Japan appeals to Phl to be 'open-minded' on nuke situation

MANILA, Philippines - Japan appealed yesterday to the Philippines to be “open-minded” over the country’s nuclear situation.

Japan stressed its government is transparent and not suppressing or hiding information on the issue.

Japan embassy head of chancery, Minister Shinsuke Shimizu said the Japanese government recognizes the earthquake-damaged nuclear reactors as a serious and delicate problem but there are signs of improvement in the reactors.

Shimizu stressed the risk of radiation has not increased so as to become harmful to the population.

“We’re inviting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to independently monitor the radiation level. The Director General brought experts to Japan. If they want to look at the data the world will believe we’re not hiding information,” Shimizu said.

He said US forces are also monitoring the nuclear situation in Japan.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano met Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on March 18 with other senior officials in Tokyo to discuss the current nuclear safety emergency in Japan and the need for increased information disclosure to ensure an effective international response.

Shimizu expressed serious concern on the measures being taken by the Philippines including the reported checking of aircraft and passengers from Japan for radiation exposure and Filipino seafarers who are afraid of going to their ports.

He said such moves are “disturbing.”

“We expect the government to be open-minded about news from Japan. There are disturbing news like airport authorities checking aircraft and Filipino seafarers who don’t want to go to Japan ports. This kind of action based on wrong information cause damages to Japan,” he said.

According to Shimizu, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has released an advisory on the safety of flights in Japan as well as an advisory from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the safety of their ports.

“It’s a kind of overreaction and I think the ICAO issued advisory that flights from Japan are safe and the IOM issued advisory that Japan ports are safe so there’s nothing to be afraid of,” he said.

Shimizu said it was useful to take safety precautions in the beginning when the information was limited.

But he admitted the measures taken recently by foreign governments to transfer their embassies from Tokyo also affect the mindset of the Japanese people.

“We’re afraid foreign governments will take extra measures of moving their embassies to Osaka which affects Japanese people’s minds,” Shimizu said.

“What we should worry is causing panic. We’re not causing panic ourselves. Actions by foreigners might affect the mindset.”

Japan, he said, welcomes precise information conveyed to Manila by the Philippine embassy in Tokyo.

“We’d like Filipinos to be objective and make judgment based on precise information. That’s what we expect from Filipinos as Japanese friends,” Shimizu added.

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), for its part, said it would not recommend screening of incoming passengers from Japan for suspected radiation sickness.

“According to the World Health Organization, travelers returning from Japan who have come from beyond the 20-km evacuation zone surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and who have undergone proper screening and decontamination procedures in Japan and travelers from all other areas do not pose a radioactive health risk to others and do not require screening,” the PNRI said in a statement.

Last Tuesday, a Japanese-Filipino family from Fukushima underwent radiation tests at the PNRI office in Quezon City. The agency said the family, which consisted of a Japanese husband, his Filipino wife and their child, had normal radioactive levels.

The PNRI also said the Port of Manila has started scanning cargo from Japan to check their radioactive content.

“Portal monitors previously installed in the Port of Manila are already scanning container vans for radioactivity,” it said.

PNRI had noted reports saying port personnel have been trained by US experts on how to conduct the radiation tests.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the PNRI are still considering random inspections of food products imported from Japan to ensure these are not tainted with radiation.

Representatives of the PNRI and FDA met with the importers and exporters at the PNRI office yesterday in a bid to address public fears about nuclear radiation contamination.

Traders who attended the meeting said they would continue to import food items from Japan and coordinate with the government in addressing fears of contamination stemming from the radiation from the Daiichi nuclear power plant that was damaged by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit Japan last March 11.

The PNRI had tested food samples from Japan prior to the nuclear accident to determine baseline levels.

The PNRI said food products that were imported from Japan after the accident would be tested for comparative radiation levels. –With Helen Flores