June 30, 2012
The enthusiastic chant of 200,000 people, “No to restart,” resounded through Tokyo’s administrative district on the evening of June 29.
Simultaneously in Osaka City, a demonstration of 2,200 people surrounded the head office of Kansai Electric Power Co., an operator of the Oi Nuclear Power Plant where the first reactor to come back on line is located.
Despite the fact that operations at the nuclear reactor are scheduled to be resumed on July 1, a water-level alarm at the plant in question has already gone off seven times since the government’s restart decision two weeks ago.
People began massing in front of the PM office two hours before the action started, and when the sun went down, many workers after work joined in the “No restart” chant. Eventually, 200,000 demonstrators filled the 6-lane boulevard outside the PM office.
Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo also rushed to the Prime Minister’s official residence to join in the protest.
Thronged by the crowds of people, Shii called out through a microphone, “Protect the future of our children!”
A space for participants with small children was set up at the demonstration. A 34-year-old photographer with his 2-year boy said, “I appreciate this space because I couldn’t move with a baby buggy in the crowds last week.”
A 61-year-old woman in a wheel chair said in anger, “I can’t stand the government using disabled persons as an excuse for the plant resumption. It’s highly deception to claim that the nuclear reactors’ reactivation is necessary to protect respirator users or patients in need of extensive care.”
A 40-year-old mother with her two children said, “I’m so worried about the future facing my children.”
A 35-year-old mother with her 3-year boy said that she participated in this kind of action for the first time with other parents in the same childcare center as her son
A 44-year-old hairdresser said, “I love fishing, but I might not be able to eat the fish I catch.”
A 47-year-old man said, “I don’t want to be a person who refuses to stand up for what he believes in, bringing shame to both my ancestors and descendants.”
Simultaneously in Osaka City, a demonstration of 2,200 people surrounded the head office of Kansai Electric Power Co., an operator of the Oi Nuclear Power Plant where the first reactor to come back on line is located.
Despite the fact that operations at the nuclear reactor are scheduled to be resumed on July 1, a water-level alarm at the plant in question has already gone off seven times since the government’s restart decision two weeks ago.
People began massing in front of the PM office two hours before the action started, and when the sun went down, many workers after work joined in the “No restart” chant. Eventually, 200,000 demonstrators filled the 6-lane boulevard outside the PM office.
Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo also rushed to the Prime Minister’s official residence to join in the protest.
Thronged by the crowds of people, Shii called out through a microphone, “Protect the future of our children!”
A space for participants with small children was set up at the demonstration. A 34-year-old photographer with his 2-year boy said, “I appreciate this space because I couldn’t move with a baby buggy in the crowds last week.”
A 61-year-old woman in a wheel chair said in anger, “I can’t stand the government using disabled persons as an excuse for the plant resumption. It’s highly deception to claim that the nuclear reactors’ reactivation is necessary to protect respirator users or patients in need of extensive care.”
A 40-year-old mother with her two children said, “I’m so worried about the future facing my children.”
A 35-year-old mother with her 3-year boy said that she participated in this kind of action for the first time with other parents in the same childcare center as her son
A 44-year-old hairdresser said, “I love fishing, but I might not be able to eat the fish I catch.”
A 47-year-old man said, “I don’t want to be a person who refuses to stand up for what he believes in, bringing shame to both my ancestors and descendants.”
