Covenant News

Covenanters Not Directly Affected by Nuclear Accident

TOKAIMURA, JAPAN (October 1, 1999) - No Covenant missionaries or other Japanese Covenanters have been directly affected by the nuclear accident at the Japanese uranium processing plant in Tokaimura, according to a special dispatch received by Covenant News Service from Gary P. Carlson.

According to major news sources, 60 people were evacuated from Tokaimura, with more than 300,000 others in a six-mile radius instructed to remain indoors following the accident.

"Many Covenanters have heard about the accident at a nuclear power facility in Ibaraki Prefecture and have expressed concern for the safety of our Covenant missionaries and those in the Japan Covenant Church," Carlson said. "The accident took place at a site which is about three hours by car northeast of Tokyo. None of the Covenant's work is in that prefecture. There is one Japan Covenant pastor who makes his residence in Ibaraki, but he does not live in the area affected by the accident," Carlson confirmed.

"We can be praying for the more than 300,000 people living close to the reactor who have been told to stay in their homes," Carlson advised. "Also, Japan has no domestic sources of fossil fuel - it must either import or rely on nuclear power in the production of electricity. Given Japan's experiences during WWII in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many people are frightened by any reliance on nuclear power," Carlson observed. "Pray then, also, for the people of Japan and its leaders as they try to understand this accident."

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