Dr.Teruo Higa’s
Living A Dream

#70: Steps the Japanese Government is Taking to Deal with Radiation: Are They Really Safe?

In last month’s essay I discussed measures being taken in Fukushima by U-Net and other groups to deal with radiation contamination, and the prospects for the future. There is a need for each activity base to do its very best to become even more of a public asset to help the various localities.

Most of last year’s agricultural products now have radioactive cesium counts below 10 Bq, and except for forested mountain areas where, because of the topography, radiation has not dissipated, it looks like almost the whole region will fall far below the minimum safe level for radiation set by the government.

Because of this, the government and the prefecture, in order to prevent the collapse of agriculture, have decided that if they allow deep plowing, and continue to apply potassium, zeolite and organic material, they should be able to fundamentally solve issues related to agricultural production. In addition they have adapted a policy of allowing planting in previously restricted areas.

Because of this, it is possible now to plant rice even within the 20 km area around the nuclear power plant. Starting after this fiscal year the government will continue to provide compensation, and in cases where the harvested rice exceeds the minimum safe level, the government will purchase the entire amount. This is all well and good.

However, this doesn't mean that the radiation has vanished, or that everything is now safe. It just means that levels have fallen below the minimum safe level set by the government, but numerous problems remain.

First of all is the issue of low-level radiation exposure. This problem persists in the Ukraine and Belarus even now, twenty-seven years after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Considering this situation, it is necessary to get radioactive material in agricultural products as close to zero as possible. It is very clear that through complete application of EM it is possible to reduce the absorption of radioactive cesium in crops to zero.

Next comes the issue of radiostrontium. Because of the cost involved in analysis, Japan has ignored strontium, but in Belarus and the Ukraine radiostrontium is a more serious issue. Over time radioactive cesium binds with clay and organic matter in the soil, making it gradually more difficult to be absorbed by crops. Strontium, in contrast, is easily dissolved by water, which makes it easily absorbed by crops.

Further, even if radioactive cesium is absorbed into the body and there is internal exposure, if the person continues to eat uncontaminated food the cesium will be eliminated from the body in a few months to half a year, solving the problem. Radiostrontium, however, is absorbed into the bone structure and is not eliminated from the body.

Because of this, many bone-related diseases have increased in Belarus and the focus of radiation contamination has shifted to strontium, for which there is, unlike for radioactive cesium, no solution. As I have discussed on numerous occasions, EM has a remarkable ability to suppress not only the absorption by crops of radioactive cesium but of radiostrontium as well, and in Belarus they are progressing with plans to seriously make use of EM.

There is no convincing evidence that the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant did not result in the release of radiostrontium, and unofficial analyses have indeed detected radiostrontium. With that background in mind, EM must be used not only in Fukushima, but in other areas where there are radioactive hotspots.

The next worrisome issue involves the complete reduction method for rice straw used in the circulation of potassium as part of measures to deal with radioactive cesium. Because rice straw absorbs large amounts of potassium, if that rice straw is returned to the soil, the potassium in it helps suppress the absorption of radioactive cesium. This is certainly the case, but in Tohoku, where the temperatures are generally low, when fresh rice straw is returned to rice fields it results in a reduced state of insufficient soil oxygen, methane gas and other harmful materials being released, reduced root activity, an increase in harmful pests, and a tremendous drop in rice quality.

Therefore it is necessary to compost the rice straw before returning it to the soil, but this is labor intensive and there are limits to how far it can be carried out. But if one uses EM, fresh rice straw can be returned to rice paddies without any problem, and in fact there will be increased yield and improved quality.

There are several other issues of concern. Generally it is believed that if potassium increases, the quality of rice and other crops will decrease. The majority of farmland in Japan today contains an excess of potassium. As long as chemical fertilizer continues to be used, and present day guiding principles are followed, there will be a repeating cycle of oxidation and reduction. Over time the fixed radioactive cesium will leach out again, be absorbed by the crops, and though there will be individual differences, it is important to recognize that this is an inevitable mechanism in cultivation centered on the use of chemical fertilizers.


EM Cultivation Model Enterprises in Fukushima

All the concerns discussed above can be solved through the use of EM, but a definite model to show how this is done is needed. As a step in this direction, along with the help of U-Net volunteers, starting in the summer of 2011 we stationed two experts from the EM Research Organization (EMRO) in Fukushima and have had them direct EM use in the field and gather data. Based on these successes, in 2013 we have been starting a wide range of EM model enterprises.

As I have introduced many times, one successful example has been the Makuta Amenities group, led by Mr. Makuta, which has done extensive EM-based cultivation, has overcome the damage caused by rumors about products from the area that have harmed sales, and has become established in the market place as a high quality brand. Full-scale use of EM in rice fields, however, will begin this year.

Therefore, even if the number of people involved is low, if there is any group that wishes to introduce full-scale of EM, I will visit there myself and lead a technical workshop. From January I have done this three times, and plan to hold two more workshops in April. The first workshop this year was on January 27^th in Nihonmatsu City. This workshop came about through the help of Mr. Sato and his son, who operate Farmland Yamaroku, a farm that deals with a wide variety of agricultural materials and that has been successful in promoting organic agriculture in the area, and in marketing these products. Over 100 people attended, mostly organic farmers from Fukushima. I mainly discussed the EM method of rice cultivation and the relationship between EM and the microbiome, as I wrote about in the February issue of this column, giving a detailed explanation of practical application methods.

Before I spoke, the group introduced successful examples of their use of EM from last year, and EMRO presented survey results and examples of the application of EM. As I have already stated, it is vital that EM be used in Fukushima prefecture. I emphasized that if we do that and the prefecture becomes thoroughly EM-ized, so to speak, Fukushima will be way ahead of any other prefecture. This will open the future for agriculture in Fukushima, and in all of Japan, and will allow our country to deal with TPP (the Trans-Pacific Partnership). As a result of the workshop a great number of farmers decided to start using EM and I look forward to their results this fall.

On February 24^th I held a workshop in Tamura City under the auspices of Mr. Imaizumi of Cosmo Farm, who has been promoting a EM model farm in the area less than 20 km from the nuclear power plant. Thanks to this workshop two more farmers decided to participate. This region is quite chilly, rice does not ripen well, and yield and quality are typically low. Even so, EM has produced a large yield and high quality and has, I believe, along with being a countermeasure to radiation, opened up a new prospect for the future.

Damage to farms by boar and other wild animals has become a serious problem, but this too can be solved through use of electric fences using EM hado (waves), and I look forward to this as a model for use in the prevention of bird and animal damage to crops. This area in particular (Miyakoji district, Tamura City) is a center for the production of Activated EM, producing over 30 tons every week, so it should be easy to EM-ize the entire district.
On March 18 the owners of Sato Farms helped organize a workshop I led in Matsukawa Town in Fukushima City. Most of the forty or so participants are already using EM, and most of them have seen excellent results through its use. I emphasized at the workshop the necessity of being committed to using EM, and the participants were quite enthusiastic and positive, indicating that they wanted to implement use of a Hyakubairiki (a device that produces great quantities of high-quality Activated EM) and expand the use of EM even further.

Similar workshops are planned for April 20 in Ichihara Town, Minamisoma City, and on April 29 in Iwaki City. Mr. Serizawa, a dairy farmer in Minamisoma City I introduced earlier, has seen even more good results, and even using locally produced grass his milk measures under 3 Bq, reaching an even lower level more recently, 1.5 Bq. These results have led 5-6 other dairy farmers to begin using EM, and along with its use in countering radiation, EM is helping produce a quiet revolution in dairy farming.


Dr. Higa’s book The Law of Syntropy [Regeneration], which outlines the path to recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake.


The workshop held in January.


Activated EM tanks at Cosmo Farm (Miyakoji Town, Tamura City).


The model rice paddy at Cosmo Farm, which aims not only at using EM to deal with radiation contamination, but also at dealing with cold damage and damage caused by wild boar.