Dear All,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and my third movie. I am a lawyer based in Tokyo. I have spoken out regarding the dangers of nuclear power and taken legal action together with other lawyers and citizens’ groups to halt the use of nuclear power throughout Japan for some twenty years now.

 

 

I have stepped up my efforts since the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and in an effort to inform the public (in Japan and elsewhere) with regard to issues around the use of nuclear power, I have made three movies. The first, “Nuclear Japan: Has Nuclear Power Brought Us Happiness?” provided a detailed description of Japan’s nuclear village and of the accident at Fukushima. The second “Nuclear Japan: The Nightmare Continues” focused on the accident at Fukushima and the lives of those affected by it some four years later. These movies were widely viewed by the Japanese public and used as a reference in a number of district court cases.

 

 

Many of the individuals who watched these first two movies came to understand the danger and expense of nuclear power but they often asked me “In the absence of nuclear power, will we be able to satisfy our need for electricity?” I set out to understand and address this concern by traveling extensively to study how pioneering individuals, communities and companies are meeting their energy needs in Japan and around the world. I traveled with Mr. Tetsunari Iida, a renewable energy expert, and our travels provide the footage for my third movie entitled “Renewable Japan, The Search for a New Energy Paradigm.”

 

 

I was truly surprised and impressed by what I found, by the quality and scale of the energy revolution that is underway. And much of this is little known in Japan where nuclear reactors are being re-booted and nuclear technology is being promoted and outsourced. But there is a movement here in Japan too, and a tangible sense of hope in many outlying areas. So, while the Japanese government is becoming increasingly isolated in their approach to energy, I believe that the revolution within and beyond our borders will win out in the end.

 

 

Hiroyuki Kawai
Lawyer