Young Mayor of Chiba City Dismisses Citizen's Concern Over Plutonium on the Disaster Debris

Toshihito Kumagai is a 34-year-old mayor of Chiba City who wants to accept and burn disaster debris from Iwate and Miyagi to "help the recovery" of the disaster-affected region. On his twitter on April 5, he answers a question from a citizen as follows:

千葉市が受け入れるかもしれない瓦礫にはプルトニウムは入っていますか？

(Citizen) Is there plutonium on the debris that Chiba City may accept?

プルトニウム、本当にお好きですね。セシウムを心配するのは程度の差こそあれ理解しますが、岩手宮城でプルトニウムを気にするのは理解できません。

(Mayor Kumagai) I don't understand why you like plutonium so much [or "Oh that plutonium again"]. I can understand the concern over cesium, but I don't understand why anyone worries about plutonium in Iwate and Miyagi.

The national government did the survey last year for plutonium in cities and towns in southern Miyagi. No survey for plutonium has been done in Iwate.

Since it is not the job of the Ministry of Education (who did the survey) to interpret the data, there is no word as to whether the amount detected was considered "background". The interpretation, the Ministry decided early on in the nuclear crisis last year, should be the job of the administration (prime minister).

Mayor Kumagai is a graduate of the NPO private school called "Isshin-juku" set up by Kenichi Ohmae, former senior partner of McKinsey & Co. The school's home page declares:

新しい日本を創造するネクストリーダー養成学校

Prep school to educate the next leaders who will create a new Japan

"Nekusuto lih-dah (next leader)". Only those who understand the Japanized English need to apply.

Future is bright.

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