How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Nuclear Plant

Last week, a number of Aomori bloggers (including my pals Mongo and Charlie T.) linked to a BBC article regarding a water leak at nearby Rokkasho’s nuclear reprocessing plant. That reminded me of something that I had completely forgotten to discuss up until now: the infamous Rokkasho nuclear “bonus”.

You see, as Japan is the only nation in the world that has experienced a nuclear attack (this is actually debatable depending on whether or not you consider depleted uranium munitions nuclear weapons-I do), the Japanese people have a long tradition of eyeing anything relating to nuclear energy with grave suspicion-a trait that has only become more prevalent in recent years due to a number of high-profile accidents. Back in 1993, when construction began in Rokkasho on what was to be the first next-generation nuclear plant in Japan (of a proposed 16-18), local residents rose up in protest, citing safety concerns. It turns out that their concerns were not unfounded as the construction was delayed for years due to design flaws. The plant finally began its inaugural 17-month test run last month, only to spring a leak less than a month into its trial operation. Whoops. Guess they’ll have to reset that “Over 12 days without an accident” sign now.

Wait, if there was such vocal opposition from the local community (in a culture where any form of dissention is generally frowned upon), how did they manage to build the plant in the first place? Well, they quite simply bought everyone off. Residents of Rokkasho now receive a check for ¥20,000 (roughly $169 USD) once a year from their friendly, local nuclear plant. Additionally, residents of communities likely to be destroyed in the event of a meltdown in the vicinity of Rokkasho also receive a similar stipend. Even though I live about 20 km away, I still got a check in the mail this past October for ¥9000 ($76 USD).
So what did I splurge my not-so-hard-earned, irradiated cash on? A Hazmat suit? A Geiger counter? A copy of Dr. Strangelove on DVD? Actually, I completely forgot to cash it. If I’m reading the check correctly, it was only good through November 2005, so it looks like the nuclear plant has won again. Somewhere out there, a frail, old millionaire is twiddling his fingers and uttering the word “Excellent”.

P.S. Am I the only one who finds that image of the glowing ziggurat-like houses casting long shadows a little menacing? The shadows especially recall some of the more chilling photographs of the bombs’ aftermath.

P.P.S. I made my victorious return to teaching today after a few weeks with no classes. One of my kindergarten students was even more excited than I was at this prospect but unfortunately chose to express his enthusiasm in a rather messy manner. Luckily, the teacher allowed him to enjoy “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” while standing on a plastic garbage bag.