Freshly Pressed

The preview screening and press conference of my feature documentary 'A2' (WEBSITE) was held today at the Foreign Correspondent's Club of Japan (press release HERE).

There were a total of 88 press club members and their guests in attendance.  It was an immense honour to have my work screened by my colleagues, and an additional honour to have the opportunity to receive their questions during the press conference that was led by journalist Tetsuo Jimbo.

Photo: Chiemi Takahashi

One of the highlights of the press conference was when Mr. Mitsuhei Murata (pictured below), the former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland, stood up to speak.  Last year I had the honour of hearing Mr. Murata give a press conference, and I have followed closely his work in trying to bring about transparency following the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima.  Mr. Murata complimented my film and then asked an interesting question:  Given the continued precariousness of the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima, do you think the government should be bidding to hold the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo?

Photo: Chiemi Takahashi

After the press conference, there was time to exchange business cards and speak freely with those in attendance.  There was talk of featuring my work in news articles, speaking at a local university and even of bringing the film (and me!) to Switzerland as part of an educational program.

I am so humbled and honoured at the interest in my work and am thankful for all of the support and encouragement I have received over the past two years.  Peace.

Pressing Issue

Ahead of the World Premier at the Nippon Connection Film Festival (WEBSITE) in Germany in June, there will be a preview screening and press conference for my documentary 'A2' (WEBSITE) on May 13 at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

I am extremely honoured to have my worked viewed by members of the press and wonder what kinds of questions they will ask during the press conference.  I am very excited, and truth be told, a little nervous.

Details about the screening can be found on the FCCJ website (HERE).

Judgement Day

The judgement on the Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial was handed down today.

The case involved school children in Fukushima who were demanding their right to an education in an environment free from radiation.

My documentary 'A2' was submitted as evidence in the case, and I wrote about that HERE. AP reporter Yuri Kageyama wrote a very informative article about the case as the parties involved were awaiting the ruling (article is HERE).

I attended an emergency press conference this evening held by Yanagihara Toshio, the lawyer for the school children.

In a difficult to understand and seemingly contradictory statement, the court ruled AGAINST the children, even while ADMITTING that the children were being exposed to levels of radiation above the government total annual threshold of 1 millisievert.

In its ruling, the court stated that even if the children stopped attending their contaminated schools, they would theoretically still be living in their contaminated homes in the contaminated city.  The court calculated that even without the radiation the children would be exposed to at school, their total annual radiation exposure would still be above 1 millisievert.  Therefore, since their total annual radiation exposure would be above the 1 millisievert threshold even without the radiation exposure at school, the local government can not be held responsible.

In layman's terms: the kids may be in danger, but the local government and schools can't be held accountable.

Mr. Yanagihara, the childen's lawyer, is not giving up.

**************************** April 25th, 2013 UPDATE ***********************

An article has just been published about the court ruling by AP reporter Yuri Kageyama (HERE).

Markets and competitions and screenings, oh my!

My documentary 'In the Grey Zone' (89 minutes, Japan, 2012), about the children living in Fukushima one-month after the nuclear meltdown (WEBSITE), was still screening in film festivals when I began filming the follow-up 'A2' (70 minutes, Japan, 2013).  Website HERE and TRAILER below:

'In the Grey Zone' was asking the question "Are these children in danger?", and the follow-up 'A2' begins to try to answer that question.  While I always knew that documenting the story of the children in Fukushima was going to be ongoing, I never would have imagined that I would be getting ready to release a new documentary less than a year after the World Premier of 'In the Grey Zone'.

Between 'In the Grey Zone' and 'A2', I had actually completed a totally unrelated feature documentary called 'minus1287' (WEBSITE and TRAILER HERE) which I planned to release this year; but when I  realized 'A2' was pushing for an "early birth", I decided to put 'minus1287' on hold until next year (I now plan to release that film in spring 2014).

Although we have literally just completed 'A2', the early response (based on several versions of "rough cuts" that I have been sending out to festivals since last December) has been overwhelming.

*  'A2' will be included in the international film market at the Visions du Reel Documentary Film Festival in Nyon, Switzerland later this month (listing HERE).

*  The World Premier will be in competition at the 2013 Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany in June (WEBSITE).

*  'A2' has been honoured with an invitation to screen in the non-competitive 2013 Global Peace Film Festival in Orlando, Florida in September (WEBSITE).

*  And just yesterday, 'A2' was granted an early invitation to particiapte in an international competitive film festival in Asia in autumn 2013 (details of this screening are under embargo until the official announcement has been made by the festival).

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement of my work and your continued concern for the children of Fukushima.

Covering the Coverage of Uncovering the Truth

 A few weeks ago, I wrote about my documentary "A2" being submitted as evidence in a lawsuit that a group of Fukushima children have brought against the local government demanding their right to study in a safe environment.

An article about the case and the impending decision written by the Associated Press's Yuri Kageyama was published yesterday and can be found HERE.

Since my film was used as evidence in the case, Yuri asked for my comments for her article.  Unfortunately, my quotes were eventually cut from the article before it was published, but Yuri graciously both Tweeted and posted my comments on Facebook (below):

"A2", by Ian Thomas Ash, was submitted as evidence in this lawsuit. Some great comments he gave me were edited out and so here goes on Facebook:

_  "If this same disaster happened in the West, with the same level of corporate mismanagement and government cover-up, I think there would be riots in the streets."

_  "The government response has been too little too late. It has been proved time and time again that the government has withheld vital information, and yet they still ask that the people believe what they are saying. How can people who have been effectively lied to be expected to believe those who have lied to them?"

_  "So many government officials are only looking out for their own jobs. Very few officials have had the courage to stand up and say that what is happening is wrong."

_   "No one can really say for certain if the children living in Fukushima are in danger or not." 

_  "I think that by just bringing this lawsuit, the students in Koriyama have already won. Of course it would be great if the judges rule in favour of the students. But even if they don't, the students have been successful in raising awareness and starting a debate about the conditions in which the children in Fukushima are living. Either way, the students have won."

THANK YOU, IAN, FOR THE FILM, YOUR COMMENTS AND YOUR CARING ABOUT THE CHILDREN OF MY NATION.

 (Yuri Kageyama can be found on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/yurikageyama)

The "Snake's Pillows" of Fukushima

Before I left the evacuated village of Iitate for the last time during this trip to Fukushima, Mr. Watanabe, a former resident of Iitate, guided me to a place in the woods where the "mizu-basho" (nicknamed "Snake's Pillow" in English) were starting to flower in the marsh.

"I wish they would colour the radiation so we could see where it is and avoid it," is something I have heard countless times while speaking with people in Fukushima.

The natural beauty of Fukushima, like here in the mountains of Iitate, is deceptive.  The "Snake's Pillows" are gorgeous, but they hide an invisible venom.

Indoor Cats

Mrs. Takano's son, Ayato, was born in January 2011, two months before the nuclear meltdown.  The Takano family is from the evacuated village of Iitate in Fukushima, and are now living in temporary accommodation nearby.

While most mothers keep a baby book, Mrs. Takano has a folder in which she files the results of the government health checks and radiation monitoring for her son.

Months after the nuclear meltdown, families in Fukushima were required to fill out extensive paperwork by recalling where they had traveled to, how many hours they had been outside, and what foods they had consumed in the weeks and months after March 11.  Although it is impossible to know the true figures since no one had personal radiation monitoring devices with them at the time,  the government used this information to estimate what each person's likely level of radiation exposure had been.  

According to the official government calculation, in the four-month period following the nuclear meltdown alone, it was estimated that Ayato, now two-years-old, had been exposed to 5.4 millisieverts of radiation, more than five times the government's pre-disaster limit of 1 millisievert per year.

Ayato's friend Itsuki, who just turned three, came over to play.  The boys ran, threw balls and even rode little 3-wheel bikes inside, things we would never have been allowed to do in the house growing up.

But Mrs. Takano does not allow Ayato to play outside.  She has never allowed him to play outside.  Having been born just before the nuclear accident, Ayato is part of a generation of children in Fukushima that will grow up not ever knowing what it is like to play outside freely.

Only once has Ayato known what it is like to run outdoors, touch dirt and play in the water freely.  It was on a recent visit to the Japanese island of Okinawa.  The trip was organized by a non-profit group that arranges for children from Fukushima to visit far away places for respite.

Ayato showed me a picture from his trip.

Mrs. Takano said that when Ayato came back from Okinawa, she had a difficult time making him understand that he couldn't go outside to play in the dirt and in the water as he had done in Okinawa.

When I left, the boys walked me to the front door.  As I turned around to say goodbye, Itsuki, Ayato's friend, was slyly dipping his foot into his shoe.  He looked like he was planning an escape, about to make a run for the big outdoors, just like an indoor cat.