Regarding the July 9 AFP-JIJI article "Man who battled Japan nuke disaster passes away": I am profoundly saddened by the news of the death this month of Masao Yoshida, 58.
This is the man who, in violation of his orders, made the split decision to flood the critical nuclear reactors with seawater after 3/11. If he had not done so, Fukushima could have experienced a nuclear explosion, instead of the actual meltdown.
Following a nuclear explosion, Armageddon would have ensued. No megapolis the size of Tokyo has ever experienced a panic evacuation. Japan's economy would have suffered a massive meltdown. I shudder at the mere thought.
Even sadder is the fact that Tokyo Electric Power Co. stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that this man's repeated and massive exposure to radiation had anything to do with his esophagus cancer. This courageous man deserves to be given a national medal of honor for so obviously sacrificing his life.
We all owe him and his brave colleagues so terribly much for continuing their relentless battle with the stricken nuclear reactors.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.