Naoto Matsumura

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Naoto Matsumura ( Japanese 松 村 直 人 , Matsumura Naoto ; * 1959 in Tomioka , Fukushima Prefecture , Japan ) is a resident of Tomioka who gained international fame through his commitment to animals that were left behind in the exclusion zone around the damaged nuclear power plant after the triple disaster in Fukushima were.

Life

Before the disaster

After graduating from high school, Matsumura worked in the construction industry. Among other things, he was also involved in construction work in connection with the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants . At the time of the economic boom in Japan in the 1980s, he worked in the Kantō area, for example in Saitama , where he later met his Filipino wife. When the labor market situation deteriorated due to the bursting of the so-called economic bubble ( baburu ), he returned with his wife and two sons to his hometown of Tomioka, where he founded his own construction company. Since separating from his wife, he lived alone with his parents in Tomioka. His adult children live in Saitama.

After the disaster

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is about 12 kilometers from Matsumura's estate in Tomioka. In interviews, he describes how he and his family heard explosions in the nuclear power plant after the Tōhoku earthquake on March 11, 2011 and then fled the region. They tried to find refuge with his aunt in the more distant town of Iwaki , but were turned away for fear of radiation from them. According to Matsumura, they could no longer be taken to a nearby emergency shelter due to overcrowding, and so they returned to Tomioka. Matsumura's siblings convinced his parents to leave the city again, but Matsumura stayed behind to look after the animals left behind by the evacuees and refugees. As he explains in several interviews, a decisive event for him was to observe a calf in a neighbour's stable while walking through the deserted city, which was rejected by its starving mother. On April 22, 2011, the region 20 km around the damaged nuclear power plant was declared a restricted zone ( keikai kuiki ) and access to the city for private individuals was prohibited. Matsumura nevertheless stayed in Tomioka. Tolerated by the authorities, from then on he lived there without electricity or running water. Since then, Matsumura has taken care of numerous dogs, cats, wild boars, ostriches and around 60 cattle that used to belong to neighbors. Since doctors told him that health damage would not be expected for around 30 years, he says he has little fear of radioactive radiation. Matsumura received support from some animal welfare organizations such as Live Investigation Agency (LIA) and UKC Japan and founded his own organization called "Fukushima Fights Its Way " ( 頑 張 る 福島 , Ganbaru Fukushima ). In March 2013, the exclusion zone was lifted and Tomioka was divided into three zones with different access restrictions according to the strength of the radiation. The city is expected to be habitable again in 2017 at the earliest. Matsumura's personal blog has been inactive since March 2013. His ongoing work for the animals is recorded on the tokigootokiboo blog, which is run by a friend of Matsumura's who is committed to his initiative. At a conference on the risks of nuclear power, he met his second wife, who lives with their son outside the exclusion zone, 300 km from Matsumura.

backgrounds

Matsumura gives great compassion for the animals as one of the reasons for staying in the exclusion zone. He has been fond of dogs, cats and cattle since childhood. He shows solidarity with the animals because like him they have been "abandoned" by his country ( kuni ni suterareta ). He also wants to keep the animals alive so that they can serve as a memorial for the lies of the government and the electricity supplier TEPCO about the harmlessness of nuclear power plants, which have been lamented by various sides. In his view, TEPCO had brainwashed its employees. Matsumura is an opponent of nuclear power . In April 2011, he traveled to TEPCO's headquarters in Tokyo and spoke to some employees there to hold them accountable for the damage caused. In June 2014, he accompanied the farmer Masami Yoshizawa (* 1954, see below) during a protest in Tokyo. They brought a cow into the city center that had white spots possibly caused by radioactivity . Matsumura spoke out against the massive killing of the remaining livestock, which the government offered to all farmers in Fukushima in May 2011. The government should not spend tax money on death, but on life ( inochi ). Although he does not object to the killing of animals for meat in general, he is against the "useless killing" ( mueki no sesshō ) of contaminated cattle, whose meat can no longer be sold.

reception

Matsumura's case received a lot of attention outside of Japan. Numerous mass media reported about him. As a result, the Guardian of Fukushima's Animals Facebook page and a blog (active until 2012) were set up. These social media channels should be used to collect donations. In 2013 the journalist Antonio Pagnotta produced a photo book in French about Matsumura's life with animals. In March 2014 he traveled to France, Germany and Switzerland, where he reported on his experiences and positioned himself as an opponent of nuclear power. In Japan, he first received attention from First Lady Akie Abe, who visited him in 2013. The filmmaker Mayu Nakamura ( 中 村 真 夕 ; * 1973) launched a crowdfunding call for the realization of a documentary about Matsumura, which was completed in 2015. According to her, the Japanese media covered him only superficially and did not honor him like most foreign reporters did. Nevertheless, his story was picked up in Japan as well. A Japanese photo book was published by Kadokawa in 2015. In May 2015, he discussed the future of nuclear power in Japan with former Prime Minister Naoto Kan .

More animal helpers in Fukushima

In addition to Naoto Matsumura, Keigo Sakamoto (* 1955) and Masami Yoshizawa, who also lived permanently in the exclusion zone to look after the animals, became known. Keigo Sakamoto feeds over 500 animals on his property with food donations from supermarkets. The politically active farmer Masami Yoshizawa takes care of cattle bred for meat on the “Farm of Hope” ( Kibō no bokujō ). He advocates a more pragmatic animal ethic, as he justifies his decision not only with animal ethics considerations, but primarily with political convictions. He wants to keep the contaminated animals alive as living proof of the effects of the disaster and the government's glossing over the situation. He demands compensation from TEPCO and the state and regularly protests against nuclear power. About 100 other farmers turned down the government's offer to euthanize their remaining cattle. In his volume of essays "Living in Fukushima" ( Fukushima ni ikiru ) , the monk and author Gen'yū Sōkyū , who lives about 40 km from the Daiichi power station, also criticized the government's disregard for animal life and suggested resettlement of the surviving contaminated animals. Sōkyū also uses this as an opportunity to question how humans treat animals in general. The above developments are particularly noteworthy from the point of view that the welfare of so-called farm animals usually receives little attention in Japanese animal welfare.

Web links

literature

  • (2013) Le dernier homme de Fukushima . Don Quixote publisher.
  • (2015) Shirosabi to Macchan. Fukushima no hogo neko to Matsumura san no, ii yanbēna hibi ( し ろ さ び と ま っ ち ゃ ん 福島 の 保護 猫 と と 松 村 さ さ ん の 、 い い や ん べ ぇ な 日 々 ). Kadokawa Media Factory. Photo book about Matsumura's life with his cats.

Documentation

  • (2013) Zone. Sonzai shinakatta inochi. The life that did not exist . (Director: Naotoshi Kitada).
  • (2015) Naoto hitorikkiri. Alone in Fukushima . (Director: Mayu Nakamura).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dokyumentarī eiga “Naoto hitorikkiri” . Mainichi Shinbun on February 24, 2016 . Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b c Genpatsu 12 kiro risōkyō o tsukutta dansei no dokyumentarī . Motion gallery description of the crowdfunding campaign for the documentation "Naoto hitorikkiri"
  3. ↑ Nuclear winter awaits lone Japan resident near crippled plant . The Washington Times on November 23, 2011 . Retrieved June 25, 2016
  4. ↑ a b Alone in a nuclear zone . The Telegraph, published on YouTube January 9, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDtEF1qAIQc
  5. ↑ Japan: The Animal Savior of Fukushima . Das Erste, Weltspiegel on April 15, 2016. Retrieved on June 25, 2016. https://www.daserste.de/information/politik-weltgeschehen/weltspiegel/sendung/br/japan-tierretter-fukushima-100.html Genpatsu 20 kiro kennai ni ikiru otoko. Alone in the Zone . Vice Japan, published on YouTube March 10, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4
  6. ^ Evacuation Orders and Restricted Areas . Fukushima on the globe. Retrieved June 25, 2016. http://fukushimaontheglobe.com/the-earthquake-and-the-nuclear-accident/evacuation-orders-and-restricted-areas
  7. ^ 1 Contaminated Man Against Japan . CNN report, published on YouTube January 28, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uydigTP-Lpc
  8. ↑ The ostriches escaped from an ostrich farm in Ôkuma, Fukushima. (Tokyo Shinbun report March 9, 2014, published on: http://www.asyura2.com/14/genpatu36/msg/678.html )
  9. ↑ Japan: The Animal Savior of Fukushima . Das Erste, Weltspiegel on April 15, 2016. Retrieved on June 25, 2016. https://www.daserste.de/information/politik-weltgeschehen/weltspiegel/sendung/br/japan-tierretter-fukushima-100.html
  10. ↑ Matsumura's blog entry February 25. and March 6, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2016. http://ganbarufukushima.blog.fc2.com/page-4.html
  11. ^ Nuclear evacuation zone revised in Fukushima's Tomioka . Japan Times March 26, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2016. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/26/national/nuclear-evacuation-zone-revised-in-fukushimas-tomioka /#.VNxr_SzjIk8
  12. ↑ http://www.gettyimages.de/pictures/naoto-matsumura-the-most-irradiated-man-in-the-world-news-photo-466582938#naoto-matsumura-the-most-irradiated-man-in -the-world-because-of-the-picture-id466582938
  13. ↑ Interview Senken Keizai 06.2013 published on Matsumura's blog, entry from June 17, 2013: http://ganbarufukushima.blog.fc2.com/page-2.html
  14. ↑ Genpatsu 20 kiro kennai ni ikiru otoko. Alone in the Zone. Vice Japan, published on YouTube March 10, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4
  15. ↑ Tokyo Shinbun report March 9, 2014, published at: http://www.asyura2.com/14/genpatu36/msg/678.html
  16. ↑ Farmers haul Fukushima cow to Tokyo seeking probe into mystery disease. Japan Times June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2016. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/06/20/national/farmers-haul-fukushima-cow-tokyo-seeking-probe -mystery-disease /
  17. ↑ Livestock Culling Starts Near Fukushima Plant . The Cattle Site, May 13, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2016. http://www.thecattlesite.com/news/34510/livestock-culling-starts-near-fukushima-plant/
  18. ↑ Matsumura's blog entry from March 6, 2013: http://ganbarufukushima.blog.fc2.com/page-4.html
  19. ↑ France - Germany - Switzerland: Naoto Matsumura, Victim of Fukushima, Will Talk About the Nuclear Catastrophe - March 2014 . Blog entry published on February 17, 2014. http://mieuxprevenir.blogspot.de/2014/02/france-germany-switzerland-naoto.html
  20. ↑ Matsumura's blog entry from February 9, 2013: http://ganbarufukushima.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-25.html
  21. ↑ Report by Kyōdo News from May 24, 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdpSJvHdclY
  22. ↑ Man braves nuclear zone to save animals . Reuters report published on YouTube on November 5, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmg_4lDOOjk&feature=player_embedded
  23. ↑ Steffi Richter: Fukushima. Experience / experience: On site In: “Fukushima” reader: translations, comments, essays. EB-Verlag Berlin, 2013: 407-411
  24. ↑ For rancher near Fukushima, tending herd is act of defiance . The San Diego Union-Tribune on March 8, 2016. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/mar/08/for-rancher-near-fukushima-tending-herd-is-act-of/
  25. ↑ Japan after "Fukushima". A system in crisis . Leipzig University Press 2012: 180.
  26. ↑ HONJO, Moe (2014): Can a Farm Animal be an object of legal protection in Japan? The current situation and problems of Japanese Animal Law . dA [derecho Animal] WebCenter. Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.derechoanimal.info
personal data
SURNAME Matsumura, Naoto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 松 村 直 人 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese animal rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Tomioka (Fukushima) , Japan