Wow... Where Have I Seen THIS Before... WE MIGHT KILL YOU, But You Can't Talk About It...

[WillyT]

Japan’s Deadly New ‘Fukushima Fascism’
By: solartopia - FDL
Wednesday December 11, 2013 6:25 pm



<snip>

Fukushima continues to spew out radiation. The quantities seem to be rising, as do the impacts. The site has been infiltrated by organized crime. There are horrifying signs of ecological disaster in the Pacific and human health impacts in the U.S.

But within Japan, a new State Secrets Act makes such talk punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Taro Yamamoto, a Japanese legislator, says the law “represents a coup d’etat” leading to “the recreation of a fascist state.” The powerful Asahi Shimbun newspaper compares it to “conspiracy” laws passed by totalitarian Japan in the lead-up to Pearl Harbor, and warns it could end independent reporting on Fukushima.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been leading Japan in an increasingly militaristic direction. Tensions have increased with China. Massive demonstrations have been renounced with talk of “treason.”

But it’s Fukushima that hangs most heavily over the nation and the world. Tokyo Electric Power has begun the bring-down of hot fuel rods suspended high in the air over the heavily damaged Unit Four. The first assemblies it removed may have contained unused rods. The second may have been extremely radioactive.

But Tepco has clamped down on media coverage and complains about news helicopters filming the fuel rod removal.

Under the new State Secrets Act...

<snip>

More: http://my.firedoglake.com/solartopia/2013/12/11/japans-deadly-new-fukushima-fascism/

[hedda_foil]

1. Plase sign the petition from Nukefree.org. The UN must take over from Tepco.

CRISIS AT FUKUSHIMA #4 DEMANDS A GLOBAL TAKEOVER: PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION!!


http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/the-world-community-must

[NuclearDem]

2. Sounds like the journalism exclusion zones around oil spills.

[mstinamotorcity2]

3. The united states

is asking for the same thing. And we know no one will be responsible. And there will be no level of radiation. And we all will be just a bunch of worry warts.

[bananas]

4. I'm surprised there isn't more outrage about this by journalists and news organizations. nt

[theHandpuppet]

9. I wish I could say that I'm surprised...

... but I'm not, unfortunately.

[truebrit71]

12. Really? They're full of self-censorship under their corporate owners...

...I'm not surprised at all...

[Egalitarian Thug]

5. K&R At least they're not putting in "free speech zones", yet. n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. The have them

but they are within 20 feet of the reactor core.

[Berlum]

7. Corporate Coup d’état, Inc. (R - Yakuza-Style)

[Fumesucker]

8. ...

[annabanana]

11. heee!

(love it)

[WillyT]

13. I May Have To... "Borrow" That...

[yodermon]

10. c'mon guys, it'll be fine. All sensible hobbits know this. n/t

[magical thyme]

14. The linked article from Reuters is a real eye opener.....holy fucking shit.

Very long article. It didn't take long before I wanted to throw up...


http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/25/us-fukushima-workers-specialreport-idUSBRE99O04320131025

Special Report: Help wanted in Fukushima: Low pay, high risks and gangsters
By Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito


....In reviewing Fukushima working conditions, Reuters interviewed more than 80 workers, employers and officials involved in the unprecedented nuclear clean-up. A common complaint: the project's dependence on a sprawling and little scrutinized network of subcontractors - many of them inexperienced with nuclear work and some of them, police say, have ties to organized crime....

...Raising wages could draw more workers but that has not happened, the data shows. Tepco is under pressure to post a profit in the year to March 2014 under a turnaround plan Japan's top banks recently financed with $5.9 billion in new loans and refinancing. In 2011, in the wake of the disaster, Tepco cut pay for its own workers by 20 percent....

...Yousuke Minaguchi, a lawyer who has represented Fukushima workers, says Japan's government has turned a blind eye to the problem of worker exploitation. "On the surface, they say it is illegal. But in reality they don't want to do anything. By not punishing anyone, they can keep using a lot of workers cheaply."...

...The complexity of Fukushima contracts and the shortage of workers have played into the hands of the yakuza, Japan's organized crime syndicates, which have run labor rackets for generations....

[WillyT]

15. Oh Boy...

[WillyT]

16. Last Kick...