Original subtitles

LATEST NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA

There it is. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

FOOTAGE FROM SDF HELICOPTER

This is footage provided by TOEPCO

showing the state of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station at 7:00 a.m.

Due to the high radioactivity,

our news copter was unable to fly over the power station.

Instead, we are showing you footage taken by TOEPCO themselves.

Oh! There it is! That's the reactor building!

In addition to Unit 1 and Unit 3,

we also see Unit 4.

This building also saw holes open up in the explosions.

The walls are gone and only the framework remains.

Can you see it? It's a disastrous scene.

There's still work being done down there, isn't there?

And…

By so few…

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR UNIT 2

Damn it!

Yamanishi! Carry this for me!

Okay!

BASED ON TRUE EVENTS

Sorry. It was slow going.

The debris is terrible…

Is the fire engine still running?

Yes. But it was a close call.

In another ten minutes, fuel would have run out.

Well, move quickly. We can't stay here long.

-There's too much radiation! -Yes, sir!

Here we go…

Okay!

Huh?

Wait a minute.

Huh? This is bad…

What's wrong?

Why won't it work? The fuel tank is full.

The water level should be rising…

Is the pump broken?

I don't know! Let me try again.

-Hurry up! -Right!

How's this?

TECHNICAL TEAM

Isn't there anyone who has experience with it?

I'm sorry.

It's not part of our normal routine.

On top of that, it's the SDF's fire engine, not ours.

You're right…

In any case, until the dose is unbearable, keep trying.

Okay? I'll think about it too.

Yes, sir.

Please.

We're going to carry on with the water plan.

I guess expecting power station engineers to know how to use a fire engine

is too much to ask.

Yes.

MUTSU, AOMORI PREFECTURE FAMILY HOME OF UNIT 4 OPERATOR KIRIHARA

TOEPCO MUTSU CITY AOMORI OFFICE

This is Kirihara.

Yes.

Yes.

I see… and where is he now?

Understood.

Thank you for letting us know.

They found Koki's body.

For our next story...

Amid the continued unrest from the disasters,

there has been an increase of foreign nationals flying home

from Narita International Airport.

Overcrowding is common in airport lobbies since the earthquake.

Prime Minister,

American residents are leaving Japan all at once.

The US government instructed its citizens to come home.

In response, other countries are also instructing their citizens to leave.

This has prompted confusion at Narita and Haneda airport.

PRIME MINISTER SHINJI AZUMA

Get the US president on the phone.

Yes, sir.

Prime Minister! He's here.

Hi!

Good to see you!

I appreciate you doing this.

Not at all.

I'd love to introduce you to everyone, but there's no time.

I'm aware.

Besides, I didn't come here to network with politicians.

I'll cut to the chase. I need your opinion.

If we can pull off a cold shutdown,

we'll have avoided the worst.

The problem…

The problem is…

what we'll do if we can't get the reactors under control.

I can see why you'd want to focus on that now.

Once Japan is highly contaminated,

the question is how to maintain government institutions

and how to rebuild the nation.

Exactly.

Well, I imagine you're all aware of this already,

but if even one reactor is destabilized,

all six will lose control.

The process can't be stopped once it's begun.

Mainly because humans can't approach them.

When that happens…

it will look like this.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION

The areas inside the red circle…

YAMAGATA, SENDAI, FUKUSHIMA UTSUNOMIYA, MITO

…are all within 170 kilometers of Fukushima Daiichi.

Anyone who lingers in that circle will die.

Forced relocation is a must.

NIIGATA, MAEBASHI SAITAMA, TOKYO, CHIBA

Next, the yellow circle includes areas up to 250 kilometers away.

These areas should be evacuated and kept off-limits.

They will be uninhabitable due to radioactive contamination

for the next few decades.

"Uninhabitable"?

But that includes Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa.

All of those people will lose their homes?

Yes.

Approximately 50 million people will have nowhere to live.

That's not all.

Countless corporations will have to relocate.

The Japanese economy

will cease functioning for the next few years.

Nearly a third of Japan's terrain

will be unusable for decades…

Do you mean the nation

will be divided in two, between Hokkaido and Western Japan?

Yes.

Japan will be finished.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION

SERIES FINALE

As we flew over Fukushima Daiichi in our reconnaissance aircraft,

the dose was 247 millisieverts per hour.

I've decided further work is impossible.

It's not that simple.

MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

I know the risk of contamination is high,

but as long as water can't be pumped from the ground,

we have no choice but to do it airborne with SDF helicopters.

The foreign press is starting to call Japan a wasteland.

We have to show that the government is on top of things.

Please think of a way.

If our helicopters are airborne

and another hydrogen explosion occurs,

the helicopters will crash from the blast.

That will only make things worse.

When war breaks out abroad, the SDF goes as international peacekeepers.

Now it's Japan in danger!

This is the time for the SDF to fulfill its true mission.

The SDF is our final pillar of hope.

When the sun rises, we'll fly another reconnaissance aircraft.

We'll measure the radiation dose

and decide if more work is possible.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR UNIT 2

That's strange.

Check the pump's fuse.

Right!

Okay…

Hey! Get a flashlight!

Right.

Shine it over here!

Oh… right!

I changed the pump's fuse. How is it?

No good. It hasn't changed.

Shine it farther.

I can't see a thing!

Right.

How's the water level?

CONTROL ROOM FOR UNITS 1 & 2

It's still no good.

There's no sign of it rising.

And the pressure?

Containment vessel pressure is…

at 730 kilopascals.

What do we do?

As long as the fire engines can't move, we can't pump.

Where did Mr. Araki evacuate to?

Huh?

Seiji Araki from the Japan Nuclear Energy Security Service!

I'll look it up right away!

FUKUSHIMA DAINI EVACUATION CENTER

Mr. Araki, it's a phone call from Station Manager Yoshida.

Yes? This is Araki.

Oh! Mr. Araki!

I'm so glad I finally got through.

We're still having trouble with cell phone reception.

I'm glad NISA's phone line is working.

What do you need?

We're having trouble injecting water into the reactors.

I need to know how to refill the water tank

of a fire engine.

You'll be doing it outdoors at this time of night, right?

Can you see the control panel?

Yes. We can see it with flashlights.

What's your manpower?

Four people.

That's all I could send to the fire engine.

Station Manager…

It's a very complicated procedure.

Four people is not enough.

For someone with no experience

to do it in the pitch black…

It's not possible.

Don't say that it's impossible.

Whether it's dark or we haven't done it before,

we have to do it now!

Forgive me.

I apologize.

But please…

Please tell me how it's done.

Mr. Yoshida, it's not a good idea.

I'm not saying this to be cruel.

I really do think it's impossible.

Even I…

Even I needed a full set of equipment

and thorough instructions on every step from my superiors

in order to learn how.

A person doing it for the first time

will never pull it off.

I'm sorry, Station Manager.

I'll go.

Have TOEPCO

put in a request to our president.

With the president's permission,

I can be there right away!

That's the one thing…

-Huh? -Well…

That's not something I can allow.

I can't… ask you to do that.

As a representative of TOEPCO, we cannot ask our partner companies

to subject themselves

to this kind of risk.

Right.

We'll try to manage ourselves.

Mr. Araki… thank you.

What you just offered…

It really means a lot.

Bye then.

White smoke! Is it from Unit 4?

We can see white smoke rising.

Whether it's coming from the spent nuclear fuel pool or not

is unconfirmed.

I repeat. White smoke can be seen…

-The pool water? -Yes.

It's safe to assume that the pool water has begun evaporating.

What are people saying on the ground?

They ask that you allow them to continue.

They don't want to evacuate.

Tell them for me.

Yes?

Tell them… to continue the operation.

Yes, sir.

Well?

No good. The water still isn't rising.

Try again.

Okay! One more time!

Hey, turn it on again.

-Here we go. -Right.

No good.

-Again. -Right.

He's asking for the disclosure of all information regarding Fukushima Daiichi.

They're sending over a team of nuclear experts

and want to sit in on our policy meetings.

I don't think sitting in is--

I know that!

What about the helicopters?

Our first priority

is to do whatever we can to encourage Americans not to leave.

The volume of white smoke is decreasing.

-Decreasing? -Yes.

-That's a bad sign. -Yes.

Does that mean the pool water has bottomed out?

It's the only conclusion.

Evaporation can stop when there's a drop in temperature,

but under present conditions, that doesn't seem possible.

-Can you connect with the ground? -Yes.

This is Yoshida. Can you hear me?

This is Kawakami.

Oh, Kawakami!

-Confirm if water is pumping. -Yes, sir!

Forgive me…

It's taking some time.

No… thank you.

How's it going?

Are you having difficulty with the fire engine pump?

Is there still no salt water flowing?

We've been trying all night, but…

I'm sorry.

Kawakami, let's skip the apologies.

Kawakami?

I feel ashamed.

It's not that I'm afraid of dying.

For 25 years…

I've spent my days living with these generators.

And yet I can't even do something as simple as this.

It's pathetic.

I'm returning to work!

Good morning, everyone!

Good morning!

What are you doing here?

Mr. Yoshida… since you wouldn't order me to come,

I came on my own.

What's the meaning of this?

I'm not here at the request of TOEPCO.

I came of my own free will.

So whatever happens, even if I get myself killed,

please don't feel responsible.

I too have family in Fukushima.

I can't leave the region's fate

in the hands of amateurs like you.

Okay…

Can you tell me the latest?

We have a fire engine and pump on the north side,

but the fuel won't go in.

-How many men? -At the moment, three.

Only three?

-Here is fine. Let's put it down. -Right.

One… two… three.

It's thinner than I expected.

Can we really block radiation with this?

Probably. According to our science officers,

it's more effective than lead.

There are gaps. Seal it tight.

-Don't let any air in. -We'll fix it.

-Did you follow instructions for the fuel? -Yes.

Squad leader!

The reconnaissance craft has returned.

At 30 feet above ground,

the dose was 877 millisieverts.

We've set the time limit for each helicopter at 40 minutes.

The first team of helicopters

is ready to depart.

Water level…

minus 1,450.

It's a minor change, but we're finally seeing a rise.

Now, there's the pool to worry about.

Yes.

We have to get water

to the fifth floor of the reactor building.

Station Manager Yoshida, can you hear me?

Yes?

An inquiry has come in to headquarters.

It's from three construction companies…

What's this about? We're in the middle--

During building construction,

they use mobile pumps to pour concrete on high floors.

They want to know if they can be used to inject water.

What do you think?

How long is the pump arm?

It's 50 meters.

They said it can reach fifteen stories in height.

Please send them right away!

They have to make modifications first.

We've already asked the manufacturers.

For the delivery, we'll get help from the police and the Ministry of Land,

so that they can travel to the station without stopping.

Thank you very much!

Keep at it.

During the flight, there were no signs of trouble with the sealing or otherwise.

However, westerly winds are expected near the target

and caution is needed.

With regard to water intake and sprinkling,

there are no changes since yesterday's briefing.

As already reported, we will judge the wind direction on site

before choosing a holding area to use.

Yes, this is Iguchi.

Roger that.

-Begin the mission. -Roger.

The first helicopter team, Squad 104…

Move out!

Move out!

Move out!

STABLE IODINE TABLETS

Okay!

Keep going!

Stop!

Okay, secure the truck frame!

Roger!

We will open a new joint office for coordination with the administration.

While we cannot allow the Americans to sit-in on our policy meetings,

we're negotiating to have them accept staying close for quick communication.

-Foreign Minister Matsumoto is handling? -Yes.

With my involvement,

we've also asked the Assistant Secretary of State and Embassy for help.

Target confirmed.

It looks almost like the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome.

The wind from the southwest is strong.

Now…

approaching target.

Prepare to release water!

Target confirmed.

Release water!

Releasing water.

Water release underway…

Water release concluded.

Water delivery complete. Evacuate.

SECOND WATER DUMP

Will this be enough?

What about the Giraffe pump?

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI UNIT 4 REACTOR BUILDING

It made it!

Begin injecting.

Begin injecting!

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI UNIT 1 REACTOR BUILDING

Okay!

Mr. Araki!

-The fire engine is working fine! -Yeah?

It's working?

-Is everything working? -Yes!

Okay!

-Is everything working? -Yes! Going fine!

Good!

Great.

A lot of water's getting in.

The level has risen well.

It's been an hour since we began

using the Giraffe car to inject water.

We've already managed to inject nearly 100 tons of water.

You mean it?

-Yes. -Way to go.

My, my…

-Good work. -Thanks.

TOEPCO HEADQUARTERS CRISIS MANAGEMENT CENTER

HQ! Earthquake! A pretty big one!

Is the Giraffe okay?

What's it like on the ground?

Did that earthquake knock the Giraffe over?

We're checking now.

Please hold up…

The US government is advising evacuation,

but the Embassy has clarified it is merely a safeguard.

America set their evacuation radius at 80 kilometers,

but the Japanese government has said 30 kilometers until now.

Can we really be sure we're safe?

Do they know how hard it would be to expand the zone?

How do we move the elderly and sick?

It would be nice to see Japan and the US share information

and work together on this.

Well… the truth is…

because of the Japanese government's reluctance to hand over information,

the Americans have withheld cooperation.

We've heard reports that the administration

rejected cutting edge new cooling units

that the Americans offered.

It's times like these, when the US-Japan alliance is most important.

Why doesn't the government…

Things are actually starting to go well. Why would the media interfere?

What's this about cutting edge cooling units?

If they have something like that, show it to us.

Where did this story come from?

We asked the US government, however,

they said the idea of offering new cooling units has no basis in fact.

It seems to be mere speculation.

Perhaps attacking the government's perceived failings

gives the media the sense that they have played a part.

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY LEADS TO MISTRUST

Whatever the case,

the administration endured bashing for days on end.

INCONVENIENT TRUTHS HIDDEN

In reality, however, despite the media's portrayal,

American and Japanese cooperation accelerated from that day forward.

Off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, a fleet of seven naval vessels,

including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan,

and a squadron of helicopters provided support.

In addition,

along with over 200 nuclear experts,

10,000 units of PPEs,

30,000 dosimeters,

and an incredible amount of other equipment

were sent to Japan.

The Giraffe is okay!

The earthquake didn't leave a scratch!

The injection is going fine!

-Okay! -All right!

How much has gotten in?

About 150 tons. The water level has risen to 3,7 meters.

Thank God!

Great.

Thank you.

We continued injecting water nonstop.

With the help of a great many people…

At the integrated headquarters, four project teams were formed.

Not only TOEPCO, but also METI, the foreign ministry, safety agencies,

the police bureau, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency,

and the SDF joined together.

The overall number of staff totaled to 200 people

and a system began to form that was capable of an organized response.

Waguri!

This won't do at all. Rewrite it!

I'll get on it right away!

Flip the breaker switch.

Right.

Why, after losing control, did the reactors stabilize?

In the end, we never found a conclusive answer.

Nothing could feel more helpless.

The nuclear power station had been built by our own hands,

but when it lost control,

we had no idea what to do.

We simply continued

pouring all the water we could.

We pumped water through the pipes into the reactor core

sprinkled it from above,

and sprayed the buildings from the outside.

We performed these steps

again and again.

You're good.

-Good work, everyone. -Thank you, sir.

-Hello. -Good work.

-Good work. -You too.

Mr. Maejima, have a seat.

-Is anything bothering you? -Not particularly.

May I check your pulse?

-Everything's fine. -Thanks.

Good evening. This man works with generators.

Thanks to those efforts,

I survived.

We have a photo. Could you take a look?

Yes.

That's him.

Koki!

We're all here!

We came to bring you home!

Let's go home together.

You must have been cold.

You were down there for so long.

It's all over now!

Koki!

You did great.

You really did us proud.

FUNERAL FOR KOKI KIRIHARA

In the wake of the accident,

two employees lost their lives.

On April 6th,

a funeral was held for Koki Kirihara, who died in the basement of Unit 4.

ON BEHALF OF FRIENDS, ON BEHALF OF TOEPCO

ON BEHALF OF THE SCHOOL BOATING CLUB

The great majority of us

were unable to pay our respects.

Work on the suspended reactor cooling units

continued nonstop, even as March turned to April.

The people who had put their lives on the line since March 11

had gone without rest for an entire month.

In both mind and body,

they tested new limits of exhaustion

and even bloody urine no longer provoked surprise.

Looking back, how did this all begin?

In the 1950s,

as Japan overcame its defeat in World War II

and achieved miraculous economic growth,

a need for massive amounts of energy developed.

One gram of the nuclear fuel uranium 235

can produce energy equivalent

to three tons of coal.

It truly was

an energy source three million times more powerful.

Overcome with the faith that economic growth would last forever…

the Japanese people saw in this energy of the future,

a beacon of hope.

NEW ENERGY FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

We leveled the hills,

submerged bulwarks beneath the ocean,

and carved space into the bountiful nature of Chojahara in Fukushima.

to build a nuclear power station.

An electric power station that would give birth to the energy of the future.

Now, 40 years later,

our next task was to spend our days dismantling that same power station.

At the time of its construction,

who could have imagined a day would come

when we would willfully destroy this beacon of hope

that was to give birth to the energy of the future.

What's more,

the time required to do so is said to be 30, or even 40 years.

The debris that was propelled by the hydrogen explosions

emitted high levels of radiation

that obstructed human habitat.

Even now, a high volume of unused nuclear fuel

remains within the reactors.

JANUARY 2017

When its cooling functions were lost,

the nuclear generators emitted high temperatures

that simultaneously melted the fuel

and mixed it with the melting of the reactor itself,

leading both to accumulate on the reactor's floor.

Known as "fuel debris,"

this combined mass of radioactive material

totals hundreds of tons.

Of course, no human can approach it.

More ominously,

this unfathomable accumulation of radioactive material

cannot even be observed with the help of robots.

The estimated level of radioactive dose

is 70 sieverts per hour.

That's not 70 millisieverts,

but 70 sieverts.

According to research, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima

had a dose of one sievert at a distance of 1,5 kilometers

from the core of the blast.

If a person spent an hour inside Unit 2's primary containment vessel,

they would suffer a radioactive dose

70 times higher.

FEBRUARY 2019

Recently, we finally learned

that the debris can actually be moved.

But that is only a possibility.

We still don't know how to excavate it

or where it could be stored.

Determining a final disposal method

is unlikely to happen soon.

We don't know how long it will take to decommission the reactors.

The residents living in the Hamadori strip of Fukushima

abandoned their dwellings

and were forced to leave their homeland.

Over 110,000 people relocated

and tens of thousands of homes were left unattended.

NEW ENERGY FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Domestic livestock lost their owners

and all perished.

On the other hand, wild animals seem livelier than ever.

The territory that humans had conquered when they began the construction

of the power station in 1966, was now the animals' to reclaim.

Forty years ago,

we leveled the mountains,

built concrete walls in the ocean…

and deprived wild animals of their habitat.

Next it was humans' turn

to lose their homes.

Perhaps because fewer cars means cleaner air,

a clear night sky unfolds

and the glow of the stars is more beautiful than ever.

UNDER INSPECTION

OFF LIMITS

20 KM TO FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION

I sometimes catch myself thinking

that Fukushima looks back to the way it was before.

But that's not true.

A dark inheritance spreads far and wide.

The giant artificial structures

that we once called a brighter future,

are now a problematic legacy

that must be confronted in the subsequent decades.

Mankind is powerless before nature.

With the beautiful sky and ocean of Fukushima at our backs,

today is another busy day

in which we must clear away

the harm that we have wrought.

Okay! Go ahead!

That’s good!

The more than 1,000 cherry trees

that had been planted on the station grounds

were judged to be a source of continued contamination

and the majority were cut down.

Approximately 400 are all that will remain.

What is there left for me to do now?

With the time I have left…

the time that remains…

That's right.

My days are numbered.

After the accident, cancer overtook my body.

I'm at stage three.

They say treatment will be difficult.

The media likes to claim that it was radiation poisoning

and tied it to the nuclear disaster,

but I myself blame the stress of the accident response

and my long years of smoking.

Perhaps the only measure I can take

is to make the seismic isolated building

a tobacco free zone.

Back to the story.

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE

With the time I have left,

the most important work I can do

is to tell future generations about the disaster.

Naturally, there is not much I can say.

However,

I can leave behind a record

of my experiences here at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

I was there, on that day.

I saw what happened.

I heard the sounds, smelled the scents,

and felt the terror.

Only those who were there

can tell the story.

One could say

that is the ultimate responsibility of those who were involved.

That is why I must pass on what I know.

That is why

I can't die just yet.

I've decided, for just a while longer,

to live on.

TOEPCO STATION MANAGER

The answers that you have given us today,

depending on circumstances,

could potentially be released to the public in your own words.

Do you approve?

I do.

On July 9, 2013, two years after the accident,

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Manager Masao Yoshida

passed away at the age of 58.

His post-accident testimony was released as The Yoshida Testimony.

Along with TEPCO's

Fukushima Nuclear Accident Analysis Report,

it has proven to be an unprecedented and invaluable record

of an unfolding nuclear power station accident.

The journalist Ryusho Kadota

interviewed more than 90 people who responded to the accident.

His findings were published

in his book, On The Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi.

This series was based on The Yoshida Testimony,

Fukushima Nuclear Accident Analysis Report,

And On The Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi

In honor of the people who were present on that day

and in that place, we have tried to faithfully portray

their struggles, fears, and heavy burden of responsibility

while also compressing and dramatizing

certain events and characters in the form of a narrative story.

As of the current date, in 2023,

the aftermath of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

is still unresolved

and the work of decommissioning continues to this day.

Subtitle translation by: Brad Plumb