thus, to be arrested for only doing that andthen to be indicted and held in captivity for 111days is something that I simply cannot accept

as justifiable. At the Takatsuki Police Station,we were subjected to daily interrogation, butbecause the arrest was so blatantlyundeserved, I refused to cooperate andmaintained my silence. There was thus a“time of silence” during the 2 to 3 hours of daily interrogations that lasted until the formalindictment was made. It was a very “boring”time indeed, and it certainly did cause me a lotof undue stress.

We were formally indicted on April 26, 2011,

and from that time were incarcerated in theOsaka Detention Center. This was just beforethe long “Golden Week” holidays, and sinceprisoners are confined to their rooms onweekends and holidays, that meant that theholidays for everyone else were especiallytough on us. The room I was placed in was asingle, 1.8 by 2.7 meter (6 by 9 feet) room witha simple toilet and sink, and so the first 10days or so were really difficult in getting usedto life in a detention center.

When I finally was getting adjusted to lifethere, the hot and muggy rainy season began.

On the outside, we take for granted having an

air conditioner or at least an electric fan, but atthe detention center, nothing like that wasallowed, and we were only provided with ahand-held fan to cool ourselves with. Additionally, we were allowed to wipeourselves with a wet towel 3 times a day for about 5 minutes, but that was like putting adrop of water on a hot rock. Needless to say,in such conditions, it was impossible to get agood night’s sleep. Our sleep time wasscheduled from 9 pm until 7:30 am the nextmorning, but during the hot season, onesimply couldn’t get to sleep until earlymorning. There is much I could write aboutthe treatment we received at the OsakaDetention Center, which is under theDepartment of Justice, concerning basichuman rights, but suffice it to say that thistreatment made me realize how poor anunderstanding the Japanese governmentreally has of human rights.

While life in the detention center was reallydifficult in many ways, it certainly did provide alot of time for reading, and so I was able toread a number of books that were passed onto me from the outside. Among those werebooks written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on

Rev. Takao Otani

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the civil rights struggle for blacks in America. Iwas again drawn to the speech he gave inWashington DC on Aug. 28, 1963, “I have adream.” The words that stood out the most for me were those alluding to Amos 5:24, when he

said, “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we willnot be satisfied until justice rolls down likewaters and righteousness like a mightystream.”

We now live in Japanese society some 50years after Rev. King’s speech, and for us, thesituation is similar. As I have just described,we have these conditions in which the basicvoting rights of the day laborers in

Kamagasaki are not respected and no thoughtwhatsoever seems to be given to the basichuman rights of those incarcerated in theOsaka Detention Center. So, that “righteousriver” within Japanese society is blocked and

stagnated. Thus, with strong resolve, I willcontinue to speak those same words that Rev.King spoke some 50 years ago. I renew mypledge to fight for the elimination of all forms of discrimination that result from that “river of justice” being blocked and stagnant and to joinin solidarity with like-minded people tocontinue this struggle.

Religion and Buraku DiscriminationBy Rev. Mitsuharu Inukai

[Adapted from a sermon preached at the Kiryu Tobu Churchin Gunma Prefecture during the Buraku Liberation Caravan]

The theme “Religion and BurakuDiscrimination” may be a kind of worn-outtheme, but looking at my own experience, if Iwere asked whether “religion” has reallystudied the “buraku issue,” I would have toreply that it really hasn’t. If we look at thisfrom the standpoint of the thesis proposed byTakeji Hayashi that “the only real evidence of having studied an issue is the resultingchange,” then we need to ask how much theChurch has changed.

The event that really sparked a criticalanalysis of the issue of religion and burakudiscrimination took place at the Third Assemblyof the World Conference on Religion and

Peace held in Princeton, New Jersey in from Aug. 29 to Sept. 7, 1979. There, a Buddhistpriest named Muneo Machida, who was thehead of the board of regents for the All JapanBuddhist Federation and head of the SotoSect, made a statement to the effect thatthere was no buraku discrimination in Japan.Shortly thereafter, the Buraku LiberationLeague published a pamphlet entitled, “AStatement Concerning the DiscriminatoryRemarks at the World Conference on Religion

and Peace,” in which they detailed the contextof the remarks and their implications. Here is

what Machida said (translated from theJapanese):

“There is no longer any buraku problem inJapan. There are, however, those who aretrying to make an issue of it for the purpose of “buraku liberation.” But there is no suchdiscrimination within Japan. The governmentis doing that, and neither is anyone else.”

This statement was made in the year following the year in which the “Special LawDealing With Buraku Areas” (instituted in 1969)was extended for another 3 years, in which itwas declared that the issue was a “nationalissue.”

The BLL pamphlet included the following

statement by Tsutomu Mizukami under thesubtitle of “Taking off the Priestly Garmentsand Doing Acts of Mercy.”

There were two thoughts that came tomind when I heard about the Machidastatement. The first thought related to theconversation I had with Keigyoku Shin, thehead of the Eihei Temple of the Soto Sect.He was wearing an elaborate costume, andso having remembered that their founder Dogen had discarded his “purple robe,” I

asked him the following question. “As thehead of the Eihei Temple, what position do

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you hold within the sect as a whole? Wouldit be something equivalent to the PrimeMinister?” He answered, “No, here I am theemperor.” I recorded that conversation inmy dialog series published by the Mainichi

Newspaper, but that statement crystalizedmy impressions as to the character of theSoto Sect of Buddhism.

The other thought that came to mindwas the research done by the BurakuLiberation League on the discriminatoryposthumous names on Buddhist graves inGunma and Nagano prefectures. For example, the meanings of the charactersgiven by the temples to those from aburaku background included such namesas “leather man” and “grass woman,”indicating the defiled status they weregiven. That likewise was representative of the Soto Sect.

When leaders of a sect who should bein the position of looking back at their pastpractices and thinking seriously about howthey should address these issues in thefuture as an organization instead makestatements that totally ignore those

realities and hark back to those feudalisticideas, I find it not just sad but beyondwords to express. These people sitting intheir temples decked out in purple robesare absurdity personified. I have for a longtime been seeking answers to thequestions of how the actions of thesepriests, who are so taken up with thepower and money involved in running their temples, relate to the concepts of equality,etc. espoused by Sakyamuni (the

Buddha). But in hearing Machida’sresponse, I strongly felt that these temple-managing priests are just making fools outof us laity.

Just sitting there in their garishcostumes is not following in the Buddha’sfootsteps. It is just living off the richesgained in the past and taking it easy. Iwant to tell them to take off their robes,leave their temples and actually get busy

in works of mercy. For example, howabout getting involved in the MinamataMovement? [Minamata was the area

polluted with mercury that caused many todevelop mercury poisoning (“Minamatadisease”)] Did these Soto Sect priestsever don their mendicant priests’ clothesand ask for alms to help the victims? Or how about discrimination issues or thoseinvolving people with various handicaps? All I see is them holed up in their temples.

Frankly, I am sick of the Buddhism thatserves the rich and distains the poor andwould set up a system of placing additionaldiscrimination after death on those verypeople who in life had to struggle just to“gasp for air” in a world where it was“difficult to breathe.”

There is something I’d like to say aboutdiscriminatory posthumous names. Therewere some really horrendous posthumousnames given, as Mizukami pointed out, to

people who had no education and couldn’tread the characters, and because this act of receiving a posthumous name for one’s

Members of the 2011 Caravan. From the left,Makato Higashitani, Mitsuhiro Inukai,Kensuke Koito, Masataka Yamaguchi andShoki Masuda. Taken at the xxx

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deceased loved ones cost a lot of money, justas it still does today, this was a doublydiscriminatory.

However, if as the Christian Church, weclaim that “we don’t do anything bad like

that,” I think we need to reconsider. Itdepends on how you look at it, of course, butin one sense the fact that there isn’t anythinganalogous to discriminatory posthumousnames in the Church may just relate to aneven deeper form of discrimination.

I don’t really like saying this, but the factthat Buddhism put discriminatoryposthumous names on people from theburaku was because they were in arelationship with the buraku that made such

discrimination possible. In comparison tothat, while there are exceptions, Christianchurches as a whole have simply neglectedto have any relationship with people from theburaku. The fact that there isn’t adiscriminatory action equivalent todiscriminatory posthumous names in theChurch isn’t necessarily because Christiansdon’t have discriminatory attitudes but may just be because they don’t have any

relationships with the buraku at all.Toshio Nagasue, the former director of theTagawa Coal Mine Museum, said, “When Ibegan, I was thinking in terms of studying thegeneral history of coal mining, but as I lookedat the history of coal mines in the Chikuhodistrict, in every case I discovereddiscriminated-against buraku communities.Thus, I was forced to delve in to that history.”For instance, all of the rail lines to the minesin Chikuho went right through the buraku

communities.The reason I bring this subject up is

because it seems likely that when we studythe history of Buddhism, we will find a similar scenario vis a vis buraku communities.However, it also makes me wonder whether there might be something similar in thehistories of Christian churches in Japan.Prof. Eiichi Kudo began to do research intothat very thing, but unfortunately passedaway. Professors Akio Dohi and MasaoTakenaka of Doshisha University alsoattempted similar research but found too little

data to reach firm conclusions. At any rate,with a very few exceptions, Christianchurches developed in areas where littlecontact would occur with discriminated-against buraku communities.

My perception is that the fact that thisissue is not clearly or widely recognized isone reason that the buraku discriminationissue is not taken up with much enthusiasmwithin the Church. When looking back atJapanese history, there is no connectionbetween the Christian Church and the burakupeople, who were forced into such a difficultposition. Thus, no matter how often themantra about this issue being a “nationalproblem” has been repeated by the “Council

on Antidiscrimination Measures,” Christianchurches have difficulty in perceiving it asthere own issue. Thus, I think we must beginwith a recognition of the structure of thiswhole issue.

Many churches have the words, “Comeunto me all you who labor and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest,” displayed onsigns on their churches. Those are thewords of Jesus, and because Jesus is in that

place, the church thinks that these words willcommunicate to those on the outside. Butthat isn’t the case. Churches generally don’trealize that the only people they can reallyrelate to are those who come from the samesocial class as themselves.

Some 30 years ago, I remember beingsurprised to hear that churches in India arestructured along the lines of castes, and Ialso heard that in the US, when someone’ssocial status goes up to a higher status, they

often change church denominations. But atthat time, I thought these were a inferior churches and felt pride that Japanesechurches were much more open than that.That, however, was simply my lack of understanding, as in reality Japanesechurches aren’t any better.

For instance, my home church, MinamiOsaka Church, has a kindergarten that manymembers attended as children, and so Ialways felt that it was a church that was opento all. I went to pastor a church in theChikuho area, where I had a Bible class for

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middle school aged students, and after graduating in March, many of these studentswent off to the Osaka area to work. As theyhad been learning the Bible there in Chikuho,I encouraged them to continue that study in

Osaka and introduced them to my homechurch, Minami Osaka Church. None of them, however, lasted more than a month,saying to me, “Pastor, we don’t like going tothat church.” I never did find out the specificreasons why this happened, but the MinamiOsaka Church simply wasn’t a place wherethese young people who had been raised inChikuho felt comfortable being. I think thatthe Minami Osaka Church people tried tohelp them fit in, but it was just too difficult.

The Miyata Church in Chikuho was begunby Rev. Danjiro Hattori, who, after the war,worked as a coal miner as a kind of penancefor his war responsibility. From this humblebeginning, a church of coal miners wasfounded, and I remember him telling me thatthey were not open to the people from theoutside to be a part of their church. I didn’treally understand what that meant then, but Ido now. As I look back at the 46 years of history of the Fukuyoshi Church where I nowserve, I see how I was not able to focus onthat one group of people for whom the churchwas started, and so the result has been thedevelopment of a church with very few of theoriginal local people, but instead a church of newcomers from Fukuoka and Yamaguchiwho have moved in. I think we all need torecognize that our local churches tend not tobe open to all levels of society, but insteadare limited to pretty much one class of

people.Well, let’s look at how that works out in

actuality in a local church. This is a rather dated example, but it serves as a usefulillustration. It involves a discriminatory act byRev. Kichiya Kikuchi, a person most peopledon’t remember now. He was thechairperson of the Commission on Mission of the Kyodan and a conscientious member atthat. In a column in the Christ Newspaper published in the Sept. 3, 1983 edition, he

wrote the following:

The Prayer of the CrossJesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they

don't know what they are doing.’” (Luke23:34) The people who dragged Jesus outto the hill of Golgotha and nailed him to a

cross in between two thieves were peoplethe equivalent of which in Japan would bethe uncultured people called“hinin” [literally meaning “non-persons,” adiscriminated-against class in feudal timesclosely related to the burakumin], thosepeople of a class that can’t recognizedefilement for what it is. After nailingJesus to the cross, they set about dividingup the clothes of the condemned. Thatwas more important to them than the

executions themselves. The robe thatJesus had worn was seamless, and sothere was a dispute as to who would get it.But the dispute was finally settled by adrawing of lots. Who this prisoner was,what he had done and what they weredoing was not something they eventhought about.

The crowds were standing by watchingwhile the religious leaders flung insults,“He save others, now let his save himself,”and the authorities ridiculed him with “If you are the king of the Jews, then saveyourself.”

The world was dark. But this is the realitywhen someone was crucified on a cross. And in the midst of this darkness, Jesusprayed, “Father, forgive them, for theydon't know what they are doing.”

One week later, in the issue, the followingapology appeared:

Apology for the use of discriminatorylanguageIn last week’s column, through my own

carelessness, I ended up usingdiscriminatory language, which I deeplyregret. I am chagrined by my lack of understanding, and I tremble in fear at myown discriminatory attitude, which cannotsimply be overlooked because it was dueto ignorance. I deeply regret my lack of understanding of the basics of the buraku

discrimination issue and how my words fitinto that. I deeply apologize to those I

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have offended, beginning with those whoare involved in the struggle against burakudiscrimination and the readers of the ChristNewspaper.

I will immediately refrain from writing

further columns and dedicate myself tomaking this issue of unjust discriminationmy own issue and to learning about theissue.

Kichiya KikuchiNot many people today remember Rev.

Kikuchi, but I would like to share with yousomething he wrote that deeply moved me,entitled, “The Intercessory Church,” from acollection called “The Church and ItsEvangelistic Focus.”

When I left Yokohama to begin anevangelistic work in the Tsugaru area of Aomori, at the northern tip of Honshu, itwas early spring 1946, just after the war ended. The plum blossoms were in bloomin warm Yokohama, but in this farmingarea of Goshogawara, the snow was stillpiled up to the eves of the houses. Thechurch building that was there wasdilapidated, having been used as achildcare center during the war, and sothey were continuing that work. However,there were almost no believers there, or atleast they were not coming together for fellowship. As I began my service there, I myself was

not in very good shape, as I wasdepressed and had deep feelings of hopelessness. Nobody was there to sendme off or to welcome me as I arrived. Thatwas because I had avoided a formal

sendoff, and there were no churchmembers there to give me a welcoming.In reality, I was not being “called” to thischurch, but was evacuating from thechurch I had served during the war tooperate this childcare facility. I wasbasically accompanying my wife, whowould be serving there as a teacher, alongwith our two small children. If I weremoving to a different church in the normalsense, it wasn’t as though there were no

city churches that would call me to bepastor. So, why was I passing up on those

opportunities and moving to a countrychurch not far from my own hometown?

In the cities one year after the war, therewas renewed optimism, and many of theevacuees were returning. Christianity,

which had been repressed, along with afreed-up communism, were both riding awave, and Christianity also had theadvantage of having America behind it.Those were the “boom years,” but I myself did not like it and could not accept aChristianity that was merely riding a wave.

I told the members of our churchadministration committee, as theydiscussed the rebuilding of our war-destroyed church, “The Japanese church

has been put to the test during this war.The visible image of the church hasdisappeared and our church was burned tothe ground. God has destroyed the oldchurch in Japan, and if you examine your own life of faith, I think you can understandthat. As your pastor, I feel that painprofusely. God has destroyed that churchthat doesn’t value its members. So, weare not resurrecting the old church, butinstead giving birth to a new church. Weshould begin this task with the resolve totear it down and begin again if we realizethat the new church is not pleasing to God.If it is a church just like what we have had,I don’t doubt that God will destroy it again.

Unfortunately, they did not reallyunderstand, and the ones that would havewere already dead. The church wasn’tmoving towards true renewal but onlytowards riding the wave of the boom.

While it’s outward form might change, itsinward form was basically unchanged.

It wasn’t just my church that was like this,but the whole Christian world in Japan. Icould not accept that, and so it was with aheavy heart that I submitted myresignation and went to do evangelism insuch an out-or-the-way place.

Even though I was frustrated anddiscouraged and even felt that God haddestroyed me, I did not die but lived on in

those postwar years. Many of my closefriends had died on the battlefield or in the

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bombings. Those who had just graduatedfrom seminary had surely wanted to doevangelism, but they all died, leaving onlymyself, I felt. The problem I faced washow a destroyed church and an evangelist

who had faced his judgment, indeed aravaged nation, would rise again — or rather continue to live at all.

The words I heard in my mind were, “Ihave judged you along with your countryand your church. Japan, a nation of lies, achurch of unbelief and you, a falseevangelist.” It was as though God wasspeaking these words of judgment fromthe flames of war, and I could not escapefrom them. It was that voice that pursued

me and led me to Goshogawara.The postwar society in the cities was

indeed a bustling time, but in the farmingvillages of rural Japan, the night continued.The cities were transformed by the wave of change, but the ripples that reached thevillages only brought decline and further confusion. The old feudalistic societyresisted change but also began fallingapart. However, that did not lead to theexpected democratic society. Thedissolution of the old communal spirit washighly touted, but its new replacement wasnowhere to be found. On the contrary,what came out of that were contradictions,evil and tragedies of increasing proportion:imbalances in life and culture, increasing juvenile delinquency, collapse of farmingfamilies and even killings of familymembers. Elections that were supposedto bring democratic politics to rural towns

and villages instead brought decay.To there, the “Christian boom” did not

come, as problems and walls awaited it. Istruggled in that situation both inwardlyand outwardly for 15 years, but in thatstruggle, I discovered the “church.”

Obviously, I knew the word “church,” as Ihad become a believer and then a minister in that context. But that church I hadknown before was not a church that stoodon the sovereignty of Christ and him alone,

that preached Christ and him alone, and

that fought to establish that sovereignty onthe earth. There was not the foundationon which to establish such a church inJapan, and in reality, such a church did notexist in Japan. I learned that unless such

a church is established, Japanese societycannot be transformed. Yet, at the sametime, I learned that unless such a society isdeveloped, the Japanese church cannottruly form.

This inseparable nature of church andsociety is a concept that I could not haveimagined prior to the war, and so it was anew experience for me to discover thisafter the war. It was during my years of rural evangelism and serving in a rural

church that I came to clearly understandthe Japanese church in this new postwar age. I believe that today’s ruralevangelism is challenging the Japanesechurch to consider what it means to be anew church. This is not simply a matter of thinking about evangelistic strategy, but amore radical opinion. For it is within theconcept of an evangelistic focus that wefind a basic theological assertionconcerning a “new church.”

This was a rather long quotation, butanyone who looks at this sincere journeyRev. Kikuchi had travelled would certainly saythat a man such as him would never havemade such a discriminatory remark. Othershave said that there surely must have beensome sort of mistake or misunderstanding.But that was not the case, as even in thissincere man of faith, feelings of buraku

discrimination lurked, which is why he said inhis apology, “I tremble in fear at my owndiscriminatory attitude, which cannot simplybe overlooked because it was due toignorance.” I think it is important the worldhears the testimony of how his discriminatoryattitude was changed after that, butunfortunately, I was not able to find anyrecord of how he changed in this regard after that.

Now, if I were to talk about this at the

Goshogawara Church, I would imagine that

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someone would challenge me with, “Rev.Inukai, what are you saying? Are youimplying that Rev. Kikuchi, who had such awonderful ministry at Goshogawara Church,was never questioned him about such

things? Whenever he held an evangelisticservice, he always preached about the crossof Jesus like that, and so you’re saying thatno one challenged him on that?”

The fact is that there weren’t any peoplewho had experienced such discriminationamong his audience, or at least within thecontext of faith such an attitude wasconsidered of little significance, and so noone pointed out the problem. Thus, he never realized what he had been doing all along

prior to him having written that column andthen being challenged on it.

In that very same issue of the ChristNewspaper that Kikuchi had placed hisapology, Rev. Hideyasu Nakagawa of the Anglican Church also wrote an article entitled“My Apology Over a Discriminatory Remark About People of Buraku Descent.”Nakayama’s remarks were made at the 1983General Assembly of the Anglican Churchheld in May, in which he had stated, “As Ilook back on my life, I would certainly havebeen very reluctant to allow my daughter tomarry a man who I knew to be of burakudescent.! “Even for a church member, Iwould thoroughly check on that person’sbackground.”

In his apology, he stated,The reason is that the roots of this

problem lie in my own sinful condition.When I look at my own heart, I fear the

depths where the light of consciousnessdoes not reach. It is dark, bottomless pit.

I was baptized in 1909 at the age of 2,and since then I have been a member of the Anglican Church, active in its life. Imajored in philosophy and theology andhave been a college professor for 50years. During all of those years, I alsoserved in numerous positions of responsibility in the church. As I reflectedon my recent comments, however, I have

come to realize that I have not really livedaccording to the gospel message, and so I

prostrate myself before God and man inrepentance for my sin. All persons are born into this world as

persons of equal worth, and I believe thatit is only as God’s mercy works in our lives

and as His Spirit fills our hearts that itbecomes possible to live a life where onedoes not commit such discrimination.

I also do not know what occurred in Rev.Nakagawa’s life after this apology, but as Iread his words, there is something thatconcerns me about them. I wonder whether it is accurate to state that burakudiscrimination is a sin born out of a “dark,bottomless pit” that comes from “not really

living according to the gospel message.”When it is stated in the Church

“discrimination is a sin,” one tends to thinkthat the issue is being dealt with sincerely,but that is not necessarily the case. I think itis not really possible to be really cognizant of buraku discrimination by simply “looking intoone’s own heart.”

If one does not even interact with adiscriminated-against buraku, no matter howmuch prayer is involved, can suchcognizance actually be achieved? I think theonly way it to actually put into practice thekind of thing that Tsutomu Mizukami wasreferring to when he said of the Buddhistpriests, “I want to tell them to take off their robes, leave their temples and actually getbusy in works of mercy.”

I don’t have time to deal with other important incidents of a similar nature, suchas those of Toyohiko Kagawa and Shozo

Tanaka [a famous Meiji-era politician]. I’ll justmention that unlike these cases in the Churchwhere there was no contact withdiscriminated-against buraku and thereforethey didn’t realize it, in Kagawa’s case, hemade discriminatory remarks from within thecontext of actually working with these people.

In closing, I want to share with you a storyrelated to my ministry in Chikuho through aspecial literacy class, where my exposure tothe buraku discrimination issue began.

Teachers there have reported numerous suchexperiences working with these people

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outside of the classroom — as theyfiguratively “take off their robes, leave their ‘temples’ to do acts of mercy.” One suchexample was reported in work published bythe Asahi Newspaper in 1985 entitled “An Apology to the Children.” Written by ateacher named Michiya Murakami, it tells of his encounters with buraku children in theform of letters to them.

“We have no electricity”To SakikoIt was after school, after I had returned

your social studies test with a score thatwas less than half of what I had expectedof you. I had thought you could do muchbetter than you did, and so I asked you,

“Sakiko, what’s the matter? I thoughtyou’d be able to do much better than youdid.” But you just stared at the floor sayingnothing.

You were such a serious studentnormally, and so I thought that if you juststudied, you could get much better grades.So, I asked you once again, “Sakiko,what’s the matter?”

Large tear drops fell from you eyes asyou said, “Sensei [teacher], we don’t have

any electricity at our house.”I was so careless and foolish! Just

shortly before that test, I had visited your house there at the foot of the mountain asa part of my duties to visit student’shomes, but I hadn’t even noticed that therewas no electricity there. Back in the 60’s,that whole area was poor, but I justassumed that even if life was difficult there,you would at least have electricity.

You told me as you continued to cry, “I lita candle and studied until it burned out.” Icouldn’t say anything. I was so angry withmyself, at my lack of care as a teacher.

“A Wakeup Call”To Yoichi (#1)Yoichi. It was my intention to be aware of

things, but I really wasn’t. But when Iheard what you said, that was a wakeupcall. It was one day after class, when you

said, “I just can’t understand all of this, and

to sit here for 6 hours; it’s more than I cantake.”

I can see why you’d feel that way. Fromearly morning, Japanese language,mathematics, English, science, socialstudies, music! It was the most difficultday of the week for classes. Japanesewas just about grammar, and even themusic class was music grammar. Kind of hard to put up with, for sure!

Prior to that, I had intended to keep youin my sights, but that showed me that Ihadn’t really done so.

But, Yoichi, those words you spoke reallywoke me up!

“The Phone Call”To Yoichi (#2)“Hello, is this Murakami Sensei’s house?”“Yes, it is.”“Hello, is this really Murakami Sensei’s

house?”“Yes, I am Murakami.”“Hello, I’m trying to reach Michiya

Murakami.”“Yes, I am Michiya Murakami.” As I had had throat trouble, my voice had

changed a lot, and so for a moment, therewas no recognition, but when you finallyrealized it was actually me on phone, yousaid, “Sensei, what has happened to your voice?”

Then after a pause, you said with atrembling voice, “I’m going to end upcrying. I just got back from a long trip toTokyo. I hadn’t been to my brother’shouse for some time, and so I went there

for a drink. We talked for a while, and thenhe mentioned that you had quit as ateacher at our school. I was reallysurprised, and so that is why I’m calling.What’s the matter? I heard that you havebeen ill, and that really makes me sad.” After I explained to you what my illness

was and how that had forced me to resignmy job, you said, “I want to come and visitright away.”

I told you, “It’s late and so don’t come

today. Enjoy yourself tonight and comevisit me another day.”

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After I convinced you, you said, “Okay, Iwon’t come tonight. Please take care of yourself. But if you have any need, pleasegive me a call. I’ll drive you to wherever you need to go.” And so I gave you my

new address and phone number.Yoichi, you may have done a few bad

things before, but you sure to have a kindheart. I remember telling you about theschool janitor having an operation for appendicitis, and you convinced your

friends to go with you that very day to visithim in the hospital.

There may be quite a few students whowould put aside what they’re doing to govisit their teacher or friend in the hospital.

But it would probably have only been youwho would do that upon hearing that theschool janitor had been hospitalized.

What a call that was from you that day.Yoichi, thank you.

The Nuclear Accident and DiscriminationBy Terumi Kataoka, member of Wakamatsu Sakaemachi Church in Fukushima Prefecture,

Director of the Aizu Radiation Information Center (Japanese websites:http://aizu-center.jimdo.com/ and the related Association to Protect the Lives of Children: Aizu Blog http://ameblo.jp/mamorukai-aizu/

Ever since the nuclear accident, therehave been numerous reports of acts of discrimination taking place that arerelated to that. For people outside of Fukushima prefecture, the issue mayseem to be rather straightforward andsimple, but I find it difficult to separate

out all of the entangled strands involvedin this complicated issue. In other words, the more I look at the situation indetail, the more I see the complicatednature of the issue, with Fukushimaresidents being discriminated against byothers, while at the same time they arediscriminating against each other andeven against themselves.

Incidents of Fukushima residents

being discriminated against by others: These are the incidents that were firstreported on by the media and that were firstdiscussed amongst ourselves. There werereports of cars with Fukushima license platesbeing vandalized, and also reports of childrenfrom the evacuation zones being bullied atthe schools they transferred to. We evenheard reports that in some cities, people whohad evacuated from Fukushima were beingasked to wear a tag when walking about so

that other people would know who they are,because the local people didn’t want

radiation to spread over to them. A lot of these were rumors, but some people saidthey were true. A member of the AizuRadiation Information Center said that whenhe was visiting a relative in a neighboringprefecture, he was told to park his car out of sight because there had been vandalism inthe neighborhood done to cars with

Fukushima license plates. I also heard of incidents of people from Fukushima being

Terumi Kataoka (on the right) and two of her

associates

http://aizu-center.jimdo.com/

http://aizu-center.jimdo.com/

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refused lodging at inns while on summer vacation.

Discrimination incidents amongFukushima residents: People from thetown of Okuma evacuated to the city of Aizu Wakamatsu, where I live, in April.

Presently, the people of two towns areliving together in one city. In thebeginning, when the people of Okumawere forced to evacuate, they elicited alot of sympathy and were warmlywelcomed. But as we lived together,inevitably, various rumors began tospread, such as rumors about a drunkenbrawl or about actions that abused thegood will of the people of Aizu

Wakamatsu.There was supposedly an incident wheresomeone from Okuma dropped their bankbook in the street, and it indicated alarge sum of money had been deposited. So,this became a topic of discussion arounddrinks at the bar, etc., with the conclusionsthat Tokyo Electric (the owner of the crippledpower plant) had paid them all of this money.But when you think about it, was this reallytrue? Was there such a person who dropped

their bankbook and even if so, how wouldthey know that person was from Okuma?There were reports that the figure was 30million yen, while other reports had it at 100million.

I had considered the concept of discrimination to be based in people whoperceived themselves as being above othersin the societal pecking order looking downupon those they placed below themselves.However, when it came to this bankbook

incident, there was something different goingon. There is also prejudice against peopleyou think have more money than yourself,which likewise can result in discrimination bythose less well-off against those one thinksare financially better off. The cause of that issimple jealousy, which raises its ugly headwhen there is discontent towards those whoappear to be better off financially. On top of that, then, there is also likely to be the added

factor of the inconveniences caused by thepresence of people that ordinarily wouldn’t bethere. Job placement for disaster victims are

given priority over local residents, and with allof the available housing being taken up bythe evacuees, there aren’t any vacancies for Aizu Wakamatsu residents looking for apartments. And when evacuees make noiseat night, the locals get annoyed, with theresult that feeling of jealousy against those

perceived to have gotten lots of money wellup. You want to put them down, back in their place.

However, if you actually ask local residentshow much money they think the people of Okuma actually received from Tokyo Electric,no one seems to really know. In other words,the “people who you think are above youeconomically” doesn’t seem to really have avalid basis, and yet it was the basis for discriminatory attitudes. So one of the

legacies of the nuclear accident is thissituation of Fukushima residents beingdiscriminated against by those outsideFukushima while at the same time theydiscriminate against their fellow Fukushimaresidents. I wonder if this isn’t a result of thestress building up due to the anxiety of futurehealth worries etc. In fact, I think that inaddition to this stress buildup, it’s indicative of just how difficult it is for human beings to

really be able to harmoniously live together when under stress. I can’t help but think thatthat is basically impossible.

The banner says, “We want to protect thelives of our children from radiation.”

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Fukushima residents’ fear of beingdiscriminated against: Specific examples of these fears include children who arebeginning to think that they won’t be able toget married when the grow up, high school

students on their school trip that feel theyprobably should hide the fact that they’re fromFukushima, and Fukushima residents whowonder if sending vegetables or rice grown inFukushima to someone might not be wellreceived. Likewise, someone from Okumawho notices cars with license plates fromtheir region parked in a pachinko parlor maythink, “I bet the people here just think thatOkuma people don’t want to work.” When Ithought about these manifestations of this

syndrome, I found it rather pathetic, but then Irealized that I’ve had the same feelings, aswhen I felt unsure about taking a tripoverseas because I was worried aboutFukushima residents being subjected toGeiger Counters at Narita airport. That wasdue to a rumor I had heard to that effect, andso I was worried about that and that I mightnot be welcomed by my host because of suchfears on their part. Those, however, were

simply my preconceived notions, which werequickly dispelled by discussions with myfamily.

Thus, what we all need to do is not givecountenance to rumors but instead to make

an effort to determine the truth of the matter.Especially when one considers the harshreality of those who have lost so much andhave had to abandon their homes and their livelihoods, there can be no excuse for

discrimination based on a rumor. It is just theheight of absurdity. When you have been thevictim of radiation exposure, you must notallow yourself to be bound by acts of discrimination but instead you need to searchout the truth as to why you were put in thissituation and to join in the struggle to call toaccount those who were responsible. In lightof inability to bring the nuclear accident to asuccessful conclusion, we should of coursebe joining in the effort to rid ourselves of

dependence on nuclear energy. But thisentire situation also clearly reveals thefundamental weakness of we humans, whoso easily discriminate against each other.While we want to support those who suffer sofrom the nuclear accident, discrimination andprejudice spread out just like nuclear radiation, entering into the hearts of people.That is just the sad reality. Nevertheless, aswe walk that road of testing, what gives us

hope is the belief that Jesus walks between“you and me” and prepares the road of lifeahead of us. Likewise, it is the belief that our struggle to protect the lives of our children iswhat God wants of us — this God who loved

us so much as to givethe world his only sonto be sacrificed on thecross for us — and it isthat which gives us thehope to walk this path

of testing. We, whohave committed thisgreat sin against bothour Creator and our descendants, desire of the Lord this one thing,and that is strength for this struggle to protectlife. While Icontemplate thegravity of this sin, Iwant to walk that pathof struggle.

Banner carried during demonstration. The green characters mean“Nuclear Power” and the red one “Violence.”

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Life or Nuclear Power: Standing on the Brink of

100 Million People Being Exposed to RadiationBy Tsutomu Shoji, former General Secretary of the NCCJ representing the Association of

Religious Organizations Against Nuclear Power

1. Being forgiven and starting againWhen the March 11 earthquake hit easternJapan, I was at the Korean Christian Center in the Ikuno Ward of Osaka listening to a talkby the head of the center, Chong-Il Lee. We

felt only a strange slow roll of the buildingthere, but later as I headed back to Tokyoand arrived home, I was horrified by thescenes I beheld on TV. Then I began seeing

reports of the nuclear accident and realizedhow serious the situation was. My immediatethoughts were to get my two grandchildren,who lived with us, out of harms way bysending them to western Japan. Mydaughter’s and her husband’s jobs didn’tallow them to simply leave, and so we tookthe kids with us, leaving on the 16th. Their parents were later able to follow, and withthe kindness of some relatives, we spent 6days away from the scene in safety.

Nevertheless, I felt convicted, asking myself,“What on earth have you up until now?” Ihad been involved with the nuclear issue for some time, but it was always about someoneelse. Now, it wasn’t about the exposedworkers or residents in Wakasa or Rokkasho-mura, but it was about my own grandkids. Iwas getting quite depressed, but then I talkedwith Dr. Toshiyuki Yamazaki, who helpedcare for the children of Chernobyl and nowserves on the committee dealing with thenuclear issue in the Osaka District. He toldme that it was a really good idea that I got mygrandkids out of the area so quickly. Yes, wemust first protect our own and then reach outto others to help them so that we can protecthumans and indeed all life from the threat of the nuclear industry. We must demand thatthey be shut down and deactivated. My owncomplacency had been shaken up, butthrough Dr. Yamazaki, I felt God’s

forgiveness and a renewed commitment tocontinue on. After that, I also receivedconfirmation of God’s forgiveness and

encouragement from my friend MitsuhikoTanaka.2. The deception and violence of nuclear power On April 23, representatives from variousBuddhist sects and both Protestant andCatholic Christians met at the JapanChristian Center in Nishi Waseda (Tokyo) for an emergency conference sponsored by theNCCJ Committee on Peace and Nuclear Issues. The featured speaker was Kazuhiko

Tanaka, a nuclear engineer who had directedthe design and building of nuclear reactors.He went into great detail explaining thatTokyo Electric’s explanation of the nuclear accident being the result of the tsunami isactually a ruse designed to deceive thepublic. The official story has been that thetsunami knocked out all of the pumps thatcirculate water to cool down the reactorswere disabled by the tsunami and that it was

this lack of ability to cool the reactors that ledto the meltdown. In response to this, Tanakastated that the exposing of the rods due to

Residents in contaminated areas of Fukushima preparingto take a quick trip home to retrieve valuables.

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the lack of water was in fact due to theearthquake damage prior to the arrival of thetsunami. Tanaka deduced that the pipesconnecting the pumps to the reactor, alongwith other equipment, had been damaged bythe earthquake itself, which led to this very

dangerous situation. I say, “deduced”because Tokyo Electric and the governmenthave been hiding essential data.Now, however, more than 7 months after thedisaster, that data is being made public. TEand the government had admitted to some of the issues pointed out by Tanaka and other experts, but they still are holding to thetsunami explanation. This, however, is not atrifling matter, since the very lives of everyone

in this nation are tied up in this. Tanaka’stake on things is that nuclear reactor systemitself could not withstand the force of thequake, and so the problem isn’t limited to theFukushima Daiichi reactors but, in thisnarrow, earthquake prone archipelago, themore than 50 other nuclear power plants arelikewise vulnerable. Moreover, Tanaka andother engineers have been pointing out thatmost of Japan’s nuclear power plants havedesign flaws, plus they are aging and

deteriorating, necessitating more frequentinspections. But as there are insufficientnumbers of experienced technicians and their morale is low, among other issues, thesituation is indeed serious.On top of this, then, is the added problem of human error. No matter how many protectionmeasures are taken, can we really deal withsituations resulting from such errors when the“opponent” is unseen radioactive materialsthat have uncontrollable properties?

Moreover, Tokyo Electric and the governmenthave not taken protective steps that cost a lotof money, and simply ignored the risks, allalong spending their money to promote theidea of nuclear power’s safety. Tanaka andhis cohorts woke up to this reality early onand have been making their appeal to takeactions to prevent a disastrous nuclear accident. But even now, after the myth of nuclear safety should have crumbled, various

financial, industrial, governmental andacademic sectors are still promoting nuclear power. Why is that the case?

Nuclear power generation, of course, usesthe same nuclear fission process that madepossible the horrific weapons of massdestruction used in war. It is simply coupledtogether with huge equipment to utilize for “peaceful purposes,” the “spoon full of sugar

that helps the medicine go down.” Beginningwith the 5 major nuclear powers, all of thecountries that have this capability havepursued the development of both nuclear power and nuclear weapon capability, as thetechnology for both civilian and military usehave developed together. In Japan, YasuhiroNakasone and other political leaders beganthe nuclear policy in 1953, and by 1969,under Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, they had

decided on two points: 1) for the time being,Japan would not possess nuclear weapons,but 2) that they would develop the economicand technological capability of producingsuch weapons. As long as this second pointis in force, the government will continue topursue nuclear reprocessing plants and fastbreeder reactors in order to maintain thefuture capability of producing nuclear weapons. These 2 facilities are for thepurpose of obtaining highly refined plutonium,

which in turn makes possible strategicnuclear weapons that can pinpoint anddestroy enemy military facilities.The radioactive materials that have beenproduced by nuclear power generation inJapan since 1966 total some 1.2 million timesthe total of the “ashes of death” produced bythe atomic bombing of Hiroshima. So, even if we say that these will all be sequestereddeep under the ground, it will take a millionyears or more for their poison to dissipate. In

an earthquake-prone region such as Japan,we can’t guarantee that these materials willbe quarantined for even a thousand years.On top of that, Japanese politicians andbureaucrats have bragged of this “dormantcapability of future production of nuclear weapons.” This is the reason that they havecontinued to pursue development of theRokkasho Reprocessing Plant and the fastbreeder reactor “Monju” at Tsuruga for years

without them actually being used. In fact,there is little prospect of them ever beingused, and indeed, we must not allow that to

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happen. They are both examples of extremewastefulness as well as extreme danger.Even as I say these things, however, I realizethat I have become used to the“comfortableness” of electric power use, andso my involvement I the peace movement

and the antinuclear movement has beensomewhat half-hearted. We need to clarifythe close relationship there is betweennuclear power generation and nuclear weapons, and we need to realize that theformer is also a form of violence against thedignity of humans and the value of all life.Thus, we all need to promote the movementto move away from nuclear energy. We mustdemand that people in the “nuclear villages”

close down the nuclear reprocessing plantand the fast breeder reactor, as well as dealwith prodigious amounts of nuclear waste.

3. Discrimination against workersThe severe accident at the Fukushima power plant has clearly shown that nuclear power can come against human life just as nuclear bombs do.The threat against life posed by nuclear power begins the mining of uranium.

Uranium companies displace native peoplefrom their lands in order to mine the uranium,and when those people are employed in theminds, they are exposed to radiation. Peoplein the area, then, are forced to live withmountains of mine tailings that expose themto further radiation, and people who livedownstream or downwind likewise areexposed. Native peoples in Canada, Australia and Africa have suffered suchdestruction, and their numbers are indeed

great. Thus, the procurement of the uraniumthat powers our nuclear power plants isbased upon a great deal of human sacrifice.Similarly, the enrichment process, along withthe manufacture and transport of the fuelrods, produces more nuclear pollution. Ontop of that, then, is the radiation produced bythe actual operation of the plants. This isespecially so during the 2 month process of regular inspection, when thousands of

workers are exposed.Media coverage of the aftermath of the March11 accident has really highlighted the reality

of the workers involved in nuclear plants.Workers at such plants are gathered througha system of subcontractors, with the jobssubject to high radiation exposure beingparceled out to unskilled workers. The moredangerous work, such as removing

radioactive materials and doing maintenanceon the reactors involves high radiation andhigh heat conditions, and so workers are sentin for only a few minutes at a time, withfrequent replacements. Thus, they are ineffect “throwaway commodities” gatheredfrom the lowest classes of society, often fromthe ranks of the poor and homeless. Thesubcontractors often engage in practicessuch as using the resident certificates of

other people to gather such workers, and inorder to avoid making it difficult to get newcontracts, send these unsuspecting peopleinto harm’s way without the proper radiationmeters and alarms. The number of power company employees who are exposed tosignificant radiation is few, with more than96% of those exposed coming from thoseemployed by these subcontractors.Regular employees of nuclear power plantshave a radiation exposure limit of 50 mSv

over a 5-year period, or an average of 10mSv per year. But with the accident atFukushima Daiichi, that limit was raised to100 mSv per year up to a total of 250 mSvallowable. This amounts to a form of murder.Unless these workers overcame their fearsand went all out, there was the danger thatthe reactors could explode, leading to a trulymonumental disaster. Since the accident upuntil mid-October, a total of 450,000 peopleworked on this situation, with most of them

being exposed to harsh conditions and gravedanger.Some of the technicians have likewise beenexposed to high levels as they laboredfeverishly to fix broken equipment, etc. Their strong sense of responsibility led them tosacrificially give of themselves to bring thingsunder control and back to a safe condition.Even knowing the dangers, they havewillingly sacrificed their own safety to prevent

further damage to all of us.Now, let’s turn to the issue of compensationand health maintenance for workers exposed

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to radiation. Prior to the March 11earthquake, there were more than 400,000workers who were registered with the center established by the Radiation Effects Association, a foundation established withfunds from the electric power industry. This

number exceeds the number of radiationsufferers from the Hiroshima and Nagasakibombs, and that number has grown further tosome 470,000. However, unlike the“hibakusha health card” received by theatomic bomb victims, along with similar health cards for victims of industrial exposureto benzene, inhaled dust, etc., the “radiationmanagement health cards” received by theseworkers have no legal backing, and so theyare of little value in helping these workers

receive workers’ compensation or actuallymanage their own health. This systemmainly serves as a means to help the nuclear industry keep track of the amount of radiationworkers are exposed to and determine whatthose effects are on the health of thesepeople. Prior to March 11, of theapproximately 400,000 workers registered inthe system, only about 10 had beenrecognized by workers’ compensationinsurance. Those in the system, particularlythe day laborers who are sent into the mostdangerous jobs, are basically abandoned.Recently, the voice of these workers is finallybeginning to be heard, and so the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare appears to bemoving towards a system of care for thesepeople. We beneficiaries of electric power have a responsibility to encourage our government to protect the lives and humanrights of these workers who have been

exposed to radiation.

4. Discrimination against local citizensThe very act of the central authorities havingbrought nuclear power plants to rural areas isa form of discrimination against the localresidents. They bulldozed places of beautyin the Sanriku area, with its bountiful sea andmountains, its peaceful fishing villages,established local industries, and the local andvaried cultures, along with the bonds that tied

communities together and replaced themwith the authoritarian rule of national interest,the “drug” of financial subsidies, poisonous

radiation and falsehood of safety. Whatremains after the hydrogen explosions of thereactors is the serious radiation pollution, thesplit-up of families and communities as theyevacuate the area, and the fear of geneticdamage particularly in unborn babies and

even young children.Even within this situation, however, thegovernment claims they’ll be able to stabilizethe situation by getting the reactor temperatures below 100º C, but this is reallya posturing to support the contract they haveto export two nuclear reactors to Vietnam.This exporting of nuclear technology has asits showpiece economic development, but itsreal effect is just a new form of colonialism,as it puts the economy, industry and culture

of the receiving countries under the influenceof Japan. We need to ask whether Japan,which can’t even maintain its own nuclear safety, isn’t bringing in great danger to acountry that doesn’t have the technical skillsto deal with it.Coming back to the situation in Japan, thegovernment took the step of broadening thedisaster evacuation zones around nuclear power plants in late October. The immediateevacuation zone was left the same radius of 5 km, but the zone in which evacuation or remaining indoors was expanded from 8 – 10km up to 30 km, and the region in whichiodine tablets would be stored for immediateuse was expanded to 50 km. When oneconsiders the danger of radioactivematerials, these actions are way too late andway too narrow in scope. Immediately after the accident, when the radiation was at itshighest, they did not let people know of the

danger or immediately evacuate the, insteadletting them be exposed. What I see in thesemeasures is simply a further attempt to hidethe seriousness of the damage. What takesprecedence is the promotion of nuclear power, which only makes matters worse.Likewise, at the end of October, they

announced the plan to store radiation-polluted materials in a medium-term storagearea to be built by 2014. It would be made of concrete and have an area of between 3 and

5 square kilometers. Materials from withinthe prefecture would be stored there for 30years prior to being finally disposed of

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outside of the prefecture. In reality, thesematerials would be stored for there for atleast 30 years, because there is noguarantee that they would be disposed of outside the prefecture.

5. A ray of hopeCitizens who have been consigned to livewith radiation are now beginning to lift their voices in anger, as they band together withlike-minded fellow citizens to join forcesagainst the deception and violence of thenuclear industry and to demand their rights:What are you going to do with our hometowns? Don’t fudge on the radioactivecesium pollution! We’re going to fight for compensation! Etc. These are basic to thefight for justice, but they also are a self-recognition of their own human dignity. Suchcitizens are standing up in Fukushima, butalso from around the nation. We may be aminority still, but this just may be thebeginnings of a kind of revolution. We maybe just “small herds” and even individual“small persons,” but we are of value still andwe value each other. Unfortunately, we maybe faced with only the two choices of “life or

nuclear power,” but this is what brings ustogether and pushes us forward. In reality,the radiation is not only in eastern Japan, buthas been carried far and wide by air and seacurrents, and through foods, cars andequipment shipped from there. So we are allin this together, and this is what drawscitizens from around the nation together insolidarity. We are different as individuals andgroups, but we recognize and value each, allthe while being united by our decision to

“choose life over nuclear power.” It is myhope that through this we can build a newsociety, where the most valued people will bethose who have suffered under the reign of deception and violence of the powerful. It isthose people who long for and search after a just society that values human lives. Theseare the kinds of people that the Lord Jesusstood with as he shared their grief, and thatgave them the strength to stand up against

tyranny.Support is certainly not limited to this country,as words of encouragement have come from

around the world. Crossing barriers of ethnicity and nationality, they say, “You arenot alone. We are standing with you.”Likewise, they are generous with logisticsupport, even though we don’t really disserveit. After all, as a people we were ignorant and

passive about our nation’s reckless pursuit of nuclear energy, which resulted in suffering inother nations from radiation exposure. Andnow, we haven’t been able to prevent thosein power in our nation from exporting thattechnology to other countries. Thus, we seea sense of forgiveness in the support we getfrom people of other countries. God isleading us into a new life through his Spirit ashe too forgives us of our wrongs. That newlife is one of receiving one another andcooperating together rather than trying tooutcompete with others in a colonial-styledomination. As a result of the “Christian Forum for Abolition of Nuclear Power” held last Aprilthat I mentioned above, Seungkoo Choi, whohas been leading the human rightsmovement for Koreans in Kawasaki for manyyears, founded a new network, called the“Christian Network for Nuke-Free

Earth.” [This is the English title they give it.The Japanese name literally translates as“Network of Christians Critical of the Nuclear Power System.”] This network focuses onthe issue of nations such as Japan, Koreaand the US competing with each other toexport nuclear power technology todeveloping countries and in the processdominating them economically. Inconsultation with members of the networkand with the support of the NCCJ Committee

on Peace and Nuclear Issues, Choi isplanning on travelling to Korea and Mongoliato establish solidarity with grass rootmovements against nuclear power in thesecountries. Koreas has plans to double the 27reactors it already has and to increase itsefforts to export that technology abroad.Mongolia is a uranium producing country andboth Japan and the US are looking towards itas a site for nuclear waste disposal.

I think that my experiencing the quake of March 11 with Chong-Il Lee while in Osakaand then working with Seungkoo Choi to

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found the Christian Network for Nuke-FreeEarth were not just coincidences.Colonialism and nuclear power share arelationship. Thus, I feel that one messagethe Church as a whole has a responsibility todisseminate around the world through its

worldwide connections concerns this issue. Itis not that I have confidence in our ability todo that, but that I pray that God will havecompassion on us and use us as a means tothat end.Both from within and outside of Japan, thedemands for liberalization of electric power through new forms of generation andimprovements in efficiency, along withmovements towards local production andconsumption of energy designed to reducethe need to send power over long distances,is showing that we can get along withoutnuclear power. Moreover, more and morepeople are now seeing it for what it is, namelythe immoral and anti-human imposition of poisonous waste on future generations for hundreds of thousands of years. Severalcountries have already declared their intentions to eliminated nuclear power, and Ithink it is only a matter of time before our

country does too.Jesus taught us to learn the most importantthings from flowers of the field, the birds of the air and little children (Mat. 6:26-30, Mark

10:13-16). The small living things in naturepraise their Creator, and little children knowfrom the time they are born to depend ontheir elders and also on the God of love andblessings. Adults protecting children fromradiation and the unborn from genetic

damage leads to a life in which the small andvulnerable are the center of society and ineffect lead us forward.In the midst of nations vying for power, theprophet Isaiah shared his vision of a futurewith no exploitation and a world of love,freedom and equality.The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopardwill lie down with the goat, the calf and thelion and the yearling together; and a little

child will lead them. The cow will feed with thebear, their young will lie down together, andthe lion will eat straw like the ox.The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,and the young child put his hand into theviper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earthwill be full of the knowledge of the LORD asthe waters cover the sea. (Isa 11:6-9)Isaiah calls on us to a world of life dependenton God, who will have compassion on his

people, forgive their sins and bring a world of peace. In the words of Isaiah, we can seethem leading to the manger of Jesus.

Buraku Liberation Center Report Akira Kobayashi, Director

The 37th General Assembly Period of theKyodan began last October and will continuefor 2 years until the next General Assembly inOctober 2012. The BLC managementcommittee meetings are held every Januaryand June, and are made up of the 17 districtrepresentatives elected at the General Assembly plus the chairperson of the BLC Activities Committee, for a total of 18members. This year, due to the GreatEastern Japan Earthquake and resulting

nuclear power plant disaster, the Junemeeting had to be postponed until late August.

This year’s activities included the yearlyevents BLC prepares, such as the “Day of Prayer (for the end of discrimination)”Worship Service Outline for local churches touse, the Youth Seminar, the variouspresentations of the “Liberation Play,” and thepublication of our pamphlets and newsletters,but the highlight of this year was the “2011Kanto District Buraku Liberation Caravan.”The planning for this caravan was a jointventure between the Kanto District and the

BLC that began about 2 years earlier.The caravan took place during the 10 days

from June 25 to July 4, beginning at the

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Omiya Church and travelling through the 5prefectures of the Kanto District (Saitama,Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki and Niigata) for atotal of 1177 km, holding events in 22locations with a total attendance of 1373.The 5 members of the entourage included 1student intern, and their route circled aroundthe district, beginning in Omiya (Saitama),going on to Mito (Ibaraki), the former AshioCopper Mine (Tochigi), Sado Island (Niigata),Kiryu Tobu (Gunma) and ending up at theSayama Church back in Saitama. The routeincluded 3 educational field trips for participants to learn about the history of specific instances of discrimination, and thevarious meetings along the way were well

received. The participants were: MakotoHigashitani (the leader from Osaka),Mitsuhiro Inukai (from Chikuho in Fukuoka),Kensuke Koito (from Sakai, Osaka),Masataka Yamaguchi (a seminary student atthe Rural Evangelism Seminary in Tokyo),and Shoki Masuda (a student at DoshishaUniversity, living in Shiga). A full report of thecaravan is in the process of editing and isdue to be released next spring.

In other news, the incident reported

elsewhere in this issue of the arrest of Rev.Takao Otani and 6 others on April 5 inresponse to their involvement in the July2010 demonstration at the HaginochayaPolling Station at the time of the upper houseelection is of particular concern. The pretextis that this was obstruction of the duties of thepolling officers. Rev. Otani and 3 others were

held for 111 days, while the other 3 werereleased earlier, after only 21 days inconfinement. Voices of protest have beenraised from the Osaka District and other supporters from around the nation, andpreparations are being made for the defenseto be made at the joint trial coming up nextJanuary.

A similar instance of the abuse of governmental powers designed to suppresscitizen movements occurred recently inrelation to the “Lake Biwa ‘Sayonara’ toNuclear Power Plants” gathering in Shiga. Agroup of rightwing racists tried to attack aChristian youth leaving the gathering, andwhen a pastor we’ll refer to as Rev. T tried to

prevent that, he injured an attacker, who thenfiled a complaint against Rev. T. The policeheld Rev. T in custody for 12 days. Theserepresent the kind of repression that ishappening around the nation, and so whilegovernmental officials are encouraging civicspirit in the recovery from the recentearthquake with slogans like “Hang in thereJapan,” these kinds of incidents are alsooccurring with increasing frequency.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the

beginning of the Buraku Liberation Center, aswe have endeavored to learn from Jesus,who walked together with the weak andoppressed, and to seek his gospel. We wantto continue our efforts to prayerfully pursuethe elimination of buraku discrimination andindeed all forms of discrimination.

Crowned With Thorns Editorial CommitteeBLC Director Akira Kobayashi, BLC management committee chairperson Makoto Higashitani,

Missionary Tim Boyle, Rev. Shigeyoshi Sato, Rev. Tsunehisa Iwahashi, Rev. Ken Oguri, Rev.Mayumi Honma.

We appreciate your comments and suggestions concerning this newsletter and how to makeimprovements.

Like so many deserving ministries around the world in this time of economic uncertainty, theBLC is likewise feeling the budget squeeze. We ask for your prayer support, that God will giveus the wisdom to make the best use of the resources we have, as well as increasing thoseresources. As always, contributions from sources both inside and outside of Japan are deeply

appreciated. We now have a means for cashing US dollar checks without incurring bankingfees, and so even small contributions are helpful.

CWT12:11L

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