東電がオリンピックのメイン・スポンサーとなったことに、米国市民グループがIOC委員長に対する申し入れを行う反対署名運動が始まった。
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach: Please say no to TEPCO’s sponsorship of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Why this is important
March 2015 marks the fourth year since the beginning of triple meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi. TEPCO claims they were the victims of an unimaginable tsunami that destroyed the plant. The truth is that they were the perpetrators of this disaster, for in 2008 TEPCO’s own engineers warned that Fukushima Daiichi's 5.7m seawall was not high enough to withstand a tsunami generated by a large quake in the area. Yet, TEPCO did nothing.
Following the tsunami, TEPCO first denied three meltdowns had taken place and then vastly underestimated the amount of nuclear contamination released. They further underestimated the time needed to recover and the cost to recover. Now they are fighting to save nuclear power because, as in the past, they value profits from nuclear power more than the health and safety of the public in Japan and the world.
We therefore urge the OIC to oppose TEPCO’s sponsorship of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. TEPCO must not be allowed to profit, or rehabilitate its image, at the expense of the world’s young athletes whose health they endanger. TEPCO’s inability to prevent many tons of highly radioactively contaminated water from flowing into the Pacific Ocean everyday is clear proof that the Fukushima Daiichi disaster remains out of control.