Difficult to prove connection between deaths and disasters

December 24, 2013 

Fukushima local gov'ts struggle to establish causal links between deaths and disasters

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131224p2a00m0na014000c.html

FUKUSHIMA -- Local governments here are struggling to establish causal connections between deaths of residents and disasters triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, as the number of residents who died in connection with prolonged evacuation from nuclear-disaster zones reached 1,605. The figure has surpassed the 1,603 direct deaths from the earthquake and tsunami.

It is becoming more and more difficult to prove causal connections between deaths and the quake disasters as time goes by. As bereaved families continue to apply for official recognition of their loved ones' deaths as disaster-related fatalities, the number of deaths associated with the quake disasters is expected to rise. But while local governments in Fukushima Prefecture are calling for unified standards for defining disaster-related deaths, the central government insists that causes of fatalities be determined on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, no solution to the issue is in sight.

"I can't enjoy life no matter what I do," murmured a 71-year-old man who continues to live by himself in a makeshift housing unit in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture. His wife, who had been suffering from stomach cancer, passed away at the age of 69 on April 2, 2011, slightly more than three weeks after the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

Before her death, the couple took shelter at a gymnasium in the city. They then took a bus for more than 10 hours to get to Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture. His wife became frail and passed away after arriving in the city. A medical certificate suggested that his wife had lost her physical strength because she could not receive proper medical treatment. So, her death was recognized as a disaster-related fatality. The man said about life without his wife, "It is painful because there is no one I can talk with even about little things."

There were 919 deaths that were recognized as fatalities related to the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake. In the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, 428 deaths were attributed as disaster-related fatalities in Iwate Prefecture, while there were 878 of such deaths in Miyagi Prefecture, both as of Nov. 30 this year. Fukushima Prefecture stood out with 1,605 such fatalities. In Fukushima Prefecture, 309 deaths have been rejected as disaster-related fatalities, 76 deaths are currently under review and more applications have been filed.

According to the Fukushima Prefectural Government's welfare division, problems faced by the elderly such as stress from evacuation from areas hit by the nuclear disaster with no end in sight and isolation as a result of separation from families are becoming serious.

In collaboration with municipal governments, the Fukushima Prefectural Government is making visits to temporary housing and rental housing units for evacuees, and officials with knowledge of medicine regularly visit the elderly and pregnant women. If residents make worrisome replies to health surveys for prefectural residents that suggest the need for mental care, prefectural government officials call them to check on their health status.

Life support counselors hired by social welfare councils continue to visit elderly people who tend to shut themselves in. But one life support counselor handles 100 to 200 residents, and there are cases in which counselors are exclusively exposed to complaints about the status quo from residents. The situation is such that even aid workers need to receive care.

Kozo Ueda, head of Kobe-kyodo Hospital who conducted medical support activities during the Great Hanshin Earthquake and the Great East Japan Earthquake, said, "Fukushima is special. They are faced with the unacceptable problem of the nuclear accident." He went on to say, "As long as there are no prospects of their livelihoods being restored, the fundamental problem will never be resolved."

If a death is recognized as a disaster-related fatality, the bereaved family can receive up to 5 million yen in condolence money, but the problem is there are no clear standards for defining such deaths. The Mainichi Shimbun conducted a questionnaire survey of 23 municipalities which had conducted screening for disaster-related fatalities. Twenty municipalities and local assemblies responded to the survey. The survey found that seven municipalities called for unified standards for defining disaster-associated deaths, saying, "It is difficult to judge because of a lack of unified standards."

As a reference for standards, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry showed each municipal government in the prefecture an example from the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake in Niigata Prefecture in which a death after more than one month from the disaster was considered less likely to be caused by the disaster. But the Namie Municipal Government said, "The distance, long hours, multiple places for evacuation (after the nuclear crisis) as well as stress are not taken into consideration." Each municipality is in fact screening applications through a panel of experts.

Yasuo Sato, father of Masaharu Sato, 60, evacuated from Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, which is within a radius of 20 kilometers from the troubled nuclear power station. But his dementia worsened in the middle of his evacuation. He could not understand why he could not return home and his stress built up. He died at the age of 86 about three months after the outbreak of the nuclear crisis. The Minamisoma Municipal Government recognized his death as disaster-related while taking into consideration his evacuation process. But even his family does not know the clear cause of his death.

The Fukushima Prefectural Government holds a meeting of local government officials in charge three times a year and came to share information on cases that are difficult to judge. But that is not enough. The Cabinet Office takes the position of leaving the matter to municipal governments, saying, "Conditions of disasters cannot be assumed, and if standards are worked out, it will be difficult to deal with them flexibly."

Yukihito Oguchi, a lawyer who is a member of a screening panel in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, said, "The screening processes have not been made public. Results of screenings by each screening panel must be shared, and the central government and prefectures should consolidate such information responsibly and release it."

December 24, 2013(Mainichi Japan)