Fukushima nosebleed comic to be reviewed

Tokyo, May 19: The Japanese publisher of a comic that came under fire for linking radiation exposure at Fukushima to nosebleeds acknowledged on Monday that it had caused alarm and promised a review after the Prime Minister stepped into a growing row.

The popular “Oishinbo” (“Gourmets”) drew criticism in late April when it showed its main character, a newspaper reporter, having a nosebleed after visiting the tsunami- crip- pled nuclear plant.

In the same edition, another character — the real- life former mayor of a nearby town — says: “There are many people who have the same symptom in Fukushima. I want to say we should not live in Fukushima as it is now.”

The manga caused uproar among people living in Fukushima, who already complain of discrimination, as well as pro- nuclear politicians who maintain there is no proven causal relation- ship between exposure to radiation and nosebleeds.

They charged the comic would add fuel to rumours that have scared people away from farm and fishery products from the region, even if they comply with safety standards.

Unlike comics in the West, manga are treated as a serious art form in Japan, on a par with novels, and are widely read among the adult population.

They often take complex or current issues as their subject matter and can be influential in shaping public opinion. Author Tetsu Kariya has insisted that the episode of his longrunning series was based on information he had gathered over two years.

But in the latest edition published on Monday, the chief editor of the weekly magazine that runs the strip acknowledged it had caused alarm. “We have received a lot of criticism and complaints. As the editor in chief, I am aware of my responsibility for the unpleasant feelings this has generated,” said Hiroshi Murayama.

— AFP