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The words and actions of the five former prime ministers have aroused public outcry and suspicion.
They should seriously consider how their words and actions will affect the international community.
I would like to tentatively summarize the people’s opinions and views as follows.
Five former prime ministers, including Junichiro Koizumi and Naoto Kan, wrote a letter to the European Commission calling for a nuclear power phase-out, erroneously stating that "many children are suffering from thyroid cancer" due to the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that occurred immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
These former political leaders bear a grave responsibility for having disseminated false information that was not based on facts and that spread harmful rumors about Fukushima Prefecture in order to promote their own political agenda of eliminating nuclear power.
A prompt retraction and apology is required.
In the letter, they made statements about thyroid cancer that were not true.
They cannot be excused for not having known the exact details.
The Fukushima Prefectural Citizens' Health Study Review Committee and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), among others, have stated that they cannot find any link between radiation exposure and thyroid cancer among children in Fukushima Prefecture.
The actions of the former prime ministers cannot be overlooked, as they ignore scientific findings and may lead to discrimination and prejudice against the children.
In the letter in question, the former prime ministers called for a nuclear-free Japan, saying, "We do not want this mistake to be repeated."
However, what must not be repeated is the misleading information they sent out.
Incidentally, Naoto Kan, one of the said five former prime ministers, was the prime minister at the time of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident that occurred immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Naoto Kan was the head of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, which was set up under the declaration of a nuclear emergency.
After the accident, Naoto Kan was criticized by the public.
In the beginning, the so-called right-wing media were particularly aggressive in their criticism of Naoto Kan.
However, a political journalist pointed out as follows.
"After the news related to the Great East Japan Earthquake calmed down a bit, almost all media, both right-wing and left-wing must have considered Prime Minister Naoto Kan's response as problematic. The main point of criticism was the lack of leadership of Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the person responsible for crisis management."
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