nuclear-news

Japanese activists pushing for nuclear referendums, Australia Network News, 3 Oct 11, A civic group formed in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis in Japan is collecting signatures in Tokyo, Osaka and Shizuoka Prefecture with an eye to filing direct petitions with local assemblies to hold referendums on nuclear power.

The three areas were chosen as the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Osaka city office are shareholders of Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Kansai Electric Power Co., respectively, and Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka nuclear plant is located in Shizuoka Prefecture, the group said.

As the signatures of a 50th of the voters in a constituency are required to file such petitions under the Local Autonomy Law, around 214,000 would need to be collected in Tokyo, 62,000 in Shizuoka Prefecture and 43,000 in Osaka.

The referendums would be the first on nuclear power to be held in areas other than municipalities that host or are considering hosting such plants, said the group’s secretary general Hajime Imai, 57, who is a journalist.

But the local assemblies could vote down any referendum ordinances even if sufficient signatures are collected….