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HGUSE JOURNAL -- 16th DAy
before the arrival of the team and attending newmen (sic) insisted
that ‘time is precious’ and demand~d a definite decision and ‘the
temporarily denied raason thereof.’
“It was in this context that the medical tell’,
!+ndentou~aye
actllallyarrived on Oec. 7. “(n Dec. 6, Rep. Bales had requested
MLSC to step into the case and formally represent himself and the
Rony.lapbunicpal (sic) CounciL in the continuing negotiations
with the hG,
Neither Ataji nor myself had any knowledge of the actual
ingress into the TT of the group. Ataji had assumed that they would ‘
remain in Japan until permission had been obtained from Saipan. Each’‘I
of the members of the group obtained a US visa in Japan and apparently
‘decidedto enter the Trust Territory as tourists and clear up the’‘“’j”
business of government approval to do their actual work after their
arrival. It should a~so be notecithat the group had made a rather ,
.,confused and incomplete application to Saipan before their ticpartur~.‘
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The initial application stated that only one doctor was in the party and
,?]
<d
Iieted additional members as ‘labor leaders.’
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““Themedical team was s~onsored by the Genstiikon,the Japan
l“Congressagainst Nuclear Weapcms, This organization is base~?in
~),Hiroshimaand is informally affiliated with the Socialist Party in
‘Japan. Gensuikon is not, however, a distinctly political organization
and, according to the newsnen accompanying the party, receives brbad
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support from a number of political elements in Japan.
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“Rep, Bales initially cotltactedGensuikon during a visit ‘co
,:1
Japan
in August, 1971. At that time, he explained to Gensuikon
..
: :, that as representative of the pe~ple of Utrik (sic) and Rongelap
hehad received continuous, factually sound complaints from the people
of these islands concerning injuries resulting from nuclear fall-out
. and, also, the failure of the AF;Cfield teams to treat many individual
victims or properly report the ecological and physical cleterioration
‘ accruing on the islands as a r,:sultof the Narch 1954 bomb tests on
.,,Bikini.Gensuikon had been instrumental in assiting (sic) the crew
Dragon, the Japanese fishing boat affected by the
<~~+ers of the ~h~
sw. .. l?bnbtest, In their efforts to obtain compensation from the U.S.
government. Perhaps for that reason,
Gensuikon agreed to organize ‘>,
~d sponsor a medical team to visit the Utirik and Rcn{t}.apatolls:
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“The team was headed by Dr, Kimi Honda, a speci?, s in internal
.
rrnedicineand metier of Gensuikon. At the request of ~ la Thomasr
!the head of the Ronglap (sic) ~lunici~)al
Council, Dr. I r,us.Exaki ‘;7
affiliated himself with the effort. Dr. Ezaki is a ~1 .’.minent-,(sic~
‘
Specialist in thyroid ciisorder.,
caused by radiation
2 is headlof
the Department of Radiology at the University Cf [{it.
a.
The””{‘ “I
rehainder of the grou~ was composed of two m,?mbersof
:.suikont;
~erve
as assistants to the doct.crs,a t~.anslatorand ;) c>grapher
‘
Flour/)cwsmenfrom Lhe larg,:stnewspaper,,ir.Japan attet]~edthe te m,
),1>,,>
One individual who was returning to fiic~ormsiafrom Japan on the
@Zti~’plBneas t)i~ nrcdlcalteam stated t}latat ~east fifty rJCOp~@,
frum ~’1~”
Q~l’e~
the depa r.ure.
..,, !IuWS sources and livo telcvis~op ~~overageetter,rh.d
.!
Of tho group fzom the Tokyo 4L\poxt on ~~c, 6th,
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.“on the morning of Dec. 8? 1971, a meo:~.rtg
was held in the Nlcljeia
chambers vttondcd by myself, !!,,:
p. Baios all<the COIltlllgCliC from J’ap3n.’ ‘
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