Japan Press Weekly

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2011 April 27 - May 10 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Angry farmers protest against TEPCO

Farmers in the Tohoku and Kanto regions affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident staged a protest on April 26 in front of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) headquarters in Tokyo.

About 400 farmers in front of the TEPCO headquarters chanted, “Compensate farmers for the overall damage! Provide temporary compensation without delay!” Some participants brought vegetables and one even brought a cow, and many others held placards that read, “No! to nuclear power plants! Compensate for loss of earnings from rejected agricultural products!”

The protest was organized by the National Federation of Farmers Movement (Nominren). In the rally, Nominren Chair Shiraishi Jun’ichi said that because of the Fukushima crisis, farmers are restricted from shipping farm products and raw milk, are suffering from harmful rumors, and are being forced to abandon their farms. He went on to say, “TEPCO and successive governments should be held responsible for promoting nuclear power generation in the first place. Let’s exert the utmost effort to have TEPCO make good on all damages.”

From Fukushima Prefecture, 160 Nominren member farmers participated. Fukushima prefectural federation leader Kameda Toshihide said, “We repeatedly warned TEPCO about the possibility of serious accidents triggered by earthquakes and tsunami. However, TEPCO ignored our warnings. Why should we have to pay the price for their arrogance?”

Representatives of Nominren and their supporters submitted to TEPCO a petition demanding that TEPCO provide full compensation without delay. A TEPCO official only answered, “We will provide compensation through a system with government support.”

Holding a placard, saying, “Bring back my dream of a sound future!,” 35-year-old participant Sakuma Tetsuji, who has 130 heads of cattle in his pasture in Fukushima, said, “While I was away from my pasture due to the government evacuation order, some cows suffered slow deaths. TEPCO must compensate for our losses.”

After the protest, participants held a rally in the Upper House Diet Members’ Office Building. Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo attended the rally to give a speech in support.