Department of Biomedical Ethics, School of Public Health, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2012 Aug;34(3):348-51. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdr114. Epub 2012 Jan 12.
The Japan earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011 severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. After learning of the radiation leak, the Japanese government issued an evacuation directive for residents within 20 km of the plant a day after the earthquake. Approximately 1 month later, this area was designated a 'high alert zone' and effectively sealed-off. The purpose of this report is to examine these measures from an ethical perspective, and consider what lessons can be drawn from this experience.
Analytic discussion.
We examine the measures from an ethical perspective and argue that if the government's aim was to avoid health risks posed by radiation exposure, then ordering compulsory expulsion of all residents cannot be ethically justified. We assert that the government may not have ordered the mandatory evacuation solely based on health risks, but rather to maintain public order.
Careful scrutiny of the case revealed that this public health intervention involved an objective completely unrelated to public health, and that disguising these policies using the reasonable and acceptable purpose of public health made it easier to justify undue restriction of individual liberty.
2011 年 3 月 11 日的日本地震和海啸严重破坏了福岛第一核电站。在得知核辐射泄漏后，日本政府在地震发生后的第二天向核电站 20 公里范围内的居民发布了疏散指令。大约 1 个月后，该地区被指定为“高警戒区”，并被有效地封锁。本报告旨在从伦理角度审视这些措施，并考虑从中吸取哪些经验教训。
分析讨论。
我们从伦理角度审视这些措施，并认为，如果政府的目的是避免辐射暴露带来的健康风险，那么强制驱逐所有居民在伦理上是站不住脚的。我们断言，政府下令强制撤离可能不仅仅是基于健康风险，而是为了维护公共秩序。
对这一案例的仔细审查表明，这一公共卫生干预措施涉及一个与公共卫生完全无关的目标，而通过将这些政策伪装成合理和可接受的公共卫生目的，更容易为过度限制个人自由提供正当理由。
