Japanese woman fearing Fukushima radiation denied asylum in Canada

Japanese who want to flee radiation exposure from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant won't find safe haven in Canada, at least as refugees.

The Immigration and Refugee Board has denied a claim from a Japanese woman who wanted asylum in Canada because of health concerns from the plant that was damaged as a result of the tsunami following last year's deadly earthquake.

The board panel said the woman felt she was genetically vulnerable to radiation effects, and was not convinced by Japanese government assurances that she was safe.

"The panel found that there was no nexus to the (United Nations) Convention grounds," according to a summary of the decision posted on the board's web site.

"The claimant feared being a victim of hazards that emanated from a combined natural and man-made disaster," the board said.

"Although the claimant may be genetically at more risk of harm from radiation exposure than other persons in Japan, this distinction did not remove the risk from being a generalized risk. Such a subgroup of persons was sufficiently large that the risk could reasonably be characterized as being widespread or prevalent in Japan."

The National Post reported the unnamed 30-year-old woman was living in Canada when the massive offshore earthquake and tsunami hit the coast last March 11. More than 15,000 people died and a failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Daiichi reactor caused the worst radiation leak since the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986.

More than 100,000 people were evacuated from the area and the government imposed a 20-kilometre no-go zone around the plant.

The woman filed her refugee claim April 27, saying she believed the wind carried the radiation across all Japan and rain had contaminated the soil, groundwater and food.

"The claimant believes the Japanese government is trying to keep the public calm by downplaying the risks," says the decision, reached last November but not posted until last month.

"The claimant believes that the radiation is dangerous and her health and life will be in danger if she returns to Japan."

But the board, despite believing the woman was sincere about her fears, said the risk she faced was no different from that confronting other Japanese citizens.

"The panel finds that the claimant has not satisfied the burden of establishing a serious possibility of persecution on a Convention ground, or that, on a balance of probabilities, she would personally be subjected to a risk to life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment or a danger of torture upon return to her country."

The Toronto Sun noted the woman can still appeal the board's decision to the Federal Court of Canada, and the court's decision in turn can be appealed.