Tens of thousands protest nuclear power in Japan

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) — Tens of thousands of protesters on Monday rallied in central Tokyo to demand the shutdown of all Japanese nuclear plants and a society free of nuclear power, local media reported.

Protesters, including musicians, a Nobel laureate and residents of Fukushima Prefecture, took to the streets to vent their anger about the Fukushima power plant crisis, six months after the nuclear accident. The “Goodbye Nuclear Power Plants” rally was likely one of the largest antinuclear rallies the country has ever seen, according to the Japan Times.

The rally’s various organizers estimated that around 60,000 people attended the event. However, the Metropolitan Police Department did not provide figures.

Protesters, including children and senior citizens, chanted slogans like “We don’t need nuclear power plants!” and “Tokyo Electric Power Co. must pay compensation to the victims!”. Nobel laureate and author Kenzaburo Oe, who was among the organizers, said that demonstrations are needed in order to stop the forces that want to promote nuclear power in the country.

Ruiko Muto, a local leader from Fukushima, told the crowd that since the March 11 disasters, the people in Fukushima have had to make decisions every day on matters ranging from whether to stay, leave, force children to wear masks, dry laundry outside or plow their fields, the Japan Times reported.

“We now know that the facts (about the crisis) are not 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.

Organizer have been trying since June to collect signatures of 10 million people who agree to stop the use of nuclear power. On Monday, they said they have gathered about 1 million signatures so far.

Japan has been facing an ongoing nuclear crisis since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was severely damaged on March 11 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami devastated the country. The disaster disabled the cooling systems of the plant, and radioactive elements leaked into the sea and were later found in water, air and food products in some parts of Japan.

Currently, only 12 of the country’s 54 commercial reactors are operating. Prior to the disaster, over 30 nuclear reactors were in operation, but most of them have been suspended and are pending evaluation tests.

At least 23,482 people were killed, while 8,069 people remain missing. There are still more than 88,000 people who are staying in shelters in 21 prefectures around Japan.