Japan Press Weekly

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2018 September 5 - 11 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Ehime residents submit to governor 64K signatures demanding decommissioning of Ikata NPP

A group of residents in Ehime Prefecture on September 6 submitted to the governor nearly 64,000 signatures, demanding the decommissioning of the reactors at the Shikoku Electric Power Company’s Ikata Nuclear Power Plant in the prefecture.

The signatures were collected between May 2017 and July 2018 in all the municipalities in Ehime.

Thirty organizers of the campaign handed the collected signatures to a prefectural official at the prefectural assembly building. A Japanese Communist Party member of the prefectural assembly took part in the action.

Izumi Kyoko, who heads the organizers’ group, pointed out that Japan is prone to earthquakes and that many residents fear that a powerful earthquake may strike and cripple the Ikata NPP. She said that if the NPP causes a serious accident, it would pollute the sea and destroy people’s livelihoods and businesses. Izumi stressed that the prefectural government should make efforts to depart from nuclear power and to promote renewable energy sources.

Past related articles:
> Ikata NPP injunction is a warning about volcanic eruption risks [December 15, 2017]
> Court rejects injunction request against restart of Ikata NPP [March 31, 2017]