information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
28 Mars 2015
March 23, 2015
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201503230035
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Thousands of protesters rallied March 22 outside the Diet building in Tokyo to oppose the Abe administration’s policies on security and nuclear issues.
The gathering organized by citizens groups such as the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes, a coalition of groups that stage demonstrations in the Tokyo area, drew an estimated 14,000 people.
They chanted “Do not create a country which wages wars,” and other slogans.
The event came on the heels of a March 20 agreement by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, its junior coalition partner, on the direction in which new national security legislation will be written. Based on the agreement, the scope of Self-Defense Forces’ missions abroad will be expanded.
Prior to the rally, students and other participants gathered at an open-air concert venue in Hibiya Park in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward to express their opposition to Japan exercising the right to collective self-defense and restarts of idled nuclear power plants. They then marched to the Diet building.
Kenichi Suzuki, a part-time worker from Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, was among the participants.
“The Abe administration turns a deaf ear to the voices of the Japanese people,” the 65-year-old said. “We want to realize politics that respect the principles of democracy.”