The Days (2023) s01e08 Episode Script

I can see it now. We're
approaching the nuclear power station.
This footage of Fukushima's power station
was released by TOEPCO
at 7:00 a.m. this morning.
Since there is radiation there,
our helicopter crew will not be able
to soar directly over the station.
This footage was released by TOEPCO.
Oh, there it is!
Those buildings are the power station.
In addition to Units 1 and 3,
we can see Unit 4.
This building has exploded,
leaving a hole in the structure.
The outer walls are blown away,
leaving just the framework.
Are you seeing this?
The scene is one of pure devastation.
Also, there are still workers
on the ground there, correct?
And worse
there's so few of them.
FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI
NEAR UNIT 2
Damn it!
Yamanishi, can you carry these?
Okay!
BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
Sorry that it took so long.
Debris was everywhere.
Is the fire truck still working?
It was a close call.
Ten more minutes
and I would have run out of fuel.
We need to hurry.
We can't stay here long.
- The radiation level's through the roof.
- All right.
All right. Done.
Huh?
Oh, hold on.
Huh?
This isn't good.
- What's wrong?
- It's
What's going on? It's fully fueled.
The water
should be coming out now.
Do you think the pump's broken?
I don't know. Let me try again.
- Just hurry!
- I will.
How is it?
Are you saying that no one knows how?
SEISMIC ISOLATED BUILDING
I'm sorry.
That wouldn't be something
these guys do usually.
Plus, we borrowed that fire truck
so they're not really used to it.
Oh yeah. That's right.
Regardless, we have to keep trying
until we reach the limit.
- Yes, sir.
- Okay? I'll also keep trying.
Yes, sir.
- Thanks so much.
- Continue injecting water.
Do something.
Probably shouldn't have expected our guys
to run that fire engine.
Yeah.
MUTSU CITY, AOMORI PREFECTURE
FAMILY HOME OF UNIT 4 OPERATOR KIRIHARA
TOEPCO MUTSU CITY, AOMORI OFFICE
Kirihara speaking.
Yes.
Yes.
So, where is
Okay.
Thank you for calling.
Koki's body's been found.
Now to our next story.
In the aftermath of the earthquake,
chaos still continues
at Narita International Airport.
Many foreigners have fled
into the departure lounge
in hopes of evacuating
to their home country.
Since the earthquake
Sir
Americans are starting to leave
in great numbers, sir.
Apparently, the US government
issued an order to return home.
Other countries are issuing
similar memoranda.
There's already some confusion
at Narita and Haneda.
Go contact the president.
Yes, sir.
Prime Minister! Sir, he's here.
Oh.
Hey.
I really appreciate your help.
Of course.
Forgive me if I skip formalities.
We don't have time to chat.
Well, that's a good thing.
'Cause obviously, I'm not here
to make friends with politicians.
Okay, right to it.
If we
If we safely shut it down somehow,
well, then that's all well and good.
But the problem
The problem is
what am I supposed to do
if we can't stop the meltdown?
Well, that makes sense
with the position we're in.
After Japan is
contaminated with radiation,
how do we keep
the nation's critical functions running,
and how can we rebuild?
Exactly.
Well, as I'm sure you're already aware,
one reactor spinning out of control
would eventually cause a meltdown
among all six.
There's no stopping them midway
because nobody can go near them.
So
what happens then?
This red part here,
this area's a 170-kilometer radius from
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
Anyone that stays
within that area will die.
You'll need to relocate them.
Furthermore, areas
within the yellow 250-kilometer radius
should also be evacuated.
No one will be allowed inside.
It will be contaminated
with radioactive material,
probably for several decades.
It'll become uninhabitable.
Seriously?
Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa?
You're saying all these people
will lose their homes, right?
That's right.
About 50 million people's homes.
Not to mention
a great number of businesses
will be forced to relocate too.
The Japanese economy
will be dysfunctional
for a couple of years.
Almost a third of Japan's land
will be unusable for decades?
Our country
will be split into Hokkaido
and West Japan, right?
Right.
That'll ruin Japan.
FINAL EPISODE
Radiation levels of the air
above the power station
were collected yesterday
from our reconnaissance plane
and measured 247 millisieverts per hour.
We've concluded
that operation is impossible.
Don't say impossible.
There's just a serious risk.
But if we can't inject below ground,
we're going to have to drop water
from overhead.
As the media watches,
reporters calling Japan a hell zone,
we have to show the world
that the government is responding.
Find a way to get water in.
But if we use choppers,
when there's another hydrogen explosion,
it could crash and we'd lose those men,
which will make things
even worse than your current situation.
Are you here to show us
just how truly useless you are?
We're in an emergency!
Please. We need to show the world
we can respond.
The SDF is our only hope now.
Tomorrow morning, first thing,
we'll send up a plane
and assess the radiation,
and then decide what's actionable.
FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI
NEAR UNIT 2
That's strange.
- Get some light over here!
- Got it.
It's too dark.
Hey! I need light over here!
Oh. Yes, sir!
I replaced the pump's fuse.
Is it working?
No good. Still nothing.
Shine it towards the back.
It's too dark. I can't see a thing!
How's the water level?
Still no good.
CONTROL ROOM FOR UNITS 1 & 2
Showing no sign of going up.
And the pressure?
Primary containment pressure
is at 730 kilopascals.
Oh, damn it.
Without the fire truck working,
there's no way to inject water.
Where did Mr. Araki go to?
What?
From the Nuclear Security Service.
Seiji Araki.
I'll see if I can find him.
FUKUSHIMA DAINI NUCLEAR POWER STATION
EVACUATION CENTER
Mr. Araki, phone call
from the station manager, Yoshida.
Hello? Araki here.
Uh, Mr. Araki,
thank God we got through to you.
Especially since cell phone
reception isn't too good here.
We're lucky the line is working at all.
What's going on?
We're struggling to inject water
into the reactors.
How do you refill
the fire engine's water tanks?
I want you to walk me through it.
Outside at this hour, right?
Do they even have any visibility?
Yeah. They're, uh,
working using flashlights.
- How many?
- Just four.
Four was really
all we could spare for that.
Mr. Yoshida,
the procedure is very complex.
Plus four men is not enough.
In the pitch black
and without training,
what you want is impossible.
Please, no, you can't say that.
Whether they're doing it in the dark
or not, it has to get done!
Forgive me.
I'm sorry.
Please, Mr. Araki,
explain how to do it, please.
Okay, Mr. Yoshida
I'm not saying this to be mean.
Uh, I think it's simply impossible.
It's something It's something I learned
to do as my superiors showed me the ropes,
step by step in a suitable environment
and with all the tools necessary.
If they're touching it for the first time,
I really don't think they can do it.
I'm sorry, Mr. Yoshida, sir.
Why don't you send me?
Have TOEPCO
send the request to our president.
When you get the go-ahead from him,
I'll, um,
hurry over.
I can't do that.
- Why?
- 'Cause
You guys, subcontractors,
we simply can't
ask
with the current conditions.
TOEPCO really can't
make a request where
you put your life in danger to help us.
Hmm.
We'll continue to exhaust other options.
Mr. Araki,
thank you, sir.
For being honest.
So you know, I really appreciate it.
See ya.
We see white smoke.
Is it coming from Unit 4?
We can see white smoke rising up.
We cannot confirm at this moment
whether or not
it is directly from the spent fuel pool.
We can see white smoke though. I repeat
- Pools update?
- Okay.
I'm quite sure the water in the pool
is starting to evaporate.
Where are the workers with injecting?
They've been saying
they don't want to evacuate.
They want to keep working.
- Give them this message.
- All right.
"You may
keep doing your job."
Yes, sir.
How is it?
Still nothing.
The seawater isn't coming in.
Let's try again.
- All right. One more time!
- Okay.
Hey, turn it on one more time.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
It's not working?
- One more time.
- Okay.
Mr. President, please,
I'm not withholding anything.
We didn't have power until this morning,
so we just couldn't observe
the conditions of the reactor.
Evacuating every American
could send the wrong message
to the entire world.
So, could you please reconsider?
We're taking every measure
to remediate the situation,
and that includes
ensuring the safety of all Americans.
I've ordered the Self-Defense Forces
to put together a special unit
with over 100,000 men,
200 helicopters,
300 aircraft, and 50 warships.
An unprecedented scale of force
is heading to Fukushima.
He requests that we disclose all
information regarding the power station.
He's sending nuclear experts
to help us decide how we proceed.
Well, that will make things harder
That's obvious!
Where are the helicopters?
At any rate,
I want the US to stop
ordering Americans to leave Japan.
The white smoke is slowing down.
- Slowing?
- Uh-huh.
- Then that's a bad sign.
- It is.
It means our pool's almost empty now.
That would definitely explain it.
The evaporation rate will also slow down
when the temperature goes down,
but given our current situation,
that's probably not the case.
- Is that the guys on site?
- Uh, yeah, yeah.
This is Yoshida. Anyone copy?
Kawakami here.
Oh, Kawakami.
- Check the water supply!
- All right.
Sorry.
It's taking so much time.
No, no, no. I appreciate it.
How's it going?
Is the pump
proving difficult to get running?
It's not sucking up seawater?
We've been
at it all night, and no.
I'm sorry.
Kawakami, stop with all the apologies.
Kawakami?
I'm just frustrated.
I'm not afraid to die or anything.
Twenty-five years
For 25 years,
I've practically lived in this station.
But I'm struggling
with such a simple task.
It feels pathetic.
I've gotta get back to work.
- Good morning, everyone!
- Good morning!
What's he doing here?
Mr. Yoshida, you wouldn't even ask,
so we just came.
You decided just like that?
We are here to do our part
in any way that we can.
We're here of our own accord.
No need to feel responsible.
We accepted the risk,
even if it takes our lives, okay?
We just want to protect our families.
And we can't leave that
up to any old, well, amateurs.
All right. Give me an update
on the current status.
- How many men?
- Three.
That's a start.
Here is great. Let's put it down.
Wow, this stuff's thinner than I thought.
Can it really block radiation?
Probably.
According to the info from the chemical
unit, it's more effective than lead.
- Be sure to tape it tight.
- Yes, sir.
Don't let outside air in.
Did you follow
my instructions on the fuel?
Commander!
Sir, the recon plane's back.
The radiation levels
were at 87 millisieverts per hour
at a height of 300 feet above ground.
We've determined each helo
can work up to 40 minutes.
The 1st Helicopter Brigade
will commence the mission.
The water level is minus 1,450.
It's subtle,
but the water level is going up.
We should check on the pool,
don't you think?
Yeah.
I still don't know how we're gonna
get water pumped up five stories.
Station Manager Yoshida,
do you copy?
I'm here.
We just received a message
here at the head office.
It's from three construction companies.
Uh, this isn't the best time.
When constructing buildings,
they use pumper trucks
to pour the concrete for upper floors.
They're asking if you can use that
to inject water.
Think it'll work?
- What's its working height?
- Fifty meters.
Apparently, it's good up to 15 floors.
Please have them send some immediately.
We'll need to modify it
to inject water.
I'm coordinating that
with the manufacturer.
To deliver it, we'll ask assistance from
the police and transportation department
to make sure it gets through
the abandoned cars and debris.
Thank you both so much.
Best of luck.
There's no indication
that they will get worse
and will likely
have a small impact on the flight.
However, near the target,
west winds are expected to strengthen.
Caution is advised.
As far as your procedures are concerned,
nothing has been changed
since yesterday's briefing.
As mentioned earlier,
we will decide which area to use
based on the on-site wind direction.
Hello. Iguchi speaking.
Roger that.
- Green light. Mission is a go.
- Roger that.
104th Squadron, 1st Helicopter Brigade,
commence mission!
Commencing mission.
- Commencing mission!
- Roger that.
Mission commenced.
POTASSIUM IODIDE
Keep coming!
Keep coming!
Okay, stop there!
- I'm stabilizing the terrain.
- Roger that!
We'll set up a liaison office
in the Prime Minister's Office.
We're negotiating a deal
with the Americans
so that they can
sit in on our discussions.
They will be near the office,
so they can receive their timely updates.
- Matsumoto gave you this, huh?
- Yes, sir.
I'm also reaching out
to the US Assistant Secretary of State
and the ambassador.
I have a visual on the target.
It looks like the Atomic Bomb Dome
in Hiroshima.
Strong winds from the southwest.
Closing in on the target. Over.
Prepare to release the water.
Target confirmed.
Release the water!
Releasing water now.
Releasing water. Releasing water.
Releasing water. Releasing water.
Water release complete.
Water release complete.
Retreating from target.
- As you can see.
- We'll continue to bring
Well? What do you think?
How's our Giraffes?
Uh, on it.
FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI
UNIT 4 REACTOR BUILDING
There it is.
Commence water injection.
Commence water injection!
FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI
UNIT 1 REACTOR BUILDING
Excellent.
Mr. Araki!
The pumpers are working fine.
- Good.
- Let's work on that one first.
Watch closely over there.
- Is it going smoothly?
- Sir!
Good.
Is it supplying
water continuously?
- Yes, it's going smoothly.
- Good. I like it.
All right.
A lot of water's going in.
The water levels are getting pretty high.
So, I was informed
it's finally cooling down?
Yes. We finally started to see the signs
of the reactor being stabilized.
My utmost respect
to the men and women
of the Self-Defense Forces
who bravely fought on the ground,
and to the TOEPCO employees at the site.
The United States is prepared to do
everything we can to assist Japan.
If there's anything we can do,
please just let us know.
Our country very much appreciates
the kind words
from our strongest ally.
Could you cancel the evacuation order?
I'm sorry,
Mr. Prime Minister.
Even though now I do understand
how hard your country
has been trying to manage the situation,
we simply cannot take back
the evacuation order
and I still want all Americans
to evacuate from the 80-kilometer radius
of Fukushima Daiichi.
As of now, an hour has gone by
since injecting seawater,
and already we've injected
nearly 100 tons of water.
Already?
- Yeah.
- Way to go.
Yeah.
- Hey.
- Aw.
Head office! Head office!
It's another one. It's another earthquake!
Are the Giraffes okay?
How's the site?
Did we lose any Giraffes
because of that aftershock?
I have someone checking.
Don't do this to us.
The United States
has issued an evacuation advisory,
but the embassy is stating
that it's just a preventative measure.
The US has said 80 kilometers.
However, until recently,
Japan has only advised 30.
So that begs the question, are we
We can't just expand
the evacuation area just like that.
There's a 50 kilometer
How will the senior citizens get there?
But the strong
framework for cooperation
will help Japan and the US
closely share intelligence
and work together to win the fight.
Well actually,
apparently, their assistance
hasn't been well received,
because the Japanese government
has refused to share
any information with them.
There have been reports
about government officials
turning down these offers from the US
for cooling materials.
Isn't it now, you know,
crucial that we cooperate
and continue to work
with the Americans on this issue
Just when we're turning things around,
they have to interfere.
She mentioned a new cooling material.
You think there might be
any truth behind it?
Who knows where they're getting it?
We contacted the US government.
But they as well have confirmed that they
never offered any new cooling materials.
These reports must be
based solely on speculations.
By attacking
the government for their incompetence,
could the news media perhaps
feel a sense of accomplishment?
At any rate,
the media continued to bash the government
for the next few days.
But, contrary to the media reports,
the cooperative structure between Japan
and the US took off after that day.
Seven ships arrived
off the shore of Miyagi prefecture,
including the aircraft carrier
the USS Ronald Reagan
and the helicopter brigades that assisted.
Also,
in addition to over 200 experts
in nuclear power,
10,000 hazmat suits, 30,000 dosimeters,
and massive amounts
of other relief materials
were delivered to Japan.
The Giraffes are all safe!
They didn't even flinch
at that aftershock.
Injecting water continues on.
Okay!
How much have they injected?
One hundred and fifty tons. The water
level has risen to plus 3.7 meters.
We resolutely
continued to inject water.
We had received
the assistance of so many people.
Four project teams were set up
at the consolidated headquarters.
In addition to TOEPCO,
the Ministries of Economy,
Foreign Affairs, and Nuclear Safety
worked together with the national Police,
Fire, and Self-Defense Forces
to end this crisis.
It was a total of 200 members.
The groundwork
for an institutional response
was finally starting to be laid down.
Waguri! Waguri!
This is no good. Do it over!
I'm sorry. I'll correct it
right away, sir.
Flip the breaker back up.
Yes, sir.
So, why did this
immovable destroyer finally relent?
Even now, the reasons are unclear to me.
It feels inexcusable.
We are the makers
of this machine.
Yet, we could not react
when it turned against us.
All we could do
was continue injecting water.
Through the pipes,
we injected water inside the reactors,
and we made it rain from the sky.
We sprayed water
from outside the buildings,
and continued to do so,
committed to the end.
Both hands, please.
- Hello.
- Welcome back.
- Welcome back.
- Thank you.
- Welcome back.
- Hello.
Mr. Maejima, this way, please.
- Do you have a condition that worries you?
- No.
- Everything's okay?
- Yeah.
- You seem to be fine.
- Hmm.
Okay.
Welcome back.
Power generation wants to see you.
Can you take a look?
In the end,
my own life was spared.
We have a picture.
Are you willing to take a look at it?
All right.
That's him.
Koki!
Hey, it's your family.
We're here to take you home.
Let's go home together.
You must have been cold
for so long.
You deserve to rest a while.
Koki.
You did well. Really.
You did well, my son.
Two power station
employees lost their lives
in this accident.
On April 6th,
the funeral was held for Koki Kirihara,
who died in the basement of Unit 4.
Many of us
were unable to attend.
That's because the work
toward a cold shutdown
was still continuing in April.
Those who had been fighting with
their lives on the line since March 11th
still had no rest after an entire month.
We were all mentally and physically
exhausted to the extreme.
No one batted an eye anymore
when passing blood in their urine.
But what started this in the first place?
In the 1950s,
having overcome
the defeat in World War II,
Japan was enjoying a rapid economic growth
on an unprecedented scale.
An enormous amount of energy
was necessary.
The nuclear fuel uranium 235,
one gram of that can generate energy
equivalent to three tons of coal.
It's a particle
worth three million times its weight.
Japanese citizens believed that this
soaring growth would continue forever.
They saw a beacon of hope
in this energy of the future.
NEW ENERGY FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE
So we destroyed
entire hillsides,
sunk seawalls into the ocean,
and cleared the lush land of Chojahara
in Fukushima prefecture's Hamadori area
to build a nuclear power station.
A power station
to generate the energy of the future.
And 40 years later,
we're now tearing down that power station
day after day.
Back when it was built,
who would have imagined this?
That there would come a day
when we must destroy
the power station of hope
that generated the energy of the future.
What's more,
some say this process will take 30 years,
or even 40 years.
The debris that was
scattered by the hydrogen explosions
is emitting high doses of radiation,
creating quite an obstacle for workers.
There is still
unspent nuclear fuel
left inside the reactors.
JANUARY 2017
When the cooling
system broke down
SEISMIC ISOLATED BUILDING
the molten nuclear fuel
not only dissolved itself,
but also dissolved the nuclear reactor.
The substances combined and accumulated
at the bottom of the reactor.
This radioactive material
is referred to as "nuclear debris"
and amounts to several hundred tons.
Of course, humans can't go near it.
Not only that,
but the enormous amount of radiation
refuses to let us peek inside,
even from afar.
The estimated radiation level
is 70 sieverts per hour.
Not 70 millisieverts,
but 70 sieverts.
According to one study,
after the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima,
the radiation level at a location
a kilometer and a half away
from ground zero was one sievert.
If someone stayed inside
the Unit 2 primary containment vessel
for one hour,
they would have been exposed
to radiation equivalent to 70 times more.
FEBRUARY 2019
Recently,
they discovered that the debris
can possibly be moved.
But that's it.
They don't know
how to extract it, or how to store it.
It will be years down the road
before they decide
on a permanent disposal method.
Nobody knows when the
decommissioning work will come to an end.
The people
of Fukushima prefecture's Hamadori area
abandoned their precious homes
and were forced
to leave their neighborhoods behind.
117,000 people leaving their hometown
resulted in tens of thousands
of abandoned houses.
Farm animals
lost their owners
and before long, they all perished.
Meanwhile, wild animals
seem to have begun living vibrantly.
They reclaimed their territory
that humans took away from them
when the nuclear power station was built
back in 1966.
A little over forty years ago,
we leveled mountains,
built a concrete wall in the ocean,
and took away the habitats of wildlife.
Now, humans are the ones
that risk losing their habitats.
Perhaps because the air
was purified due to fewer vehicles,
the sky is clear at night
and the stars are shining
more beautifully than ever before.
20 KM TO FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI
NUCLEAR POWER STATION
It even struck me
that maybe Fukushima
has returned to how it was before.
No.
That's not right.
There's an enormous
negative heritage living here.
The giant structure
that we once called "a bright future"
has become a negative heritage
that we must continue to face
for decades to come.
Humans are helpless
in front of nature.
Before the beautiful skies
and ocean of Fukushima,
we are busy cleaning up
after the mess caused by our arrogance
even today.
Keep coming!
Go, go, go! Go, go, go!
No, stop!
There used to be
over a thousand cherry blossom trees
within the power station grounds
But they were judged
to be a contamination source
and most of them were cut down.
The number will be down
to about 400 trees.
What can I do from here?
With the time I have left?
The time I have left
That's right.
The time I have left.
After the accident,
I was diagnosed with cancer.
Stage three.
I was told it's the hard-to-treat kind.
The media claimed
it was from the radiation
I was exposed to during the accident
and linked it to the nuclear accident
in their reports.
But as for me,
I think it was caused by the stress
of the accident response work
and too much smoking.
A possible fix would
be to make the seismic isolated building
smoke free.
But that's beside the point.
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE
With the time I have left,
I think it's become my job
to tell the story of that major disaster
to future generations.
What I can
speak about is not of much value.
But what I can do
is leave a record of my experiences at
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
I was there on that fateful day.
I saw what happened there.
I heard the sounds,
I smelled the air,
and I felt the terror.
The only people that can speak to that
are the people who were there.
So that's my duty
as someone who experienced that accident.
That's why I must speak about it.
That's why
I can't die just yet.
I'd like to live
just a little longer.
Mr. Yoshida,
contingent upon certain circumstances,
it is, uh possible
that your answers today may be made public
with the words you speak almost unchanged.
May we proceed?
Sounds good to me.
On July 9, 2013,
two years after the accident,
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station Manager Masao Yoshida
passed away at the age of 58.
His post-accident testimony
was released as The Yoshida Testimony.
Along with TEPCO's Fukushima
Nuclear Accident Analysis Report,
it has proven to be
an unprecedented and invaluable record
of an unfolding
nuclear power station accident.
The journalist Ryusho Kadota
interviewed more than 90 people
who responded to the accident.
His findings were published
in his book, On The Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi.
This series was based
on The Yoshida Testimony,
Fukushima Nuclear Accident
Analysis Report,
and On The Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi.
In honor of the people
who were present on that day
and in that place,
we have tried to faithfully portray
their struggles, fears,
and their heavy responsibility
while also compressing and dramatizing
certain events and characters
in the form of a narrative story.
As of the current date in 2023,
the accident at Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Station remains unresolved,
and the work of decommissioning
continues to this day.