information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
16 Juillet 2012
July 16, 2012
Anti-nuclear protesters carry "No nukes" banners during a march in Tokyo, Monday, July 16, 2012. Tens of thousands of people gathered at a Tokyo park, demanding “Sayonara,” or goodbye, to nuclear power as Japan prepares to restart yet another reactor, and expressed outrage over a report that blamed culture on the Fukushima disaster. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120716p2g00m0dm090000c.html
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- An anti-nuclear power plant rally called for by a group led by Nobel literature laureate Kenzaburo Oe and other celebrities drew a crowd of around 170,000 people Monday at Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, according to organizers.
At the assembly held under a scorching sun, dubbed "100,000 People's Assembly to say Goodbye to Nuclear Power Plants," journalist Satoshi Kamata said at the opening event, "We want to bring an end to nuclear power plants immediately."
Oe criticized the government's stance of trying to restart nuclear reactors when the Fukushima nuclear crisis has not yet fully been resolved. "I feel we're being insulted by the government" due to the recent rebooting of a reactor, a move he described as "a plot by the government."
The rally, which also featured live musical performances by Japanese singers, was part of the ongoing antinuclear campaign "10 Million People's Action to say Goodbye to Nuclear Power Plants" that has been conducted following the 2011 crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
The organizing group consists of the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs, commonly known as Gensuikin, and other bodies.
According to the organizers, the event drew not only activists from civic groups but also numerous private citizens concerned about their future. The number of participants in the rally at Yoyogi Park was unparalleled for an event there, they said.
Anti-nuclear energy protesters march on a street in Tokyo Monday, July 16, 2012. Tens of thousands of people gathered at a Tokyo park, demanding “Sayonara,” or goodbye, to nuclear power as Japan prepares to restart yet another reactor, and expressed outrage over a report that blamed culture on the Fukushima disaster. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Kumiko Kobayashi, 59, from Tokyo's Meguro Ward brought her children and granddaughter in participating at an antinuclear protest for the first time. "The first priority is to halt nuclear power plants. I want the government and the general public to have a normal way of thinking and realize that," she said.
A 90-year-old novelist and Buddhist nun, Jakusho Setouchi, said she is skeptical about whether the government will listen to the people's wish to do away with nuclear power. "We nonetheless need to assemble. We're taxpayers. We can and should express our opinions," she said.
Economic commentator Katsuto Uchihashi and journalist Takashi Hirose were among others who spoke at the rally.
The participants took to the streets after the rally, marching about 3 kilometers near the park and chanting such slogans as "We don't need nuclear power plants," and "The government, stop deciding without public consent."
Oe and others have also been collecting signatures from 10 million people as part of the action. As of July 8, around 7.85 million people had offered their signatures and some have already been presented to Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura.
A weekly antinuclear rally has been held every Friday for months in front of the prime minister's residence in Tokyo and has been drawing an increasing number of people. Civic groups staging the event say a June 29 meet drew 200,000 people but the Metropolitan Police Department put the total count at around 17,000.
AFP-Jiji, Kyodo
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120716x1.html#.UARbiJFIwpU
Tens of thousands of people rallied Monday in Tokyo demanding an end to nuclear power, the latest in a series of demonstrations to erupt since the triple-meltdown disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
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Under scorching sunshine on a national holiday, demonstrators marched through the streets near Yoyogi Park chanting: "Don't resume nuclear power operation. Prime Minister Noda should quit."
Organizers estimated the turnout at 170,000, which would apparently make it the biggest antinuclear rally since last year's quake and tsunami sparked the world's worst atomic disaster in a generation at the poorly protected plant.
Participants included Nobel Prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oe and famed musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
"We are angry because no progress has been made in terms of compensation and decontamination," said Noboru Shikatani, 71, who evacuated from Fukushima to Tokyo amid the disaster.
"We can't accept any resumption of nuclear power operation, as the Fukushima crisis has not been resolved," he said. "We want to bring our voice to many people by joining this kind of demonstration."
Sakamoto said: "We shouldn't put the lives of children who are the future of our country, a beautiful Japan, in potential danger just for such a thing as electricity."
Oe said: "I feel insulted by the government, which reactivated Kansai Electric Power's Oi Nuclear Power Station after the major nuclear power accident happened."
Oe and others are on a petition drive to collect 10 million signatures. As of July 8, around 7.85 million people had signed, and some have already been presented to Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura.
Monday's rally came after unit 3 at the Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture last week became the nation's first reactor to resume full operation, ending Japan's brief departure from atomic power. Kepco is now trying to fire up reactor 4.
All of the nation's commercial nuclear plants were shut down in succession after the Fukushima crisis began, kicking off a nearly two-month hiatus from atomic power and orders for all reactors to undergo stress tests.
Despite the government's tests and safety claims, antinuclear sentiment remains strong and protesters have been turning out by the tens of thousands.
A damning independent Diet report recently said the crisis at Fukushima No. 1 was a man-made disaster, marked by oversight failures, collusion between Tokyo Electric, the government and industry-promoting regulators, and a culture that blindly follows authority.
Atomic power went on hold as Japan mulled its options after the 9.0-magnitude megaquake and tsunami crippled the cooling systems at Fukushima No. 1, leading to three core meltdowns.
But in mid-June, Noda gave the green light to restart two of the units at the Oi plant to prevent summer power shortages.
For critics of atomic power, the move came too soon.
"We want to continue to stage demonstrations as antinuclear sentiment is growing among the people," said Yasunari Fujimoto, an organizer of the rally.
Anti-nuclear rally held in Tokyo
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120716_17.html
Tens of thousands of people have staged one of the biggest anti-nuclear rallies in Tokyo since the Fukushima accident in March, last year.
Labor union activists joined members of the public in the main protest rally at Yoyogi Park on Monday. Many of them responded to calls on the social network Twitter and the Internet.
Nobel prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oe was among public figures who called on people to take to the streets.
The rally came after a reactor at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, was brought back online. It began operating at full capacity earlier this month.
Oe said the government's move to push forward the re-starting of idled reactors despite wide public opposition is an insult to the people. He added that people must defeat this move.
Organizers say 170, 000 people took part in the rally, while police estimate the number at 75,000.
The crowd then marched on to the streets to protest the restart of the reactor and show their opposition to nuclear power.
A woman took part with her son, who is in elementary school. She said she wants the government to scrap nuclear plants immediately for the safety of her child.
A man in his 70s said he joined the rally because the government won't listen to the people. He added that he cannot accept its decision to restart the reactor.
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