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Reporter: I’d always thought it wouldn’t be possible that I’d get sick — “I wanted to visit Fukushima again and again and report. But…”

Published: April 11th, 2012 at 11:43 am ET
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Follow-up to: Japanese journalist reveals possible thyroid disease -- Wonders if caused by radiation -- Continuous health problems since visiting Fukushima Daiichi

EXSKF has posted a translation of 15 tweets by journalist Yasumi Iwakami. Here are a few excerpts:

[...] on February 20, two days after reporting from Fukushima I Nuke Plant, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Then I started to have fever, and was finally diagnosed as having appendicitis. After 5-day fasting treatment, I recovered. And I thought appendicitis was a transitory (one-time) illness. But then… 

My diarrhea continued even though I continued to take medicine to control intestinal function, and I had occasional fever. This weekend, I was knocked down by the 4th fever in a month and a half. I consulted my doctor about my poor physical health in March, and we decided to test for tumor markers and do the colonoscopy. [...]

[My doctor] said to me repeatedly, “Effect of radiation has nothing to do with your ill health. It’s only the thyroid that is affected by radiation exposure, and that has been medically proven.” Then, when he explained the test results to me yesterday, he said, “According to the result of the test for tumor markers, there is an abnormality in the thyroid. You need a more thorough examination.”

Thyroid? I was speechless at this unexpected announcement. Other tumor markers were all normal. For markers for thyroid, thyroglobulin was slightly above the reference value. We felt awkward; he was the one who had declared to me that it was only the thyroid that would be affected by radiation exposure.

The test report from the lab stated, “Since there is a possibility that it is thyroiditis or goiter, please have [ultrasonic echo] diagnostics done on the thyroid”. Did this mean it was the result of radiation exposure? My doctor didn’t answer my question directly, but said, “The number is only slightly above the reference range, so don’t take it too seriously.”

It’s not that I want to emphasize the causal relationship between [my ill health] and the radiation exposure from reporting from Fukushima I Nuke Plant. I’d rather think there is no effect. I don’t want that effect. Somehow I’d always thought it would not be possible that I would get sick. I wanted to visit Fukushima again and again and report. But…

[...]

Read the full translation here

Published: April 11th, 2012 at 11:43 am ET
By
Email Article Email Article
46 comments

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April 11th, 2012 | Category: Japan (Fukushima)
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46 comments to Reporter: I’d always thought it wouldn’t be possible that I’d get sick — “I wanted to visit Fukushima again and again and report. But…”

  • xdrfox
    April 11, 2012 at 12:24 pm

    *On Now* Rense Radio "Jeff Rense Program" here's the App, live feed for …

    http://rense.gsradio.net:8080/rense/livefeeds/16k.asx


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  • PhilipUpNorth philipupnorth
    April 11, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    Sadly, this story is one which is destined to be repeated endlessly, beginning with those nearest Fuku, but then from Tokyo, and then around the globe. The coriums are still fissioning, and radioiodine is still rising from the nuclear industry dump at Fuku. Thanks so very much, nuclear industry.


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  • Tacomagroove
    April 11, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    Oh how the ides of march have now, past,
    I wonder, why bother, to speak of this lasting

    Great coordination, of stellar vibrations.
    Maximum is approaching, and time you have wasted.

    Allow me to pursue, my own destiny.
    I have a 150ft ham antenna outside my building,

    Water in the basement, with dried food that I’ve saved,
    I wonder if you though its my time I’ve wasted.

    Chorus:
    But now it is clear, that there’s something to fear
    The shaking, and vibrations, are growing in sensation.

    I’ve tried, to warn, you yes, all you I love, that
    There’s something coming, and it will all end bad,.

    Fukushima. Was tragedy, oh what calamity,
    The warning signs were there, in subliminal reality,

    Oh they did tell you, if you had simply noticed,
    The runaway trains, were loaded with bullshit.

    Bananas to internal exposure is bogus,
    Just read through the lines and listen to what I’ve told you:

    Chorus:
    But now it is clear, that there’s something to fear
    The shaking, and vibrations, are growing in sensation.

    So get ready friends and call all your lovers,
    Make your escape, plans, have your sources recorded.

    Do this in quickness, come tomorrows, sickness.
    Failing to act now will be your last weakness.

    As I type my words, its beginning to start,
    The quakes, all growing in magnitude, via liss seismic charts.

    The trumpets have sounded revelations, we enter.
    The fire of hell described in the bible must have been nuclear winter…


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  • Grampybone Grampybone
    April 11, 2012 at 1:22 pm

    Going to a fallout zone is not "extreme tourism" it's an extreme death sentence. If you want to get a rise out of something watch a porno, go to Disneyland, or drink a glass of milk from San Francisco. Don't go to the site of catastrophe. We are in the wasteland now and ground 0 is at Fukushima Diachii. If you want to get heart problems, thyroid decay, and other associated illness with no known cause according to TEPCO.gov go right ahead. As for me, I'll worry about reducing my radiation consumption by staying on the other side of the planet.


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    • BreadAndButter BreadAndButter
      April 11, 2012 at 1:41 pm

      I feel the greatest respect for the ones who dare to enter the danger zone to get news and pictures out to us & the rest of the world.
      But why oh why don't they wear proper protection??
      That's what I don't get.


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      • Pu239 Pu239
        April 11, 2012 at 1:52 pm

        All it tells me is the reporter is lousy at fact-checking.

        I mean, for goodness sakes, I started with enenews to answer one question:

        "How is this [really] affecting me?"

        It also shows he's too credulous (gullible) to be a reporter. Personally, I believe nobody, and start on the side of complete skepticism then work forward until I get the real story.

        We did our homework, and we're not even reporters.

        As they say, there's a fine line between courage and stupidity.

        "
        I prefer the words of Alexey Yablokov, member of the Russian academy of sciences, and adviser to President Gorbachev at the time of Chernobyl: "When you hear 'no immediate danger' [from nuclear radiation] then you should run away as far and as fast as you can."
        "

        http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/01/fukushima-chernobyl-risks-radiation

        I think that is called fact-checking, and he obviously didn't do it. (He ran the wrong way).


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      • dharmasyd
        April 11, 2012 at 5:13 pm

        BAndB…+1K for your kind comment. I am tired of hearing the put downs of Yasumi from those who have not studied his work, I have. He has done some great journalism. He's on our side. He's anti-nuke (as much as a journalist can show himself to be); it is TO BE FOUND IN his choice of subjects to cover.

        I advise you who are quick to judge him to go to his site: IWJ, google his name, and watch the ustream topics he has chosen to cover. He has done a great job of covering Tepco press conferences where we can see Tepco's absolute refusal to answer questions.

        Unless you would prefere to get your information from Tepco, stop criticizing the real journalists who are risking their health to get us real news!!!!AMEN! Thanks to all who support Yasumi!


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      • WindorSolarPlease
        April 11, 2012 at 9:51 pm

        Someone has to cover/investigate the dangerous zones, and I give those people credit.

        I do recommend wearing protection gear, no matter how it looks.
        Even when you go into a battle field to cover a story, you wear a helmet, a vest, boots, and so on.
        The Fukushima Disaster is a new type of battle field.

        Even when you are gathering samples for your Geiger Counters please protect yourself.

        This stuff is nothing to fool with.


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  • StillJill StillJill
    April 11, 2012 at 1:22 pm

    Thanks TG!

    I feel labor pains again,…..and I'm not even 'knocked up'!

    "Pangs of distress,….Nations not knowing the way out".

    There's a 'shoe' about to drop.


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  • Pu239 Pu239
    April 11, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    Time to sign the petition:

    http://wh.gov/QUi

    Commission the Fukushima International Scientific Advisory Team, save Spent Fuel Pool #4, and stop Fukushima.

    Needed:24,937
    TOTAL SIGNATURES ON THE PETITION:63


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    • majia
      April 11, 2012 at 3:01 pm

      I've been trying to sign the petition for the last 15 minutes and despite having a username and password the system is not allowing me to sign…


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      • Pu239 Pu239
        April 11, 2012 at 3:32 pm

        You have to actually open an account, or register. (It just asks for name and email, I think …). But, it seems you already have an account.

        <cogitating here…>

        If you're not in the U.S. just put something like 90120 for the zip code.

        Anyway, I was able to do it, but the wording "You are logged in …but can't sign the petition." is a bit misleading.

        (By the way, I appreciate all your great comments!).
        </cogitating>


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  • Whoopie Whoopie
    April 11, 2012 at 7:00 pm

    5.8
    Region OFF COAST OF OREGON
    Date time 2012-04-11 22:41:46.0 UTC
    Location 43.65 N ; 127.49 W
    Depth 5 km
    Distances 709 km SW Vancouver (pop 1,837,969 ; local time 15:41:46.3 2012-04-11)
    354 km W Eugene (pop 145,208 ; local time 15:41:46.3 2012-04-11)
    265 km W Coos bay (pop 15,394 ; local time 15:41:46.3 2012-04-11)


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  • Whoopie Whoopie
    April 11, 2012 at 7:35 pm

    This guy is fast!! EQ just hit Oregon and he's ON IT:
    7.0 Mexico/ 5.9 Oregon Coast/8.6 Sumatra/6.1 Tokyo
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgN-P4oxG1Q&feature=g-all-u&context=G27fc97cFAAAAAAAAAAA


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  • Whoopie Whoopie
    April 11, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    #Fukushima: Fuel Pools: Impending Disaster, Solutions, Greed & Inaction!! STOP THE WORLD! I WANT OFF!! http://youtu.be/SgwClpAN-T0 via @youtube


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  • Whoopie Whoopie
    April 11, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    #Fukushima: Fallout EVERYONE on Earth all of us kevin d. blanch 4/11/12: http://youtu.be/VpvMfw42Vdk via @youtube
    Where are all you phony 60s and 70s earth lovers where the F U C K are you?!?!?


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  • Whoopie Whoopie
    April 11, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    UPDATE: April 11th, 2012

    SPECIAL MESSAGE
    Thank you for visiting the Fairewinds website.

    Over the past thirteen months we have strived to keep the public informed through our English and Japanese websites. As part of our on-going educational effort, Fairewinds will soon be launching an upgraded website with improved access to information and a more intuitive user interface.

    Thank you for your support.


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  • Whoopie Whoopie
    April 11, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    FALLOUT FORECAST & EQ RISK NUKE PLANTS 4.11.2012
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gr0Y-ps6xs


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  • Grampybone Grampybone
    April 11, 2012 at 10:30 pm

    Didn't they get the memo? Radiation "Accumulates" after repeated exposure. So what you meant to say was…"You never want to go back to Fukushima ever again." Dosing yourself with rads just to get a story is noble, but you don't have to go to the center of a volcano to see it's erupting.


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  • ML
    April 11, 2012 at 11:12 pm

    It is sad how traditional medical training only trains for acute exposure and has such little understanding of low dose ongoing exposure affects life. I think it has been happening since the 1940s and is only getting worse. And the fission created ionizing radioisotopes are new to nature chemicals of course, adding to the many non radioactive ones already in the toxic soup of our environment.
    So if this reporter could get his doctor to do even 5 to 10 minutes of internet search he would come up with all kinds of effects other than thyroid effects from radiation exposure. Here is an interesting quote from a research paper: "Ionizing radiation enhances infection by allowing translocation of oral and gastrointestinal flora, and reducing the threshold of sepsis due to endogenous and exogenous microorganisms."
    from http://ibrook.blogspot.com/p/research-of-post-irradiation-sepsis.html Title: Infection in Radiation Sickness and Radiation Burn by Itzhak Brook MD. So this paper only looks at acute exposure and gives a far deeper look at the mechanism than what this reporter's doctor is stating. This lack of understaning by the medical profession is the true story.


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    • majia
      April 12, 2012 at 12:01 am

      Yes the medical profession is very narrowly trained

      The contemporary medical model only incorporates "lifestyle" aspects of the environment (like diet, smoking, exercise, and drinking) and does not recognize the profound role of environmental factors (chemicals, radiation, viruses) in shaping who we are down to our epigenetic processes.

      It is the false dichotomy between nature and nurture.

      The problem is that medical doctors are often so damn arrogant that they will not listen to countervailing information.

      It produces to much dissonance with their training and their egos…

      Not all docs of course, but most of them!

      Academics can be just as bad…


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  • Misitu
    April 12, 2012 at 3:07 am

    My personal take on this.

    From his track record, our reporter is a committed and courageous investigator.

    He has it seems committed himself to the "ultimate" investigation. In doing what he has done he is able to lay bare the gross and shocking untruths perpetrated by the authorities in their reaction to the Fukushima Dai-ichi catastrophe.

    For the benefit of his readers, he is documenting the course of exposure to radiation experienced by local people and site workers. He is also documenting the reaction of "the medical profession". Please remember that in any country the medical profession is one arm of governmental authority, in one sense or another.

    In terms of the doctor's reaction our reporter has exposed the doctor's ignorance or mendacity. Maybe we can recall the case of the lady schoolteacher from Minamisoma whose dentist refused to pull any more teeth "because I don't want to cause you any more pain [because your teeth are radioactive and I have had enough of that risk]"

    I cannot enough salute our reporter's bravery: I am sure his background reading included details of death by radiation.

    It's easy to lose focus…hope this helps.

    M


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