nuclear-news

The huge turnout even surprised the participants, hinting that the crisis had finally stirred something in the nation’s normally passive psyche……

Despite the unseasonably hot and humid weather, the turnout for the Goodbye Nuclear Power Plants rally was impressive in scale and one of the largest antinuclear rallies so far.

“As six months passed, we are starting to see things a bit clearer now,” said Ruiko Muto, a member of a Fukushima citizens’ group, told the crowd as she took the stage at the rally point in Shibuya Ward.

“We now know that the facts (about the crisis) have not been revealed, the government does not protect the people, the Fukushima accident is still ongoing . . . but there are people who still promote nuclear power,” she said…..

Nobel laureate and author Kenzaburo Oe, who was among the organizers, said that while Italy held a national referendum on nuclear power and the people voted it down, Japan still has forces that want to promote it….

Muto, whose group is studying the prefecture’s future after the Fukushima No. 1 plant is finally decommissioned, told the crowd that since March 11, the people in Fukushima have had to make decisions every day on matters ranging from whether to evacuate and force children to wear masks to such mundane tasks as drying laundry outside and plowing their fields.

The participants took to the streets at around 2:30 p.m. and marched through the Aoyama and Omotesando districts as they made their way to Yoyogi Park, chanting slogans like “We don’t need nuclear power plants!” and “Tokyo Electric Power Co. must pay compensation to the victims!”

Passersby curiously scrutinized the long lines of protesters, which included children and senior citizens.

The huge turnout even surprised the participants, hinting that the crisis had finally stirred something in the nation’s normally passive psyche……

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110920a9.html