April 29, 2012
The Conference of local government leaders aiming at denuclearization was established on April 28 in Tokyo with 69 local administrative heads, including former heads, participating. Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo has taken up a position as an adviser to the conference.
The convention adopted a resolution requesting the national government to stop its plan to resume operations at nuclear power facilities such as the Oi Plant in Fukui Prefecture and decide to break away from nuclear power generation and state thisbreak clearly in the “new energy master plan” the government plans to announce in the coming summer.
Sakurai Katsunobu, the mayor of Minamisoma City in Fukushima Prefecture, said, “With the media coverage of the 3.11 disaster-stricken areas or the Fukushima nuclear crisis decreasing, residents’ distress that they might be abandoned is growing.”
The head of Tokai village in Ibaraki Prefecture, where Tokai No.2 NPP is located, demanded the decommissioning of the reactors. He said, “It is time to wash our hands clean of nuclear power generation.”
Shii criticized the government for pressing local governments to agree to restarting operations of off-line nuclear reactors based on “new safety standards” hastily drawn up by the government. He said, “It is a national disgrace that they are attempting to introduce a new type of nuclear safety myth.” He went on to say, “An argument that meeting power demand is more important than concerns with safety is unacceptable in regard to the dangers of nuclear power generation.”
At the meeting, a video message from local government leaders in South Korea who oppose nuclear power generation was televised.
The convention adopted a resolution requesting the national government to stop its plan to resume operations at nuclear power facilities such as the Oi Plant in Fukui Prefecture and decide to break away from nuclear power generation and state thisbreak clearly in the “new energy master plan” the government plans to announce in the coming summer.
Sakurai Katsunobu, the mayor of Minamisoma City in Fukushima Prefecture, said, “With the media coverage of the 3.11 disaster-stricken areas or the Fukushima nuclear crisis decreasing, residents’ distress that they might be abandoned is growing.”
The head of Tokai village in Ibaraki Prefecture, where Tokai No.2 NPP is located, demanded the decommissioning of the reactors. He said, “It is time to wash our hands clean of nuclear power generation.”
Shii criticized the government for pressing local governments to agree to restarting operations of off-line nuclear reactors based on “new safety standards” hastily drawn up by the government. He said, “It is a national disgrace that they are attempting to introduce a new type of nuclear safety myth.” He went on to say, “An argument that meeting power demand is more important than concerns with safety is unacceptable in regard to the dangers of nuclear power generation.”
At the meeting, a video message from local government leaders in South Korea who oppose nuclear power generation was televised.
