nathalieandkyoko

Tomioka-town, Sunday 26^th May

Naoto Matsumura reported a third birth inside the FFZ this week. Out of three calves, two died. However, this week two additional calves were born successfully, which makes a total of three “healthy “ calves at the moment.

A total of seven high level representatives including representatives of the Ministry of Forestry, Agriculture and Fisheries, of the Fukushima Prefecture, of a medical association, and the mayor of Tomioka town have visited Naoto Matsumura in the exclusion zone last Wednesday. As a result of talks, a decision has been made not to kill the surviving cows of the FFZ.

A victory for Naoto Matsumura, who is now starting to get support from officials. “After the nuclear accident, the government officials repeatedly said there was nothing to be done for the animals caught inside the 20 km no-go zone. Last winter they were talking about exterminating them, rather than feeding them,” Matsumura said over the telephone, while driving his white Suzuki pick-up truck, this Sunday morning.

Tomioka town, May 2011: it was unclear what the city officials were doing to this cow. Photo: Naoto Matsumura, 2011

The weather has been nice overall this week inside the FFZ, and Matsumura was in a good mood on this Sunday morning, which was rather sunny and warm in both Tokyo and Tomioka town.

We should not forget this Japanese town, contaminated for decades to come where a man has courageously decided to stay in “until he dies”, Naoto Matsumura said many times.

Kyoko Miura

Tomioka-town – Friday 18^th of May 2012

During this week, which has been “quite rainy” inside the FFZ, but “not too cold” a third calf was born last Monday. According to Naoto Matsumura, there have been two previous births among the hundred or so cows, which he is taking care of currently. The two died, as we know. However, “this one really looks healthy and strong” he said over the telephone tonight, “this one will live.”

This week has been the first week after his new NPO started to exist under the name of “Ganbaru Fukushima”. He said he was overall satisfied with the situation: “I have no particular feelings, but right now, what I feel is tremendous responsibility.”

Yesterday, Naoto Matsumura received a phone call from the mayor of Tomioka-town. The mayor told Matsumura that he will “cooperate in the task.” Next Wednesday, the people who grant the agricultural award will come to visit Matsumura at his farm-house. “We will have a discussion,” Matsumura said.

Nathalie-Kyoko

Yesterday on May 11^th, 2012, Mister Matsumura became the president and leader representative of his Non-Profit Organization called “がんばる福島” /Ganbaru Fukushima. Mr. Matsumura will not be alone in his task anymore.  It took almost a year for people to consider doing something about the animals and pets left behind the highly contaminated zone. “The government doesn’t help us, that’s why we have to take action by ourselves,” Matsumura said last February at a press conference in Tokyo. “Now, there are two other NPO supporting my work in the red zone, which is to look after the animals,” he said over the telephone this morning.

Naoto Matsumura visited Tokyo last Weekend to get his NPO approved in Yokohama. On his way back to Fukushima he stopped by at TEPCO headquarters.

This Saturday morning, another NPO, the “ガッツ福島/ Gattsu Fukushima” with Endo-san, and the religious corporation of the Buddhist Zen Kochi Temple in Nihonmatsu-city, in Fukushima prefecture were meeting with Mr. Matsumura to put in place the “絆プロジェクト”/ “Kizuna Project” (Bonds Project) in order to look after the cows altogether, because, Mr. Matsumura alone cannot technically do all the work by himself, although he has already contributed a lot until now. The situation is improving, and Mr. Matsumura was very happy about this new movement in the FFZ (Fuskushima Forbidden Zone). He said he feels happy and his health situation is fine.

Matsumura added that lootings and a lot of “anti-social” people used to hang around during the first months that followed the tsunami and earthquake disaster, last year to steel the personal belongings of the citizens who left their houses in emergency. But currently, the zone is “empty,” overall. People are allowed to get in, but staying there more than 24 hours, could affect your health. It is probably not a place where to “walk around”, if you fear of being “eliminated,” “this could be done quite easily,” an expert on crime and murder issues said today, talking about the FFZ.

Tokyo, May 7th, 2012

Dear readers,

We have briefly met Mr. Naoto Matsumura, aka “the Buddha of Fukushima” on the last day of Golden Week, at the TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo.

Mr. Naoto Matumura had provided us a photo of the little cow we previously reported on. On April 17th, the cow was born with a lot of difficulties, inside the FFZ (Fukushima Forbidden-Zone), within the group of  other cows Mr. Matsumura is taking care of. The exact number of cows is unknown but we believe the total number should be around 400.

The mother-cow was extremely ill, and Mr. Matsumura thought her progenitor was dead even before birth. However it came to life for a brief moment. It lived 3 days,  after being transported outside the red-zone, to the closest town’s animal hospital, in Miharu town. The cow died at the hospital.

(Photo: Kyodo News)

Obviously, the cow was weak… and died, but isn’t it weird-looking? I am worried.