A Letter of Request was Submitted to The Ministry of Education

 

July 1, 2019, a letter of the request was submitted to the Ministry of Education from the parents of junior high school boy who developed hypersensitivity. We received many approval including 11organizations and 107 citizen in Japan,  and  11 from foreign countries. Approved persons including researchers, politicians and organizations.Thank you for approval! We will receive a reply until July 20, and report the content of it. We will work for all children could be learn, not only hypersensitivity but also disabled and any disease. Thank you for your support. 

 

with my best regards, 

Yasuko Kato

Journalist, director of Life-Environmental Network

 

Yasuko Kato, Director, Life-Environmental Network (hokkaido)

 

Megumi Yamazaki, Director, Inclusive-net Hokkaido(Hokkaido)

 

Yoshie Fujii. Director, Chemical Sensitivity Association of Aichi-Re (Aichi)

 

Canary Mikan Association (Yamaguchi)

 

Greenlight Association of Persons with Chemical Sensitivity (Shiga)

 

Hiroko Harada, Director,Childcare Salon “ Wanko” (Hokkaido)

 

Association for the Protection of Children’s Health & Learning(Hokkaido)

 

Maiko Higashi, Director, Sakai Children’s Health and Environment Association (Osaka)

 

Toshiko Ogura, Director, Sapporo Air Pollution Measurement Liaison Meeting (Hokkaido)

 

Yurie Hori, Director, Go to the local school even if severe disability / Liaison Conference (Hokkaido)

 

 

Number of individual approval in Japan: 107

 

 

Approval from other countries

David O. Carpenter, M.D.,Director, Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, USA

 

Cecelia (Cece) Doucette, MTPW, BA, Technology Safety Educator

 

Magda Havas, BSc, Dr, PhD, Professor Emeritus,Trent School of the Environment, Trent University, CANADA

 

Elizabeth Kelley（on behalf of the Advisors to the International EMF Scientist Appeal (USA)

 

Kate Kheel (whatis5g )

 

Fiorenzo Marinelli , Biologist, Former Researcher of the National Council of Research、Italy；Member of AMICA, the Italian Organization of people with MCS and EHS

 

Rainer Nyberg,EdD, MPs, professor emeritus, RetiredTeacher trainer at Abo Akademi University. Creator of two 5G appeals. Finland

 

Cindy Sage,Sage Associates,Co-Editor, BioInitiative Reports, USA

 

Theodora Scarato,Executive Director Environmental Health Trust

 

Angela Tsiang, U.S.A.

 

Dr Lauraine M H Vivian ,PhD Psychiatry and Anthropology; UCT. MSc Anthropology; London School of Economics；Section of Global Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

 

 

There is one junior high school boy who developed Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity(EHS) and Multiple Chemical sensitivity(MCS). It is difficult to learn in the school for him, due to radiated EMF from the electronic/electrical equipment in school. His teachers and friends come to his home, and helps his study now. But it is very difficult that he go to high school.

 

So, he is considering to go to a correspondence high school. But, he can’t use any public transportation and family car, due to his symptoms. He can’t learn via internet and radio which makes him ill. It is very difficult to enter in the classroom for an examination and a schooling, due to chemicals.

 

There are many children like him in Japan. His parents, Mr. & Mrs. Kobayashi, and their son will request the measurement and improvement in school to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Please let me know your name and country, if you approve this request, by 8,June, 2019.

 

Thank you 

 

Yasuko Kato

Journalist, director of Life-Environmental Network

 

The requests 

1．Please let us know the results of a fact-finding survey on the number of elementary, junior high, senior high, and university students who are unable to attend school due to EHS or MCS, if the Ministry have conducted it.

In addition, if a fact-finding survey has not been conducted, please conduct the survey as soon as possible and inform to public.

2．Please provide the guidance and notifications on the measures that schools should take for EHS and MCS children that have been issued by the Ministry.
In addition, if there are plans to issue guidance and notifications in the future, please provide such information.

  

3．Please provide the details and information on specific details of the case where the symptoms of EHS or MCS are mild and it is possible to commute to school due to the consideration given by schools, teachers, boards of education, etc., if the Ministry is aware of them.

 

4．Please provide the content and information of specific measures taken by schools and boards of education for children with severe EHS and MCS who are forced to study at home, If the Ministry is aware of them.

 

 

 

5．As for schooling and examinations in the correspondence high schools, it is essential to study and implement a certain number of times and hours in schools and classrooms. However, EHS and MCS children are not able to obtain the credits to graduate due to difficulties in learning in schools and classrooms. At first, an entrance examinations and an interviews become difficult, then an entrance is also difficult. Please let me know if there is an alternative method such as visiting a teacher to learn, taking an examination at home, or conducting a schooling.
In addition, if there is no alternative method for the implementation of schooling, please consider and prepare the system as soon as possible based on the Discrimination Act for Persons with Disabilities. Because, my eldest son will be going to high school on next year. Please also inform us of the details and results of these measures.
I have heard that there are some cases in which the implementation of schooling is not properly implemented.It is also necessary to create a system to prevent misuse, such as requiring the medical certificates and written opinions by doctors for children, including EHS and MCS.

 

 

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Kouji, Akiko and Yuta Kobayashi

 

 

written by Yasuko Kato, translation assistance by  Pat Ormsby

28 April 2020

 

 

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) responded to requests by the Kobayashi family in early August 2019, but had no knowledge of the actual situation facing students with chemical and/or electromagnetic hypersensitivities. The family requested information on the number of students who had difficulty attending school due to chemical and/or electromagnetic hypersensitivities. The response was, "The number cannot be determined because the condition of EHS/MCS is unknown and no diagnostic criteria have been established." 

 

 

As for guidance and notification of measures to be taken by schools, MEXT said that they had issued a reference document "Maintaining a Healthy Learning Environment" in 2012, and instructed schools to give individual consideration through workshops and other means. They had never informed schools about electromagnetic hypersensitivity, however, because in 2005 the WHO indicated "there is no scientific basis" for the causality of electromagnetic exposure.

 

 

There are no cases of schools taking measures to allow students with EHS/MCS to attend school, or cases in which they know of students having been forced to study at home. Instead, they say they "continue to gather information through study groups and other means."

 

 

Regarding alternatives and examples of consideration regarding high school entrance exams and schooling via correspondence, such as consulting with schools to arrange for instructor visits to provide corrections, face-to-face instruction and support, MEXT could provide no specific examples or alternatives.

 

 

All along, parents of children with EHS/MCS have been negotiating with schools and boards of education, but that information has not been passed along to MEXT and has not been reflected in policies at all.

 

 

At the end of August, the Kobayashis would once again negotiate with MEXT. For that occasion, in the latter half of August, the author collected information on cases in which students had been unable to attend school because of the school environment, and cases in which improvements to the school environment facilitated their ability to learn. The author collected information not only on children's cases but also teachers’.

 

 

The author found information on cases involving 26 students and 3 teachers. Of the 26 children, 92% had multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), 34% had sick house syndrome (SHS), 38% had electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), and 8% had allergies that required preventive measures. All three teachers had developed MCS and EHS, one with SHS, and another with spondyloarthropathy, chronic fatigue syndrome and cerebrospinal fluid hypovolemia.

 

 

The parents asked the schools to take appropriate measures or give reasonable consideration to the following matters: repair work (58%); spraying of agricultural chemicals on the school's trees (23%); waxing (27%); synthetic detergents and softeners (46%); textbook ink (12%); and school wireless LAN (15%). In 23% of the cases, students had difficulty attending school, and in 8% of the cases, they had had to change schools due to lack of understanding. However, in 54% of the cases, the environment was improved and the understanding and cooperation of the teachers made it possible for the children to learn at school. A safe environment is needed that is free of harmful EMFs and chemicals for children and teachers.

 

In addition, Yuta Kobayashi who had send a requests to MEXT got into a high school in this April, and is learning at a correspondence course. 

 

Cindy Sage and Dr. David Carpenter, authors of the BioInitiative Report, provided their opinion on the Kobayashis’ petition (attached below as a PDF). The author is deeply grateful to both of them.