January 30, 2016
The Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) on January 29 restarted the No.3 reactor at the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture.
The utility intends to run the reactor on MOX fuel made from uranium oxide and plutonium oxide which is extracted from spent nuclear fuel and is more dangerous than ordinary uranium fuel. This is the first attempt to burn MOX fuel under the new nuclear safety guidelines which were introduced in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
Within a 30km-radius of the Takahama plant, around 180,000 people are living in twelve municipalities in three prefectures, and the adequacy of evacuation plans for local residents in the event of nuclear accidents is being called into doubt. In addition, in the Wakasa Bay area where the Takahama NPP is located, 15 reactors are concentrated together and it is feared that some of these reactors could simultaneously cause serious accidents due to natural disasters or safety related reasons.
In protest against the restart of the NPP, various actions on the same day took place in Fukui and the rest of the country.
In front of KEPCO’s local office in Fukui City, citizens staged a protest action and criticized the utility as well as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Fukui Governor Nishikawa Issei for putting profit before people’s lives.
In Fukushima, a citizens’ group, the Fukushima Center for Reconstruction held a street campaign in front of Fukushima Station. Using a microphone, protesters in turn appealed to the passersby by saying that over 100,000 people are still forced to live outside their hometowns due to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and that the number of disaster-related deaths exceeded 200. They stressed that it is unreasonable to resume the operation of the Takahama NPP without workable evacuation plans.
On this day, in the weekly Friday night action outside the Prime Minister’s Office, protesters chanted, “Stop Takahama NPP without delay!” and “Abe should step down!”
The utility intends to run the reactor on MOX fuel made from uranium oxide and plutonium oxide which is extracted from spent nuclear fuel and is more dangerous than ordinary uranium fuel. This is the first attempt to burn MOX fuel under the new nuclear safety guidelines which were introduced in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
Within a 30km-radius of the Takahama plant, around 180,000 people are living in twelve municipalities in three prefectures, and the adequacy of evacuation plans for local residents in the event of nuclear accidents is being called into doubt. In addition, in the Wakasa Bay area where the Takahama NPP is located, 15 reactors are concentrated together and it is feared that some of these reactors could simultaneously cause serious accidents due to natural disasters or safety related reasons.
In protest against the restart of the NPP, various actions on the same day took place in Fukui and the rest of the country.
In front of KEPCO’s local office in Fukui City, citizens staged a protest action and criticized the utility as well as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Fukui Governor Nishikawa Issei for putting profit before people’s lives.
In Fukushima, a citizens’ group, the Fukushima Center for Reconstruction held a street campaign in front of Fukushima Station. Using a microphone, protesters in turn appealed to the passersby by saying that over 100,000 people are still forced to live outside their hometowns due to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and that the number of disaster-related deaths exceeded 200. They stressed that it is unreasonable to resume the operation of the Takahama NPP without workable evacuation plans.
On this day, in the weekly Friday night action outside the Prime Minister’s Office, protesters chanted, “Stop Takahama NPP without delay!” and “Abe should step down!”
