An appeal for support to tell the world the true story about the TEPCO
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident
The plan to translate Kenichi Hasegawa's memoir, Fukushima's Stolen Lives: a dairy farmer's story of how nuclear power destroyed a community and a way of life (Japanese title: 原発に「ふるさと」を奪われて~福島県飯舘村・酪農家の叫び, Genpatsu ni ‘furusato’ o
ubawarete: Fukushima-ken, Iitate-mura・rakunōka no sakebi)
In this memoir, published in Japanese in 2012, dairy farmer and author Kenichi Hasegawa describes how most of the people—including very young children— in his village (known as Iitate) continued to live in their homes for more than two months following the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident that occurred on March 11, 2011. Iitate’s residents were unnecessarily exposed to large amounts of radiation simply because the Japanese government did not make information about the leakage of large amounts of radioactive materials known to the public.
Hasegawa, who was himself exposed to large amounts of radiation, describes the 3/11 catastrophe and its consequences in simple, direct, and clear prose, and in a way that could only be told by someone who lived through it. Weaving together various stories about the experiences of Iitate’s residents, Hasegawa is a witness to the truth of what life was like immediately following the accident—as he suffered with the knowledge that his children and grandchildren had been exposed to radiation, as he lost all of his cattle (who were considered part of the family, not simply the source of their livelihood), and as he endured the suicide of a fellow dairy farmer and friend. Written in the form of field reports (reportage), Hasegawa recorded these experiences following the nuclear accident not only for the sake of documenting the truth of the past, but also in an effort to find a more hopeful future.
After the publication of Hasegawa’s book in Japanese, we heard from people all over the world—concerned citizens, lawyers, journalists, educators, etc.—who asked that these valuable reports be made available to a wider audience. This was the impetus for our plan to produce an English translation.
Plan Overview
[Project Name]
Kenichi Hasegawa Project
[Project Details] English e-book translation of Fukushima's Stolen Lives: a dairy farmer's story of how nuclear power destroyed a community and a way of life, by Kenichi Hasegawa, dairy farmer and former resident of Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture
[Project Time Schedule] 2/28/2014: Begin accepting donations on public home page.
5/31/2014: Deadline for accepting donations.
8/312014: E-book completed. Begin sales on amazon.com and other retailers.
[Conditions for Project Implementation or Project Cancellation] Total production costs: 1.8 million yen (translation: ¥1 million; e-book production: ¥800,000).
If less than half of the target fundraising goal is not achieved within three months (by May 31, 2014), the project will be cancelled. In case of cancellation, all funds raised by May 31, 2014 will be returned to donors in full.
[Payment method]
Paypal
All backers who contribute ¥1,000 or more will receive one complimentary copy of the e-book, provided that that the total fundraising goal (¥1.8 million) is met and the project is implemented. Please indicate your preferred e-book platform (Amazon Kindle or Apple iBooks).
In addition, the names all donors will included in the
Acknowledgments section of the book. Please indicate if you
would like your name to be included, as well the
preferred/correct spelling of your name.
[Project Implementation Decision Date] May 31, 2014
[Publishing Information]
This title will be published as an e-book (Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks)
[Expected Publication Date] Fall 2014
For more information, please contact: Reportage Laboratory Co., Ltd.
TEL: +81-3-3577-5456
FAX: +81-3-3577-5458
mail:hasegawa_project@rupoken.com
* Schedule may vary slightly.
* Please make inquiries in English or Japanese.
