Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2012 March 7 - 13 [GREAT EAST JAPAN DISASTER]

One year after 3.11, people mourn and pledge to rebuild without NPPs

Eight thousand people took part in a March 11 action calling for restoration from the disaster and a Japan without nuclear power plants at Inokashira Park in Tokyo. “It is the people united that can stop nuclear power generation,” participants in the rally chanted. Representatives of the three disaster-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, criticized the slow progress in the governmental work to help recover from the disaster, and called for further support.

Another rally took place in memory of the Great East Japan Disaster held at Hibiya Park. Musician Sakamoto Ryuichi and 40,000 people took part.

On March 11, events were held nationwide to mourn for the disaster victims calling for recovery from the disaster and demanding a move away from nuclear power generation.

In the disaster-hit Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture, 16,000 people gathered and resolved to establish a Fukushima without NPPs. Shimizu Shuji, organizer and vice president of Fukushima University, called for the Fukushima people’s voices to be heard throughout the nation.

In Fukui Prefecture hosting 15 nuclear reactors including fast-breeder reactors, a “Good bye to NPP-ridden Fukui rally” was held in Tsuruga City. In a speech, a woman said, “Let us protect our sea and land from being contaminated by radioactivity.”

In a Hokkaido rally “No NPPs, and no resumed NPP operations” held in Sapporo City, more than 2,000 people took part. A youth living 39 kilometers from Tomari NPP, said, “’Bye to NPPs’ is essential for us to pass on our rich environment to the next generation.”

About 1,500 people gathered in Aomori City, 2,500 in Takasaki City (Gunma pref.), over 1,600 in Kawasaki City (Kanagawa pref.), 1,100 in Shizuoka City, 1,800 in Matsumoto City (Nagano Pref.), 5,000 in Nagoya City, 8,000 in Osaka City, 2,500 in Kobe City, 1,100 in Kochi City, 5,000 in Kita-kyushu City, and 3,000 in Fukuoka City. In Genkai Town hosting the Genkai NPP in Saga Prefecture, 650 people rallied.