Activist from Japan Ms. Chieko Shiina to visit CA.

Ms. Chieko Shiina

ROSE is once again joining with No Nukes Action Committee, Peace Resource Center of SD and other groups who will bring one of the top anti-nuclear activists in Japan to the U.S. this summer for a 10 day trip across CA to help us in our effort to shutdown C's two nuclear reactors. She will be stopping in several cities to share her story with us. She will stop in San Clemente & SD.

ROSE & PEACE RESOURCE CENTER OF SD will donate $500 each to this effort. If you would like to match one or both of these first two donations please contact me asap. Any amount will be appreciated and very helpful.

Umi Hagitani will act as interpreter and driver. So we will need one plane ticket, car rental and gas, food money and either money for motels or a place for them to stay. I will let everyone know the dates when they are firmed up.

Inviting Ms. Chieko Shiina will be the next crucial step to advance this already established international coalition into California-state or even national level organizing because she is one of the most powerful organizers from Fukushima. Being a youth activist in famers' and students' organizing for land issues and fight against US-Japan Peace treaty, she is an experienced activist who understands the mechanism and the legacy of nuclear renaissance in relation to multinational militaries in the context of East Asian politics. She was a dedicated organic farmer in Kawamata village of Fukushima before March 11th. Since Kawamata is in 40 miles radius of Fukushima Daiichi, the whole village was recommended to evacuate, and the place is still a no-go zone. She became anti-nukes organizer since then, touring commngunities all over Japan to help support local organizing against nukes. One of her major contributions to Japan's national anti-nukes organizing is that she organized the sit-in in front of the Ministry of Economy and Industry from September 11th, 2011. Further, she organized 100 women from Fukushima to set up "Women's 10 months and 10 days sit-in" from late October, which later became both a symbolic and physical space where women from all over Japan came to communicate and organize. Her previous experience in organizing in different issues also helped making coalition among anti-base, anti-poverty, pro-labor, pro-farmer resistance. This sit-in is also now known as Occupy Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, which Occupy Berkeley group made alliance with. Given that, she will be a good support for organizing against nuclear weapons in California, and a bridge to connect the emerging coalition between anti-nukes struggle and occupy movement.