"The only explanation for his suicide is the nuclear accident"

[Art_from_Ark]

I was just watching a program on TV Asahi a few minutes ago that was discussing some of the indirect effects of the on-going nuclear problems. One of the topics was a 64-year-old organic farmer in Sukagawa City, Fukushima (about 50 kilometers from Dai-ichi) who apparently grew despondent after the hydrogen explosion at the reactor site and subsequent restrictions on the sale and harvest of certain Fukushima farm products, including his specialty, cabbage. He had worked for 30 years to build the reputation of his farm and always had orders for his products. Just as he was preparing to harvest and ship his cabbages, the hydrogen explosion occurred at the nuclear complex. According to his son, the farmer cried "That's the end of my farm". On March 24, a day after the restrictions on some Fukushima farm products were put in place, the farmer committed suicide. The son said, "The only explanation for his suicide is the nuclear accident."

Here is an Asahi news item from yesterday (in Japanese) about the farmer's suicide:

http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/ann/news/web/html/210329024.html

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. This is a terrible thing

I feel for all the Japanese people affected by this disaster.

I often wonder about the location of nuclear reactors which were close to a subduction zone - an area of high probability of earthquakes and tsunamis. The nuclear plant had very little barriers to a possible tsunami.

[KT2000]

2. How sad

So much loss and no way to fix it. I am afraid this is just the beginning.

[crickets]

4. I'm afraid you may be right.

It breaks the heart.

[dkf]

3. Words cannot express how sad that is.

Breaks my heart.

[Rex]

5. He did what he thought was the honorable thing to do in that situation.

[calimary]

6. This is so sad.

Thirty years of work. How many lives will wind up being ruined (aside from the terrible toll of lives lost)? This is so awful.

It does indeed make one wonder why these time bombs are built in seismically unstable areas.

[underseasurveyor]

7. ooh :-(

Poor guy loved what he did and worked so hard and in an instant...
all gone. So sad :-(

[Art_from_Ark]

8. If you saw the video, you could get an idea of the size

of the farm. By Japanese standards, it is huge. He obviously had put a lot of effort into working it, especially considering it was an organic farm.

[girl gone mad]

9. A tragic loss.

He sounds like the kind of person the world needs more of.

How are you holding up?

[Art_from_Ark]

11. I agree about the farmer

As for my physical health, it seems to be holding up. But I think that I can say that March 2011 has been one of the most emotionally-draining months in my life.

[underseasurveyor]

10. Not being familiar with Japanese farms

No I was not aware that this farm was huge by their standards. Yes by the video it did looked sizeable but knowing what it takes to be an organic farm even a small farm is a lot of work.

Poor guy must have been heartbroken to see his life and all the hours, months, years, he invested with blood, sweat and tears, decimated. How could he ever have overcome a nuclear disaster?

Now his family has not only lost their farm but also the father :-( And how many more stories?

[Art_from_Ark]

12. The average Japanese farm is about 3 acres

and that includes relatively large spreads in Hokkaido. From what I could gather from today's program, he was farming more than 10 acres.

And yes, how many more stories will there be? It's not just Fukushima, either. Here in Ibaraki, farmers are having a hard time selling their produce. I just bought a pint of locally-grown greenhouse strawberries, but they don't seem to be selling so well in the stores. And the locally-grown spinach is a lost cause, too.

[suffragette]

14. A loss for the family and for the area

He sounds like exactly the type of community-minded person who would be helping the area to recover now if not for the nuclear crisis. His field was intact and could be feeding so many now.

[underseasurveyor]

15. There was a piece on the news tonight about Japan's fish markets

And the dramatic drop in sales despite fishermans claims that the fish are caught well beyond the 12 mile radius.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Anyone who is involved in food production in the area

is going to be affected. In Japan, Fukushima and Ibaraki food producers will be especially hit hard, even if their product is safe. But outside of Japan, nearly all Japanese food exporters will be affected, since almost no one can tell the difference between Fukushima and Fukuoka, Miyagi and Miyazaki.

[suffragette]

13. This is a terrible loss

From http://fukushima.greenaction-japan.org/2011/03/30/a-vegetable-grower-in-fukushima-commits-suicide-after-restriction-on-vegetables-i-cant-take-it-anymore/

This grower went organic more than 30 years ago and had been working on the improvement of the soil by using his own leaf mold and so on. He spent nearly a decade on cabbage planting to achieve a high end product for the first time in the region. The product is popular at JA,
Japanese Agricultural Cooperatives, and consumed by the students at the local elementary schools. He was proud of the safety of his vegetable and often says “I need to pay much attention as the kids eat them.”

There was no suicide note, but his journal was found and it had been kept up until Mar. 23. The daughter pleads, “How long will this continue! What will happen from now on. The growers are all worried. I don’t want any more victims like my father.”

[lostnfound]

17. Condolences to his family. Add this to the list of uncountable costs of nuclear power.

So sad.

[malaise]

18. How sad is this

They should sue the company for loss of income

[Art_from_Ark]

19. I imagine that there will eventually be a class action lawsuit