The Statement about the Ruling by the Sendai High Court on April 24th, 2013

The Statement about the Ruling by the Sendai High Court on April 24th, 2013. 

April 26th, 2013

The Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial Lawyers

1.  On April 24th, 2013, the Sendai High Court 2nd Civil Affairs ruled to reject an appeal that 14 children at elementary schools and junior-high schools in Koriyama city, Fukushima Prefecture filed a lawsuit against the city to injunct compulsory education activities in radiation-contaminated environment over 1mSv per year and to demand the activities under 1mSv per year environment, which is so-called the Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial.


2.  The outline of the judges’ statement is as follows. (For a better understanding of the document, we added several supporting sentences.)

• (1)  Considering the health damage caused by the Chernobyl Disaster, the results of the Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey and the current level of background radiation dose in Koriyama City, it would be fair to conclude that there is a concern that the children who are constantly exposed to low-dose radiation would suffer from future health problems.  Taking the limited effects of decontamination into account, this issue of radiation exposure will not be resolved unless the children are removed from Koriyama City.
  
• (2)  Although the middle and long term concerns remain, it is nonetheless also difficult to accept that these conditions would immediately lead to the irreversible health problems.
  
• (3)  Children are constantly exposed to radiation over 1mSv/y in life outside of schools.  As long as those children live in Koriyama City, it is impossible to reduce their annual exposure dose below 1mSv/y even if the City halts the education programmes inside the school facilities.  However, the children do not own the right to do so.  
  
• (4)  The evidences do not prove that continuing Koriyama City’s education programmes hold a significant risk which will immediately harm the health condition and security of the students.  Therefore, we do not consider it is unjust.  Education of children in principal has to be directed by the educational institution in the children’s home town.  Hence, the educational institution in the place of refuge would not override the original institution and establish extra education programmes.  Children’s purpose to avoid future health problems can be satisfied through voluntary evacuation and attending schools in the place of refuge.  In other words, children do cannot claim Koriyama City the right to education in the place of refuge and the City as well do not have an obligation to exercise education programmes in the place of refuge.
  
• (5)  It cannot be approved that the children are unable to evacuate voluntarily, and the collective evacuation is not necessarily.  

3.  Nevertheless the ruling clearly recognized effects of low-level exposure against lives, bodies and health of children in the 2-(1), it stated “(A)lthough there will be risks in the future, it is difficult to acknowledge any proofs that irreversible bad effects emerge immediately” in the (2).  However, according to the Fukushima Health Management Survey which is quoted in the ruling, 3 out of 38,000 children has been made a definite diagnosis of childhood thyroid cancer which is said to emerge in 1 out of a million, and another 7 children are highly suspected.  No longer danger is in the future, children are at high risk of irreversible bad effect right now.  In terms of high risk, the ruling is completely false recognition and should be retracted.

4.  We, the lawyers have emphasized that Koriyama city which has constitutional duty to educate children should educate them in a safe environment; more specifically, has duty to evacuate them.  As for a site to establish elementary and junior-high schools, “essentially municipality has to establish schools in neighborhood, however can establish them in elsewhere for inevitable reasons” (MEXT Circular Notice on April 23rd, 1959).  Moreover, we have insisted how difficult to decide to evacuate voluntarily in Fukushima Prefecture now because of economic reasons, children’s feelings and safe radiation-exposed PRs made by administrations.  However, the ruling rejected our appeal or almost ignored without answering the aforementioned points, with an idiosyncratic logic that the city has nothing to do if children evacuated voluntarily and has nothing to take measures to avoid exposure under 1mSv per year.
  In conclusion, the Court fairly evaluated a danger of damage emergence against lives and bodies of children referring to Chernobyl’s reports and the result of Fukushima Health Management Survey, and characterized “concerned emergence of damage to lives, bodies, and health of the children due to radiation exposure and grave consequences”, furthermore went into depth that a collective evacuation is “a considerable alternative for one of measures to avoid damage of exposure as a drastic policy of educational administration ”; nonetheless, the Court denied children’s right to demand evacuation for the city and stated they will watch this serious on-going human rights violation with folded arms as administration of justice.  We strongly reclaim that this is nothing but abandoning the most important duty which administration of justice bear as the last stronghold of human rights.

5.  Municipality including Koriyama city, Fukushima Prefecture and the Government have to take the aforementioned 2-(1) seriously, and have to make fundamental moves toward avoiding children’s exposure as soon as possible.

  In the end, we need further support from every sensible citizen in Japan and all over the world in order to mobilize administrations for collective evacuation.  As lawyers’ team, we keep our best to realize children’s collective evacuation earliest possible.

Thank you