Greenpeace responds to Japanese government accusations of “unreliable” data on Fukushima radiation

Responding to the comment by Japanese government spokesman Mr. Nishimura that Greenpeace’s radiation data from Iidate village, 40km from the crisis-ridden Fukushima nuclear plant “could not be considered reliable”, and that most people have already voluntarily left the town of Iitate, Greenpeace radiation expert Jan van der Putte said: “Our data in fact confirm that of the Government’s own monitoring from the same area. There is no question over the authenticity or veracity of the radiation measurements nor the very real threat they pose to people living in the area.” “Where we differ with the Japanese government is on the action needed to protect people from the Fukushima crisis. Contamination levels in Iitate are high enough to require evacuation from the area, especially children and pregnant women. Remaining in Iitate for just a few days could mean receiving the maximum permissible annual dose of radiation”. “Claims by the government that the Fukushima crisis had prompted most people to voluntarily leave Iitate are also false – a small proportion of people did leave, but the rest remain, living their daily lives”. “The Japanese authorities must stop playing politics with…