Helen Caldicott, M.D., pediatrician and internationally recognized author and lecturer, hosts a weekly, one-hour radio program titled If You Love This Planet. Produced by Jasmin WIlliams and Scott Powell. Edited by Jasmin Williams.
In this episode of If You Love This Planet, Dr. Helen Caldicott speaks to Kono Taro, Director General of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party's International bureau. He is also a fifth-term Member of the House of Representatives in Japan. Mr. Kono has voiced strong concerns over the Japanese government's nuclear policy. He is especially critical of the government's pursuit of a so-called 'closed' nuclear fuel cycle whereby plutonium is extracted from spent fuel by nuclear waste re-processing within Japan. Mr. Kono also opposes the building of new nuclear power plants as the Government has so far failed to deal with the issue of nuclear waste disposal. Some of the topics Mr. Kono discusses with Dr. Caldicott are the Japanese government and industry reaction to the Fukushima disaster, how Japanese citizens are dealing with the after-effects of the meltdown, the likelihood of birth defects post-Fukushima, radioactive food, whether Japan will continue to rely on nuclear power, the threat of future earthquakes on the island, whether or not Japan has any interest in building nuclear weapons, and the Chinese military presence in the vicinity of Japan.