Remembering Hitoshi Yoshioka

March 12, 2018

Remembering Hitoshi Yoshioka, who fought gov't nuclear policy from inside

"I feel sorry for the next generation that they must take on the burden of Fukushima. What we have been doing is something we must feel embarrassed about," said Hitoshi Yoshioka at a symposium following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Those words still linger in me.

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Yoshioka was a strong opponent of Japan's nuclear energy policy. At 43 years old he took a spot on the committee that decided the government's nuclear policy. He was a unique presence in that he continued to criticize the government from the inside, raising questions over Japan's policy of forging ahead with nuclear power. Perhaps his regret that he was unable to prevent the Fukushima disaster before it unfolded was behind his statement above.

Yoshioka passed away on Jan. 14, 2018, of a hepatic neuroendocrine tumor. He was 64. He studied physics at the University of Tokyo, but upon meeting Tetsu Hiroshige, a history of science expert known for his criticism of the sciences, Yoshioka shifted his focus to the history of science as well.

From the late 1980s, Yoshioka devoted himself to research on nuclear energy. He continued raining down scalding criticism of the civilian use of nuclear energy as a power source, saying that Japan's system was "second-class at best and undeveloped" and that "what the government really wants (with nuclear power) is to maintain the structure of vested interests and the potential capabilities for nuclear weapons." Yoshioka's book "Genshiryoku no Shakaishi" (The social history of nuclear energy) remains as a sort of bible to those related to the industry.

"Public policies (like nuclear power) do not belong solely to politicians and bureaucrats," Yoshioka would expound. "I would like everyone to do their own investigative research and participate in policy formation." He hoped for the effort of every single citizen to reform government policies. Even when I, someone he barely knew, came to him asking for advice about wanting to summarize my experiences covering the Fukushima nuclear disaster into a dissertation three years ago, he readily provided me with guidance.

As the chairman of the Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy, Yoshioka fought for the reconstruction of the lives of those in Fukushima affected by the disaster as the nation's top priority. Also concerned about the global unrest surrounding nuclear weapons, Yoshioka said that nuclear power was just the outer moat, and the total elimination of nuclear arms was the castle keep.

Aiming for a future coexisting with science that could create a "fair society," Yoshioka fought to the very end as an opponent of Japan's nuclear energy policies. (By Shinji Kanto, Saga Bureau)