Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Three screenings, three countries

I am extremely honoured to have screenings of my films in several countries this week!

On Wednesday (May 25) the Korean film festival DMZ DOCS is holding an encore screening of my film '-1287' (WEBSITE) for "family month" (May) at 20:00 (INFO). I was honoured to receive the First Prize in the Asian Competition at the 2015 edition of the festival (STORY).

On Friday (May 27), my documentary 'Dying at Home' (WEBSITE), which was commissioned by NHK World, will be screened at 20:00 during a special event organized by NHK WORLD at the 2016 Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany (INFO).  I have had the honour of attending two previous editions of Nippon Connection; in 2013 when I received the Nippon Visions Award for my film 'A2-B-C' (STORY) and in 2015 when I received the Audience Award for Best Feature Film for my film '-1287' (STORY).

And on Saturday (May 28), '-1287' will be screening in the touring section of the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival (INFO) in Taoyuan.  I was honoued to have my film 'A2-B-C' screened in the 2013 edition of TIEFF (STORY) and also to attend last year's main festival with '-1287' (STORY).
Thank you all so much for your encouragement and continued support of my work.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Young woman from Fukushima speaks out 原発事故当時15歳女性の証言

(日本語下記)

For each of the last four days, I have published a part of an interview I filmed with a brave, young woman from Fukushima about her diagnosis of thyroid cancer.  Following are some details about the interview as well as some data for reference.  Part 1 of the interview can be viewed by clicking the following link, while the entire four-part interview can be seen HERE.


This interview was filmed on February 12, 2016, in Fukushima Prefecture. The young woman was 15 at the time of the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, and we are releasing this interview with her permission. She is one of the 166 Fukushima residents aged 18 or younger at the time of the nuclear disaster who has been diagnosed with or suspected of having thyroid cancer (as of February 2016).

Fukushima residents who were 18 years old or younger at the time of the nuclear accident have been asked to participate in the free and voluntary thyroid ultrasound examination which is part of the Fukushima Health Management Survey. However, 18.8% of this age group were not tested in the 1st round of testing.* The final results for the 2nd round of testing are not yet complete, however, every year the number of children participating in the official thyroid examinations is decreasing. In fact, the number of children who have not participated in the 2nd round of testing is currently 50.7%**  For those young people aged 18-21 (as of April 1, 2014) and who were living in Fukushima at the time of the nuclear accident, 74.5% have not yet taken part in the voluntary thyroid ultrasound examination.**

This young woman’s reason for speaking out is to motivate the families of children who have not yet received the thyroid ultrasound examination to do so.

Below is a summary of the main points of the young woman’s story:
1) She often gets tired easily after undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer.
2) She sometimes feels emotionally unstable after the surgery.
3) She has no medical doctor with whom she can talk comfortably.
4) She does not want other Fukushima children/ adolescents to develop thyroid cancer.
5) She wants young residents in Fukushima to undergo regular thyroid checkups, so that thyroid cancer cases may be detected early.
6) She is anxious about the possible health implications on her future children.
In sharing her story about a topic which has become increasingly difficult to talk publicly about in Japan, she faces inherent risks which may include those to her work, community life and personal relationships, and I therefore ask that her privacy is respected. It is after careful consideration following the recording of this interview, I have decided her story should be released for the following reasons:
Points 1) and 2): Fukushima Medical University insists that thyroid cancer is not a disease that is deadly, and therefore residents in Fukushima do not have to worry even if they are diagnosed with thyroid cancer. However, this young woman’s story clearly demonstrates that the postoperative conditions of patients are not that simple. Post-operative patients are likely to experience various physical and emotional difficulties even after they have survived thyroid cancer.

Points 3): Doctors at Fukushima Medical University are not forming a comfortable relationship with the patients on whom they operate, which is a significant problem in terms of doctor-to-patient relationships. It is even more problematic when it is taken into account that most of the patients are young and therefore require intensive medical and emotional follow-up care.

Points 5): She is sending a strong message to young Fukushima residents that they should continue receiving regular thyroid checkups.
My hope is that her courageousness in speaking out will encourage others to do so as well.

May they never be forgotten.
May we all work together to support them.
And may this great tragedy never again be repeated.

Peace,
Ian Thomas Ash

    このインタビュー映像は2016年2月12日に福島県で撮影されました。(ビデオこちら
 本人の了解を得た上でこのインタビューを公開しています。
 原発事故当時18歳以下だった福島県住民のうち、甲状腺がんおよびその疑いのある患者の人数は166名(2016年2月現在)に上ります。彼女はその中の1人です。
 福島県は当時18歳以下だった住民を対象に無料で定期的に甲状腺検査を実施していますが、1巡目(平成23~平成25年度実施)では18.8%の人が検査を受けていません*。
 2巡目(平成26~平成27年度実施)の検査結果はまだ出揃っていませんが、県による検査を受けない人の割合は年々増加しており、平成27年度(12月31日現在)では50.7%にのぼります**。特に、18~21歳(平成26年4月1日時点での年齢)の年齢階級では未受診率が74.5%という状況になっています**。
 彼女がインタビューの公開に応じてくれたのは、こうした検査を受けていない人たちに検査を受けてほしいという思いがあるからです。

彼女の話の要点は以下の通りです。
  1. 彼女は甲状腺がんの手術以降疲れやすくなった。
  2. 彼女は手術以降、精神的不安を感じることがあった。
  3. 彼女には気軽に相談できる医師がいなかった。
  4. 彼女は他の子ども達が自分と同じ甲状腺がんを患ってほしくないと思っている。
  5. 彼女は福島に暮らす若者に、病気を早期発見し適切に処置するために、県が行う甲状腺検査を受診してほしいと思っている。
  6. 彼女は将来子供を持つとき、その子の健康への影響に不安を感じている。
原発事故・甲状腺がんについて公に話すことが難しい空気になってる中、このインタビューを公開することによって、彼女の仕事や家族、友人関係など日常生活に悪影響が及ぶ危険があります。 彼女のプライバシーを尊重してくださいますようお願いします。
 その上で慎重に考えた結果、次の理由から彼女の話を広く共有すべきだと思いました。
 1と2について:福島県立医大は、甲状腺がんは死ぬことはない病気であり、福島県民に対して、たとえ甲状腺がんと診断されたとしても心配する必要はないと主張しています。しかしこのインタビューから明らかに手術後の患者の状態がそれほど単純なものではないとわかります。患者は手術後、甲状腺がんが治った後ですら様々な身体的、精神的困難を経験しやすいのです。
 3について:福島県立医大の医師は患者との間に十分な人間関係を築けていません。これは重大な問題です。特に患者の多くが若年であることを考えると、医療面と精神面の両面でより注意深く継続的なケアが必要です。
 4と5について:彼女は福島に暮らす若者、子供、その親たちに対して、甲状腺検査を定期的に受けつづけてほしいという力強いメッセージを発しています。
 私の願いは、自分の経験や意見を発信する彼女の勇気が、他の人にもまた勇気を与えることです。

彼らのことが忘れられないように。ともに支え合えるように。この悲劇がこれ以上繰り返されないように。

イアン・トーマス・アッシュ

これまで福島県県民健康調査が実施した甲状腺検査の結果は次のウェブサイトから見られます:

 福島県HP県民健康調査課 http://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/sec/21045b/

* 県民健康調査「甲状腺検査(先行検査)」結果概要【結果概要】
http://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/107580.pdf

** 県民健康調査「甲状腺検査(本格検査)」実施状況 http://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/151272.pdf

Monday, May 16, 2016

Fukushima: A Nuclear Story

Today I served as the MC for the Q&A following a screening of Fukushima: A Nuclear Story (WEBSITE) held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (event INFO).  It is always an honour to be asked by the FCCJ to serve in this capacity, particularly when the event is highlighting an issue related to Fukushima.

Fukushima: A Nuclear Story, which is narrated by Willem Dafoe and makes liberal use of Japanese-style animation, is described as "unique" at the top of the four pages of distributor-authored  notes handed to attendees as they entered the screening.  This is true both for the film and its writer/ star, Pia d'Emilia, an Italian journalist and 30-year resident of Japan.

with Pia d'Emilia during the pre-screening meeting
post-screening Q&A
A video of the Q&A has been posted to the FCCJ channel:

The highlight of the day was lunch in the FCCJ bar and a visit with friend and Chernobyl/ Fukushima researcher Tim Mousseau.  Tim is based at the University of South Carolina and was in Japan this week to continue his research in Fukushima before moving on to Chernobyl the week after next (with a trip back to America in between!).  We never know where in the world we are going to run into each other- we have bumped into each other at conferences in Japan, of course, but also in Singapore and Germany (twice!).  I highly recommend reading At Chernobyl and Fukushima, radioactivity has seriously harmed wildlife, one of Tim's latest papers (HERE).

with Dr. Timothy Mousseau
Professor of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina

Tuesday, May 03, 2016

In memory of Mr. Hata (1946-2016)

Since shortly after the reunion three weeks ago of Mr. Hata and T (STORY), the son he had not seen in 30 years, Mr. Hata's health failed quickly.  Traveling between Tokyo and Mr. Hata's home in Tohoku as much as possible, I spent a lot of time with him- sometimes filming, but often just being together.  My role in Mr. Hata's life had already evolved from filmmaker to friend, and during the last week of his life, I became one of his caregivers as well, helping to bath and care for him.

On Friday, three weeks to the day of his reunion with T, Mr. Hata died.  The updates and kind messages I received from the around the world are collected in a postscript HERE.  The original story about Mr. Hata's reunion with T is HERE.

Only part of my relationship with Mr. Hata, his wife and their extended family is documented in my photo series, but it is certainly a significant part.  I plan to write down and someday share about the rest, much of which I am still processing.

In memory of Mr Hata. (1946-2016).
https://storify.com/DocumentingIan