Jinzaburo Takagi (Photo by
Tatsuya Shimada )
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Obituary: Dr. Jinzaburo Takagi, Anti-nuclear
Scientist and Activist
[Speech
of Acceptance of 1997 Right Livelihood Award]
Oct. 8 2000
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
Jinzaburo Takagi, co-founder and former Director of
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, died of cancer on
October 8, 2000. We deeply regret this loss, and join
his family in mourning a remarkable, inspiring human
being. Takagi's extensive scientific analytical work on
nuclear issues has greatly contributed to educate the
public, media, and officials on the dangers of utilizing
nuclear materials.
Jinzaburo Takagi started his career of nuclear
activism from a position as associate professor of
nuclear chemistry at Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU).
He was born in 1938, graduated in 1961 from the
University of Tokyo and spent four and a half years
working for the nuclear industry and another four years
for the nuclear institute at the University of Tokyo,
winning the Asahi Science Encouragement Award in 1967,
gaining his doctorate in 1969 and being Guest Scientist
at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in
1972-73. He stepped off the ladder to top status within the
nuclear elite when he left TMU in 1973 and set up the
non-profit Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (CNIC)
in 1975. He has directed CNIC ever since,
reporting on the results of their analytical and public
education work through the CNIC publications including
CNIC Monthly in Japanese and the bimonthly Nuke Info
Tokyo in English. Takagi has conducted many researches,
and has written many books and innumerable articles on
nuclear issues, environmental protection and peace, with
special emphasis on the fight against the nuclear threat
as well as for human rights.
He was a key figure in organizing a number of
important international symposiums such as
"International Conference on Plutonium" (1991,
Ohmiya, Japan) "Why Plutonium Now?" (1993,
Tokyo, Japan), and "International Symposium on
Reprocessing" (1994, Aomori, Japan). He also
organized an international research project on the use
of mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel in light
water reactors ('A Comprehensive Social Impact
Assessment of MOX in Light Water Reactors' i.e. the IMA
research) and served as the project leader. This project
involved prominent experts from Japan, Europe, and the
U.S. The results were published in Japanese, English,
Russian, and French. For this research and their
persistent work on plutonium issues, Takagi and the
project sub-leader, Mycle Schneider, received the Right
Livelihood Award - the alternative Nobel Prize - in
1997.
(go to http://www.rightlivelihood.se/recip1997_2.html
for more info.)
In 1992 Takagi received the Yoko Tada Human Rights
Award and in 1994 the Ihatobe Award for his practice as
a scientist working for the people. He was also
successful as a writer of children's books and in 1997
received the Sankei Children's Book Award.
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