This is a blog documenting me, Thomas, who documents the lives of other people. I'll write a lot about life in Japan post 3/11 and also link videos from my YouTube Channel. 有り難う for stopping by.
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.
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.
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
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.