Kizuna Japon - à Montréal Québec, Canada

Kizuna English Newsletter 2016: /2015/

Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2016

To Kizuna Japon friends, family, past contributors and interested people.

Happy New Year to all. We wish you all a healthy and great year for 2016.

Thank you for your support of Kizuna Japon.

I returned from Europe in summer of 2015 and as Kizuna Japon, we participated in Matsuri Japon in August 2015 with success!

These days, it seems that the world is becoming more unhappy and uncertainty is in every corner of the world. However in Canada, I think the birth of a new government is bright news.

Receiving refugees and recognition/official apology to indigenous peoples are positive sign.
I have been feeling a sense of crisis about Japan for past few years, but this year the feeling is even greater.

The remainder of this newsletter will cover:

Upcoming events

2015 Accounting report for Kizuna Japon

Recommended news reports

Recent articles and videos including interviews of directors Ash and Kamanaka.

Mariko Nishi’s article from Montreal Bulletin

Upcoming events

Event on 5^th anniversary of Fukushima disaster:

When: Saturday March 12, 2016 starting 16:30

Where: CLC Language school in NDG

Address：4260 Av Girouard, Montreal

March 11 is coming again. It will be the 5^th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear power accident and the Great East Japan Earthquake. It also has been 30 years since the Chernobyl accident as well. As Kizuna Japon, we will have a Exhibition, screening and charity sale. Entrance is free, but donations are appreciated. We are not fully organized yet.

Thank you very much to the managers of CLC Montreal Language School for letting us use their space. We will let you know details later. Go to our Facebook site. https://www.facebook.com/kizunajapon

Every First Thursday of the month: Private film viewing and discussion with tea (starting Feb 4)

Casual meetings (with film viewing and discussion about radiation/nuclear industry/protecting children, etc.) at my house every first Thursday of the month (every third Thursday in Japanese only) has been successful.

I would like to welcome whose who do not understand Japanese but are interested in these issues and/or have been involved in our activities over the years, or just curious to know.
The films will be in English or French (English or French subtitles if the films were not made in English nor French). Please join us on the first Thursday of the month from 10am if you can. The next one will be February 4^th (and no meeting in March due to the spring break)

The details and schedule

2 dollars is appreciated for tea.

I’m sorry for those who have regular jobs, because weekday daytimes are not really ideal.

The schedule is always subject to change or cancellation. In those cases, I try to give notice at least a day before though the Kizuna Japon Facebook site.

2015 Accounting Report

Kizuna Japon raised $2,878.00 last year, plus $799.01 was generously donated.

1. From that, $685,05 was used to fund the following:

a non-profit organization in Matsumoto, Nagano prefecture that runs a dormitory for Fukushima junior high school children and sends them to a local school.

funds to help rebuild new schools that were destroyed by the Tsunami in Iwate Prefecture.

2. The sum of $134 was used to fund a film via crowd funding. The film’s Japanese title means “The way to live for contaminated cattle”. It’s almost finished now, but will be only available in Japanese for now. The trailer is attached.

We did not spend all of the funds that we earned in year 2015.

3. In 2016, I plan to deposit amounts directly to two or three non-profit organizations in Japan, including the Poka Poka Project of Friend’s of the Earth Japan in February. This project is for children who live in contaminated area for travel to radiation free weekends and summer camps.

The following accounting file is only in Japanese. Thank you very much to those who contributed.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9u1Vmm9mcRmUEdxTXhGdXRtZkE/view

Recommend News Reports, Articles and Videos

Attachment file:

“Food for thought-Made in Fukushima and Beyond” By Mariko Nishi (from Montreal Bulletin)

Mariko is a supporter of Kizuna Japon and one of the two people who brought success to the A2-B-C screening in 2014.

For those who came to see 2014’s A2-B-C screening at McGill University, there is one good interview video between Director Ash and filmmaker Kamanaka.

The Situation in Fukushima and the whole of Japan is quite complicated to explain; it is a chaotic situation. 152 children have now been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer in Fukushima, but also a few children were diagnosed with Thyroid cancer in different prefectures as well. In Fukushima, some children have had cancer spread into other organs such as their lungs. Despite this, the government still denies any relation with the nuclear accident. Outright ignoring of facts and government propaganda is continually going on.

Recommended site:

“Fukushima”

http://www.podniesinski.pl/portal/fukushima/

English, German, Polish and Japanese available with great photos. Highly recommended.

Articles in year 2015:

“Japan nuclear refugees face dilemma over returning home” (July 2015)

http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-japan-nuclear-refugees-face-dilemma-over-returning-home-2015-7

“Chernobyl 29 Years Later: What's Left And Who Comes Back” (April. 2015)

http://www.ibtimes.com/chernobyl-29-years-later-whats-left-who-comes-back-1895146

Videos:

“Hotspots aplenty in decontaminated School route” (March, 2015)