From Japan straight out to the world: the web site for news and information

FPCJ invited Dr. Keiichi Nakagawa, Professor, Department of Radiology at the University of Tokyo Hospital, to talk about the health effects of the disaster-affected Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Twenty-three persons, including 16 foreign journalists, attended the briefing.

The gist of Dr. Nakagawa’s briefing is as follows:

“When we are exposed to radiation of more than 100 millisieverts, the risk of getting cancer will start getting a little higher. As of now, the hourly radiation detected in the Metropolitan Tokyo area is about one microsievert, or 0.001 millicievert, at the highest. In simple calculation, it would take 11 years of continuous exposure to that amount of radiation before it reaches 100 millisievert when radiation starts affecting health. Exposure to radiation over a long period has less effect on health than exposure in a short period. Outdoor radiation detected in areas close to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was about 10-20 microsieverts per hour. It is then estimated that indoor radiation is about 1-2 microsieverts, which is almost the same level of the outdoor radiation in the Metropolitan Tokyo area. Therefore, you do not have to worry about your health at all.” “The follow-up studies of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident in 1979 have revealed that residents in the vicinity did not suffer from any negative health impact.”

You can download the full transcript (provisional) here.

→Video Report

Links
→"Countermeasures for 2011 Tohoku - Pacific Ocean Earthquake" (Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet Official Website)
→"Tohoku district -off the Pacific Ocean Earthquake" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Official Website)

-Report (Press Briefing): The Situation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (March 14, 2011)
-Video Report (Press Briefing): The Situation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (March 14, 2011)
-Special Japan Brief: Overview of Tohoku – Pacific Ocean Earthquake (Part 1)
-Japan Brief: Major Newspaper Editorial Comments on the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake