AN APPEALTO THE JAPANESE HOUSE OF COUNCILLORS AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Vietnam, 14 June 2012

The Honourable President of the House of Councillors

Mr. Hirata Kenji
National Diet Building
1- Chome, Nagatacho, Chidoya-ku, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan

The Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives
Mr. Yokomichi Takahiro
National Diet Building
1-7-1 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan

Members of the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives
Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan

AN APPEALTO THE JAPANESE HOUSE OF COUNCILLORS AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES  TO CANCEL THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PROGRAM IN VIETNAM.

Dear Sirs and Madams,

We, the concerned Vietnamese people residing in Vietnam and around the world, wish to protest against Japan’s decision to provide loans to the Vietnamese government to construct nuclear power plants in Vietnam. This decision was approved by the House of Representatives and House of Councillors in November 2009. We strongly urge you to immediately reverse this decision, which we consider inappropriate in light of recent events concerning the nuclear power program in Japan.

On 4 May 2012, Japan’s Hokkaido Electric Power Co officially shut down the last of the 54 nuclear power plants. This action has ceased the production of nuclear power throughout Japan.

This responsible decision had been reached as a result of the catastrophic partial meltdown nuclear explosion of four reactors in the Fukushima nuclear power complex, following the severe earthquake and tsunami in the Fukushima region on 11 March 2011, spreading deadly radioactive materials throughout the air and water.

The Fukushima disaster has been affecting millions of Japanese within a radius of 100 km. The long-term impacts on the region’s environment and Japan herself are immeasurable. The degree of severity is second only to the world’s worst nuclear power plant disaster in Chernobyl, 1986

Amongst the world leaders in nuclear technology, Japan has the resources, reliable nuclear safety regulatory processes, and fully established social, economic and political institutions to effectively govern nuclear power plants. Japan has been one of the best-prepared countries in the world. However, despite such precautions, it was unable to prevent the major nuclear tragedy in Fukushima that raised grave concerns for human safety, especially that of the Japanese people.

The Japanese government and the Parliament have acted promptly and decisively to temporarily cease all nuclear power operations and end new constructions. Other developed countries such as Germany and Switzerland have swiftly adopted nuclear power phasing out policies. The United States has not constructed new nuclear power plant since 1979 after the partial meltdown nuclear explosion at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. Many countries are now shifting away, vowing to no longer engage with nuclear power.

On 28 May 2012, in his testimony in the Japanese Parliament, Japan’s former Prime Minister Mr Naoto Kan, told a parliament inquiry that Japan should discard nuclear power as it is too dangerous, citing the Fukushima accident had pushed Japan to the brink of “national collapse”. Mr. Naoto Kan revealed he feared additional meltdowns at the Fukushima site could “release into the air and sea many times, no, many dozens of times, many hundreds of times the radiation released by Chernobyl.”(1)

Vietnam is a country with third world technology know-how, with inadequate and primitive safety standards. Its people lack knowledge of the deadly risks of nuclear contaminations caused by any mishap from a nuclear reactor, with consequences that could affect many generations. Vietnam is amongst the world’s worst-prepared countries to manage a nuclear power plant. A nuclear power plant in Vietnam would inevitably lead to a nuclear catastrophe. The citizens of Vietnam are facing a frightening future, millions of human lives and generations at risk, with unimaginable long-term consequences.

Whilst deciding to cease production of electricity in all nuclear power plants in Japan, The House of Representatives and The House of Councillors continue providing financial loans and nuclear power construction services to Vietnam. This action is contradictory.

We appeal to you to uphold the long-standing reputation of righteousness and integrity of the Japanese people, and to act responsibly and compassionately with the interests of humanity above economic gains by immediately ending the nuclear power export program to Vietnam.

Protesting the nuclear power program is a highly dangerous and extremely uncommon act in Vietnam. We have been experiencing some adverse consequences. Despite this danger we remain committed to this cause - for the sake of future generations of Vietnamese.

We hope that, with compassion and responsibility, you will quickly come to a rightful and timely decision in order to protect Vietnam. Not only will this decision protect Vietnam from future nuclear catastrophes, it will furthermore protect and consolidate the special relationship between our two peoples over the past decades.
We anxiously await your reply.

Sincerely yours,
624 concerned Vietnamese and friends worldwide.

Contact:
Nguyen Hung              
email: hungthuoc@yahoo.com

(1) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/asia/japans-naoto-kan-condemns-nuclear-power.html