Pray with Japan, March 16, 2025

Lectionary Selection: Luke 13: 31-35

Prayers for Japan

Creator God, you created this world and put the stewardship of the planet in our hands. Yet, we have put our own greed first thereby destroying the environment around us. Fourteen years ago, the Tokyo Electric Power Company “Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station” was the sight of the world’s most terrible nuclear disaster. Great amounts of nuclear debris have polluted the earth and the ocean. The effects of this disaster have transcended national borders, and will even transcend generations. God, forgive us our sins. Protect the people and especially the children living in the areas most affected by this disaster. Sustain the health of those who are still unable to return to their homes. We pray also for the health of the several thousand workers who are having to work in highly radioactive areas in order to dismantle the nuclear plant. Transform our national leaders who having experienced this crisis, refuse to listen to the voices of the survivors, and remain committed to their former nuclear policies. We pray that they will encounter YOU, repent, and know the truth that nuclear power cannot coexist with life. In the name of our savior Jesus Christ we pray, Amen

Mission Moment from Japan

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was built in an area with abundant groundwater. Prior to the disaster, deep wells were built to prohibit the groundwater from entering into the area of the power plant. However, following the disaster the groundwater flowed into the reactor building and interacted with radioactive debris that had fallen out as a result of the nuclear meltdown. This situation has led to the creation of one hundred tons of new “radioactive water” each day. The accumulation of radioactive water now amounts to a total of 1,300,000 tons which is being stored in more than one thousand containers built upon the power plant grounds. The Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Company (TEPCO) have determined that there is no more space for new containers to be built. Therefore, they started in August of 2023 to release large amounts of “ALPS-treated” water into the ocean. ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) is a facility designed to dilute the concentration of various radioactive particles in the water. They claim that the ALPS treatment is sufficient to secure our safety, and therefore have gone ahead ten times to release a total of 790,000,000 tons of “treated water” into the ocean. The Tokyo Electric Company says that this will continue for the next thirty years.

However, voices of protest against the release of radioactive water into the ocean have been on the rise both domestically and internationally. The reasons for the voices of protest are the following;

TEPCO has gone against the promise it made to the fishermen that “no actions will be taken without the consent of the local people.”
ALPS does not have the ability to completely clear the water of radioactive particles. Even though the water is diluted the total amount of radioactive particles remains the same.
The radioactive particles will enter the ocean current and spread around the world.
Radioactive articles in the ocean will affect marine life and eventually this will possibly lead to internal exposure.
Even though there is a realistic way to prohibit groundwater from flowing into the facility TEPCO is failing to seriously consider that option, and
TEPCO has not made an environmental assessment.

In March 2024, 363 local citizens and people involved in the fishing industry came together to file a lawsuit at the Fukushima District Court against TEPCO and the Japanese government to stop them from releasing radioactive water into the ocean. Every time there is an Oral Argument hearing, more than 100 people gather in front of the district court to call for a fair trial, and the seats in the judicial hall set aside for the public are always filled to capacity. Haruo Ono, a fisherman who made one of the plaintiff opinion statements appealed to the judge, “Fishermen observe Shinto rituals and take care to live according to the wisdom and customs of the past. Our livelihood is based on the bounties of the ocean, and we have great respect and awe for the blessings of the ocean. We believe that the treasures in the ocean need to be passed on from this generation to the next.”

The ocean is the source of our life. It is not a garbage can. We must not pollute it with radiation. The Creator of this world has placed the management of the world in our hands. God is hoping that we will fulfill our responsibility.

Written by: Terumi Kataoka, Aizu Radiation Information Center

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