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Exploring the events shaping

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0:21

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from the BBC World Service is a

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0:42

Previously on Fukushima. The

0:44

radiation was being blown directly

0:47

at us and you knew that. I

0:50

assure you that I personally

0:52

did not know that. Of course you

0:54

say that. You are a politician. Blood

0:57

is on your hand Prime Minister.

1:00

There is an industrial pump currently docked at

1:02

Otsu bound for Vietnam. I have

1:04

ordered this pump to be diverted to Fukushima

1:06

and they tell me you have sent them these documentation

1:09

by post. Have you no pigeons

1:12

left? We

1:14

are at war. An invisible

1:17

enemy is trying to occupy Japan.

1:20

I'm sorry I can't talk now Prime Minister. We're

1:22

in a state of emergency here. What's happening?

1:25

Explosion in unit four.

1:28

Fukushima. Episode

1:30

six. I'm

1:37

ready. I'm very

1:39

much not. Why? Why don't

1:42

you speak? I haven't finished my

1:44

coffee for one and

1:46

I'm not feeling very sprightly. Are

1:49

you? I'm feeling fine. How did

1:51

you do it? I didn't actually

1:54

drink that much. Come on finish

1:56

your coffee. It's already late. We need to go. Where

1:59

are we going? I told you for a drive.

2:02

Yes, but where? Everywhere.

2:05

I've made a decision about you, Sootosan. Have you?

2:08

Yes. I'll tell you in the van. Where

2:11

going in your van? What's wrong with my

2:13

van? Nothing at all.

2:17

Very well. Let's

2:20

go. Everywhere.

2:30

I'm not sure this is a

2:32

good idea for my stomach. You

2:35

shouldn't have bought a place so out of town

2:37

then. The roads get better soon. Vastov

2:40

isn't far.

2:41

So what decision

2:43

did you make about me this morning?

2:46

Well, I started thinking. There's

2:48

more to this man than he's telling me. No.

2:52

I think I told you everything. Don't

2:54

worry. I don't want to know any more about

2:57

you or Tebko or

2:59

your career or even Dijc.

3:00

I see. Here

3:06

we are. What is

3:08

this? A house. Who

3:11

lives here? Nobody.

3:14

Come on.

3:26

Ah, this is what my house

3:29

looks like when I first visited.

3:32

So you did clean it up a little then?

3:36

It took me two months. You

3:38

clean it by yourself? Yes.

3:41

Did you wear protective equipment? No.

3:45

You shouldn't have been handling all that

3:47

rubble. You wore a mask at least.

3:50

I don't recall. You know you could have got

3:52

help and PPE from the town hall. I

3:55

didn't want help from the town

3:57

hall. It's

4:02

like a time capsule, isn't it? Look

4:05

at the calendar. 11th of March, 2011.

4:11

So what is the decision you

4:13

have made about me? I

4:16

don't think your story is over.

4:19

You are talking like your story is over. I

4:21

don't think it is. And this is why we are

4:24

standing in the middle of someone's ruined

4:27

house. Shieki and Hatsuyo

4:29

Tamura and their daughter Hatsumi's

4:31

house. She was 17. Was?

4:36

I think she was 17 and now she

4:38

is 27. Oh. I

4:41

didn't know them but my friend Kanno did. They

4:44

evacuated to higher ground before the tsunami.

4:48

After the disaster they moved away of course. He

4:51

started a profitable shop. They bought a home

4:53

near Niigata. Hatsumi-san

4:55

has just been voted on to the civic council.

4:57

Ah. Good for Hatsumi-san.

5:01

Yes. This house is scheduled to be

5:03

demolished next month. The people

5:05

of Hatsumi-san's district decided to buy the

5:07

land and she insisted that something

5:09

useful go where her home once stood. So

5:12

they are building a recreational centre for

5:14

our elderly residents. A kind of

5:16

gym. We need one.

5:18

Ah. That's a nice story.

5:21

It is, isn't it? I

5:24

want you to see the town today. That's

5:27

all. I want you to meet

5:29

some of the people. They are good people. There

5:32

is hope here. There

5:36

is loss here. And then there

5:38

is hope.

5:42

Come on. I

5:51

think I need some water. I'm not...

5:55

Do you have any water? No.

5:58

I'm sorry. I don't. Do

6:00

you want me to stop in Rawson? He's

6:02

just up here on the right. Oh, please.

6:05

Are you going to throw up? No,

6:08

I don't think so. If

6:10

you do, there's a plastic bag at your feet. Thank

6:13

you. Thank you. Let's

6:16

get you some water. I

6:23

have a few things to get. It closes early on

6:25

Sunday. Is that OK? That's fine.

6:29

Can I wait here? The

6:32

fresh air does me good.

6:33

OK. I won't be a second. Toshi!

6:37

That's enough! Come back now! Toshi,

6:40

please, darling, just get in the car,

6:43

OK? Spirited young man.

6:46

I'm sorry. He's a little overexcited.

6:48

Oh, no, no! It's nice to hear

6:50

young voices. Most of the time,

6:53

I would agree with you. My youngest

6:55

daughter was very singular. And

6:58

she too would choose very

7:00

odd places sometimes to express

7:02

herself. Are you visiting? No.

7:06

I live out in Epukudo. Ah,

7:08

I visit the shrine there sometimes.

7:10

Oh, Son Sha. Yes. Not

7:12

many houses out that way. No, not

7:15

many. Yuji Ito. Pleased

7:17

to meet you, sir. Oh, Stou, her pleasure.

7:21

I'm sorry. Did you say your

7:23

name was Yuji Ito? Yes.

7:27

You used to work at the plant. I

7:29

still do. Oh, yes. But you

7:32

are one of Toshio Shimada's men

7:35

in the control room. That's right. You

7:38

know Shimada-san? No, no.

7:40

I don't know him, but...

7:42

You were on the teams

7:45

that vented units 1 and 3. Yes,

7:48

I was. I'm sorry. Who did you say you were?

7:51

Were you at Daichi? I'm

7:54

very sorry.

7:55

I'm feeling rather out of sorts.

7:58

Would you like to sit down? I'm

8:00

so sorry. And thank you.

8:03

Thank you so much. You don't have

8:05

to thank me. But I do.

8:08

We all do.

8:09

One bottle of water. Are

8:12

you okay? Uh, yes. I'm

8:14

fine. Hello? Hello.

8:18

I'm Akiko Matsunaga. Pleased

8:20

to meet you. You seem familiar.

8:23

You may have seen me. I'm up here on

8:25

weekends quite a lot. This is Yuji

8:27

To from Daiichi. Do you remember? Of

8:30

course I do. I'm so sorry, sir. If

8:32

you work in Daiichi, I don't recognize you.

8:34

You refuse to go home. Refuse to go

8:37

home? When? When Shimada-san

8:39

tried to send you home, you stayed. No, I

8:41

didn't stay. I went home. Yuji,

8:44

are you coming? I have to go. My

8:46

family is waiting. Oh, yes,

8:49

of course. It was nice meeting you both.

8:51

Thank you again for everything

8:54

you did. Truly, Japan

8:57

is in your debt. You

8:59

must stop thanking me, sir. I

9:01

didn't do anything worthy of it. How

9:03

can you say that? Sudo-san, I

9:05

think he has to go. I would like

9:07

to talk to you more sometime.

9:10

I knew your manager, Masao

9:13

Yoshida. We

9:16

could talk now? I

9:18

think your wife would like to leave.

9:21

At my house. Why don't you follow

9:23

us? That

9:25

would be very nice. OK.

9:28

It's not far.

9:35

The decision to come home was not a difficult

9:37

one. Things were... Things

9:39

were not working out very well, Shimane. It

9:42

was a long way from home. Toshio was having

9:44

some problems at school. Oh. It's

9:47

been very difficult for him. It's why he acts

9:49

up from time to time, as you saw. Oh. I

9:52

wouldn't call what I saw acting

9:54

up. My daughter did much worse.

9:57

Yes. Today's been a good day.

9:59

He was picked on, bullied in

10:02

his school. They called him

10:04

Radioactive Boy. Oh, both

10:06

things. Yeah, he was very

10:08

unhappy. It's exactly what happened

10:10

to children from Nagasaki. He lost mine in the 50s. You'd

10:14

think we were a little bit more... Evolved?

10:18

Yes. I'm so sorry. On

10:20

the mornings when I'd dropped Toshio at school,

10:23

I'd watch him walk through the gates with his satio

10:26

and then stand helpless as all

10:28

the kids would run away, screaming

10:30

and laughing.

10:31

I don't know what their parents were telling them, but it

10:34

just didn't stop. Radiation never

10:36

goes away, so it was the joke

10:38

that kept giving. But

10:41

our house here was intact, so when

10:43

he was seven and Namir started to open up, we

10:46

brought him home. To be with other children

10:48

like him. There's only

10:50

six other kids at the school, but at least

10:53

he gets an education.

10:54

How did you feel about coming back? He

10:57

didn't want to. Why not? For

11:00

me, it was the radiation. It

11:02

worried me. I won't lie. The kids

11:05

here are used to it, but it's a lot of

11:07

tests, as you know. And

11:09

Yuji was exposed to even more because Teppko

11:11

and the government kept saying it was okay. Keiko?

11:15

Well, they

11:15

did. For me, it was more historical,

11:18

I suppose. I'm connected to the plant.

11:21

I'm connected to the disaster. I'll

11:23

never be able to separate myself from it.

11:25

But in a good way, surely. I'm

11:27

not sure there is a good way to be connected

11:29

to this disaster. I assume you mean

11:31

because my actions helped save the

11:33

plant.

11:34

Is that why you thanked me back there? I

11:37

thanked you for your courage. I think

11:39

a lot of people see it that way. Yes,

11:42

everybody thanks me. People in the street,

11:44

people in the supermarket. But that's understandable,

11:47

isn't it? We just went down and turned

11:50

the valves. The radiation was fluctuating

11:52

between 200 millisivids and a thousand. We

11:56

had 20 minutes of oxygen. Some

11:58

teams managed, some didn't.

11:59

Some of us had to turn back.

12:02

It has nothing to do with who's brave or who's

12:04

a coward. It was simply a question

12:06

of numbers on a Geiger counter. But

12:09

I get the thank-yous, and Hideyoshi

12:11

Osaki gets the averted eyes because

12:14

his team didn't succeed. Yes, sir. Hideyoshi

12:17

Osaki. Probably the bravest

12:20

man I've ever met, my mentor

12:22

at the plant. He was 53 at

12:24

the time, and he ran 15 kilometers

12:27

to arrive at work nine hours early, so

12:30

he could replace

12:30

a younger member of the team. This

12:33

man failed because the radiation

12:36

levels were too high, and he ordered his

12:38

partner to turn back. He has

12:40

to live with the shame of that, while

12:43

everybody wants to shake my hand.

12:46

Osuksan had a very difficult time after the

12:48

disaster. Ah,

12:51

Itosa. I measure

12:53

your courage on your sacrifice.

12:56

Success or failure, be damned. Any

12:59

one of you would have died

13:02

for any other, and

13:04

would have died for Japan. That's

13:07

a very nice sentiment, but many men

13:10

begged to be dismissed, you know. And

13:12

I don't fault any of them. I had Toshio.

13:15

I wanted nothing more than to get out of

13:17

there and find my family. I

13:20

refused to leave, as you put it, because

13:23

I happened to know exactly how to locate

13:25

what we were looking for. That's all.

13:28

I left straight afterwards, and

13:30

I was glad to. Living with that

13:32

isn't so easy, either. You'd

13:35

made your contribution. Who's to

13:37

say the venting didn't make it worse? Ah,

13:39

Itosa, please. It was the source

13:42

of the radiation leak. Then it caused

13:44

the explosions, which increased

13:46

radioactivity in the region by a factor

13:48

of ten.

13:50

We knew the containment buildings would explode,

13:53

all of them. A hundred and eighty

13:55

thousand people's lives were turned upside

13:57

down when I opened that valve. Itoza,

14:01

you know perfectly well that

14:03

the alternative to your actions was

14:06

unprecedented nuclear devastation.

14:09

Yes? But that

14:11

doesn't help, does it? You

14:14

think your job was to make

14:16

sure the disaster at Daichi couldn't

14:18

happen? And it did. You

14:20

think your job was to keep

14:23

people safe and instead people

14:25

were put in harm's way? I

14:27

understand this better than you

14:30

might think.

14:31

I'll hope that one day you

14:33

come to understand that you have nothing

14:36

to forgive yourself for, unlike

14:39

myself.

14:42

Why do you seek forgiveness? I'm

14:47

the one whose job it was

14:49

to make sure the disaster couldn't

14:51

happen, Itoza.

14:55

I am Tebko.

15:03

I'm sorry, but it's crazy

15:05

to me that that man can truly

15:08

believe anything is his fault. I

15:11

don't care if he doesn't want to be a hero. He

15:13

is one in my eyes. He

15:16

stayed and did what he had to

15:17

do. What he was paid to

15:19

do? Oh, that's rubbish. He was told

15:22

to put a mask on and open the valves. He

15:24

put a mask on and opened the valves. How

15:27

can you possibly ask him to frame that

15:30

as a heroic act? Even if

15:32

that were true, why or the guilt? This

15:34

is what I was trying to explain to you. Ito's

15:37

problem boils down to a simple

15:39

idea. When you work for a

15:41

company, you are responsible for it. That

15:45

is in exchange for it looking after you. Its

15:48

successes are your successes. Its

15:51

failures are your failures. Call

15:54

it loyalty if you like. It's

15:56

about understanding that you are not

15:59

the center of it. the universe and

16:01

that nothing will function if

16:03

we are divided. The

16:05

fact that Ito himself had

16:08

nothing to do with the reasons the

16:10

plant failed doesn't mean he doesn't

16:12

hold himself partly responsible.

16:15

Do you not understand that?

16:16

Of course I understand it. I

16:19

just wish we could get past it. Past

16:21

it to what? What's

16:23

your utopia? Europe? The

16:26

United States? These countries are

16:28

imploding one by one because

16:31

they are lost all sense of community.

16:33

They believe society's chief function

16:36

is to serve their personal sense

16:38

of uniqueness. They

16:40

laugh at us, see us as mindless

16:42

worker bees. But that precious

16:45

relationship between employee

16:47

and employer is what rebuilt

16:50

Japan after the war. It is what

16:52

has driven our prosperity decade

16:55

after decade. What saved

16:57

the plant? Was everybody doing

17:00

their job?

17:00

If it was all just about doing what you

17:02

were told, explain Yoshida. The

17:06

truth is, if Yoshida had

17:08

just accepted that Tebko's failures

17:11

were his failures, then we'd all

17:13

be living in sharks. And if he

17:15

were alive today, I'm pretty sure he

17:17

wouldn't be sharing his success with them either.

17:20

Yoshida threw out everything you just said.

17:23

All of it. You see, I think

17:27

that's what saved the plant.

17:28

Why are

17:30

we going now? I don't know anymore. Where

17:33

would you like to go? I would like

17:35

to go and see my neighbor, the

17:38

lady whose son killed himself.

17:40

Mrs. Rheta? Rheta, yes. Really?

17:44

Why? Where

17:46

does she live? Not

17:48

far. Are you sure that's

17:51

a good idea? Oh please,

17:53

take me there. Okay.

17:58

Why

18:04

are you doing this? Because I will

18:07

never get another chance. To

18:09

do what?

18:12

Tell her I'm sorry about

18:14

her son. The

18:18

supermarket is not really the place.

18:22

His name was Akio?

18:25

Yes. He was 22.

18:31

Well, I'm sure she's appreciated. She's

18:34

very sweet. I

18:44

am so sorry. Believe me,

18:46

I had no idea she could be so hostile.

18:49

I've never seen her like that. You have to trust me.

18:52

She's never been like

18:53

that. She's never had

18:55

cause to be with you. It's

18:59

exactly right. What happened? Her

19:02

son is dead. That was

19:04

precisely what she needed. After

19:07

all the letters, after all the phone calls,

19:11

that was the first time she'd been face

19:13

to face with Tabco.

19:15

Well, she

19:18

didn't waste it. I

19:21

was convinced she was going to throw that thing

19:24

at you, that cup.

19:25

I admit, I did

19:27

flinch for a moment. Oh, that was

19:30

shocking. We both know every

19:32

word she said was true. It

19:35

was the most honest thing I've seen

19:37

in years. Manslaughter.

19:41

Well, sincerely, why not? I

19:47

suppose my plan was a flop. What

19:50

exactly was your plan? To

19:53

show you some hope, to inspire

19:56

you. I might as well

19:58

tell you now, but by this point, I'm not sure.

19:59

At this point I was hoping to have convinced you to take

20:02

a cesium-137 test. I

20:04

was going to drive you to the lab. I

20:07

suppose there's no point in my trying now.

20:09

No, Akiosa. I

20:12

don't understand. Everybody

20:14

does one. Why would you not want to know? You

20:17

know, it really scared me to hear

20:19

you were picking through radioactive rubble with

20:21

no PPE.

20:22

I'm sorry that the day didn't

20:24

work out how you wanted it to. But

20:27

you can't force people to be

20:29

inspired.

20:30

I didn't want to force you. I wanted

20:32

to convince you that there are things

20:35

you can do because I still think

20:37

you want to. I really do.

20:39

Akiosa. You just sat for 20

20:41

minutes and took everything Mrs. Ueda

20:43

had to throw at you. Don't tell me you're

20:46

not a good man. You could have stayed

20:48

at TEPCO. I've been happy with your big house

20:51

and your money and your dogs. I

20:53

still think you want to make amends somehow.

20:56

Perhaps the former Prime Minister's think

20:58

tank wasn't for you, but that's not

21:00

all there is. So you're not an activist.

21:02

So what? You can make amends

21:05

right here.

21:06

Stop trying to change me!

21:10

I'm an old man. A victory here would

21:12

be meaningless. It's too late. You

21:15

just saw what my making amends

21:18

looks like. These people

21:20

don't need me. And they

21:23

certainly don't need a shoulder to cry

21:25

on. They've been crying for 10 years.

21:29

Their livelihoods are gone. They

21:32

can't grow crops. They can't fish.

21:35

Mrs. Ueda will never recover.

21:37

What they need is restitution. I

21:40

cannot help them.

21:43

So, Mrs.

21:45

Ueda was right back there. Lies

21:49

upon lies upon lies, arrogance

21:51

and incompetence, and you have no intention

21:53

of doing anything about it.

21:55

What can I do? You're

21:57

a coward. Akiko...

22:09

Akiko... You

22:11

have a most unexpected gift

22:14

to me. Too late.

22:16

Oh, I'm a gift. How

22:18

nice. I needed to talk,

22:21

yes. Obviously I did. I

22:24

didn't even realize it. And it

22:26

helped me. You have

22:28

helped me.

22:29

But I don't want to help you, Sosan. I

22:32

want to help them. Them and the millions

22:34

of other families living within a stone's throw

22:36

of nuclear reactors all over the country.

22:39

And you can do that. Do

22:41

you know how rare you are? The

22:44

women at the lab have been on the phone to Teppkor

22:46

nearly every day for the last ten years.

22:49

Bargaining with them for equipment, haggling for

22:51

parts, listening to their cold, indifferent

22:54

attitude towards what they did.

22:55

And then here you are, with

22:58

all this information, and you won't

23:00

speak up. Mrs. Uwele

23:03

was wrong when she said you didn't care. You

23:05

do. And that's the worst part. I

23:08

know you feel that pain and you won't even

23:10

try. What are

23:12

you talking about? It's too late. You're

23:14

seventy. That's it? You're

23:17

done?

23:17

I'm

23:19

dying, Akiko. What?

23:25

I have lung cancer. When

23:29

did you find out? Three

23:32

months ago. I

23:39

want to go home. I'll

23:41

drop you. Do

23:47

your girls know? Not yet.

23:50

Tell them. I will. Do

23:53

you know how you got it? It's cancer,

23:56

Akiko. Not Covid.

23:58

You know what I mean. Have

24:00

you had any kind of radiation? Oh

24:04

no. Of course you haven't.

24:06

You don't do tests, do you?

24:19

Is there anything you need? No,

24:23

I have everything I need. Well,

24:26

call me if there is. I'll be around for

24:28

a few more weeks, or kano, or

24:31

any of the girls. I will. There's

24:36

no hope. I'm

24:38

sorry? There's

24:40

only loss here, you're right. No,

24:43

I'm not. These

24:46

people are ghosts. This

24:48

is a ghost town. I

24:50

could test every child,

24:53

every fish, and every lettuce

24:57

in the region for strontium or cesium,

24:59

and it won't change that fact.

25:03

You're right not

25:05

to take the test. What's

25:08

the point? Waging

25:12

war on an enemy you can't

25:14

see is hard, Akiko. It's

25:17

exhausting. But there's no

25:20

shortage of visible opponents

25:22

out there, and you are

25:24

more than capable of taking them on.

25:28

Okay.

25:32

Well, goodbye, Sutosan.

25:36

See you, Senaki-ko. Absolutely.

25:58

In the next episode of Fukushima... How

26:00

do you explain Yoshida? The

26:03

official investigation concluded

26:05

it was the plant manager's

26:07

decision to ignore the orders of

26:09

his hierarchy that was the most

26:11

conclusive reason the plant

26:14

was saved.

26:16

What if he had been sick? What

26:19

if he had decided to take his dog

26:21

to the vet? What

26:24

are you doing? Now I'm noveo business young

26:26

man. I work security for this facility

26:28

sir. I'm performing a ceremony. A

26:31

ceremony? What's in the bag? My

26:34

wife's ashes. The

26:36

dumping of any materials not pre-approved

26:39

is forbidden. One

26:42

kind learning to harness nuclear

26:44

power is like a mouse finally

26:47

figuring out how to build

26:48

a mouse trap. One

26:50

can admire the mouse's ingenuity

26:53

but the obvious question remains. Do

26:56

you really understand what you've

26:58

built?

27:03

In Fukushima Episode 6, SUTO

27:06

is played by Togo Igawa, a Kiko

27:08

by Amy Okamura-Jones, Ito

27:10

Matt Mikui and Keiko by Naoko

27:12

Mori. Fukushima is written

27:14

by Adrian Penkoff, sound design

27:17

is by Peter Ringrose, the director

27:19

is Sashi Yevtashenko and the producer

27:21

is Toby Swift. Fukushima

27:23

from the BBC World Service is a BBC

27:25

audio production.

27:33

One of the most dangerous and prolific

27:35

criminal hacking gangs in the world. They're

27:37

accused of robbing banks, stealing secrets

27:40

and causing mayhem everywhere, from

27:43

hospitals to Hollywood.

27:44

Investigators say they're working on the

27:46

orders of the North Korean state. A claim

27:48

dismissed by the regime as an attempt to tarnish

27:51

the country's image. A sovereign

27:53

nation trying to earn revenue

27:55

to fund weapons of mass destruction.

27:57

2.1 billion dollars and still...

28:00

In season two of The Lazarus Heist, from

28:03

the BBC World Service, we're picking up from

28:05

where season one left off. Far from

28:07

disappearing into the shadows, it seems

28:09

the Lazarus Group has been busy. We

28:12

have tracked your funds to

28:14

a North Korean account. Carrying

28:16

out ever more elaborate money grabs, coordinating

28:18

in more than 20 countries.

28:20

And they're not working alone. He

28:22

organized money laundering operations. They

28:24

found over $100,000 cash under his mattress. Search

28:28

for The Lazarus Heist, wherever you get your BBC

28:30

podcasts.