ASIA/JAPAN - The nuclear disaster is “a lesson for Japan and for the whole world,” notes Bishop

Osaka (Agenzia Fides) – Alarm is rising amongst the Japanese people with regard to the high levels of radioactivity recorded near the nuclear facility in Fukushima, and even the Catholic Church is asking the “nuclear question”. The Auxiliary Bishop of Osaka, Bishop Michael Goro Matsuura, proposes to Fides: “The issue about the direction we are taking, to build other nuclear power plants, is an important question. Together with the Justice and Peace Commission of the Japanese Bishops, which I headed up until last year, we have raised awareness to fight the construction of new nuclear power plants in Japan and globally. I believe that this serious incident should be a lesson for Japan and for the entire planet, and will be an incentive to abandon these projects. We call on the solidarity of Christians worldwide to support this campaign.”
Also the Bishop of the Diocese of Saitama, Bishop Marcellino Daiji Tani, records that “the people who live within 30 km of the plant are in a state of great anxiety. Many are continuing to leave the Prefecture of Fukushima. Our faithful in the parish of Shirakawa are still there, but they may also leave. And it is the Government's duty to give the necessary orders to evacuate.”
Last year the Japanese Bishops' Conference had already taken a clear position against nuclear power for military use. The Bishops of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have sent an appeal to the President of the United States, to the Japanese Government and to leaders of other nations, “that they do everything possible to abolish nuclear weapons.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 29/3/2011)