With the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics right around the corner, Korea is using their voice to make the games a safe event for all. VANK posted a petition on change.org that requests the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s urgent attention for the safety of the participants and visitors of the Olympics on three requests:
1. Japan must ban the usage of agricultural and marine products from Fukushima
2. Japan must not use the stadiums close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
3. Japan must be transparent in releasing all radiation safety test results.
Fukushima is a large farming area that was damaged during the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, and there is a possibility that produce and marine products from that area will be used to make meals for the Olympic athletes. According to Article 2.10 of the Olympic Charter, “The IOC’s role is…to encourage and support measures relating to the medical care and health of athletes,” but as of right now, it does not seem like the IOC is holding up that promise.
There will also be events held near the contaminated area, which will affect the health of athletes and viewers alike. The opening torch ceremony is planned to start 20 km (12 miles) from the Daiichi nuclear power plant, as Japan’s symbol of their “Reconstructing Olympics”. The torch relay course will continue through two neighboring prefectures, which were evacuated during the disaster. There will also be a stadium 70 km (44 miles) away from the power plant where baseball and softball games will be held. To put this in perspective, after the severe Chernobyl nuclear plant accident, people were banned from entering within a 30 km radius of Chernobyl even three decades after the incident.
Japan is also known to have falsify the radiation safety test results since the Daiichi nuclear power plant exploded. Starting from three days after the accident, Japan authorities labeled the accident as a Level 3, when three Russian authorities stated it being between a Level 4 – 5 accident. According to Greenpeace’s survey (2019), Fukushima’s current radiation level is eight times higher than the international safety limit, yet Japan still plans to hold events there.
Through the petition, Korea is speaking out against the danger the IOU is putting athletes in and are requesting their attention to the situation of Fukushima. VANK has also made a petition regarding banning the usage of the Imperial Japan flag in the games, which received 45,000 signatures and is still open.
Sign the petition here: chng.it/j5hhCw6pP8
Written by: Erica Vinluan
Originally from Los Angeles, California, Current 4th year university student, Candidate for a Bachelor of Arts in the Korean Flagship Language and minor in Business Administration at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Exchange student at Korea University and Intern at VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea)