Japan Press Weekly

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2013 November 27 - December 3 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

8,000 people voice opposition to restarting nuclear reactors

About 8,000 citizens on December 1 participated in a rally in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, to oppose the reactivation of idled nuclear reactors.

The Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, which is the only power station restarted after the 2011 Fukushima accident, stopped its operations in September this year for the regular inspections. All the nuclear reactors in the nation are now offline. The national government is now aiming at restarting the Ikata NPP in Ikata Town, Ehime.

On Sunday morning, a lot of people from across the country gathered at Shiroyama Park in Ehime’s Matsuyama City, despite the rain. The rally was organized by a civil group opposing the government plan to restart nuclear reactors.

Kusanagi Jun’ichi, the group leader, called on the participants, “Let’s work together to get rid of all nuclear power plants throughout the world, starting with the Ikata plant.”

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kasai Akira in his speech talked about the radioactive water issue at the crippled Fukushima plant and a state secrets bill under Diet deliberation that enables authorities to suppress information related to nuclear facilities. “A majority of the general public are opposed to the resumption plan. Let’s unite in our efforts to create a nuclear power-free Japan,” he stressed.

Social Democratic Party Lower House member Yoshikawa Hajime and independent Upper House member Yamamoto Taro delivered addresses as well.

The participants adopted a resolution calling for building a society in which people can live a life free from the anxiety of nuclear accidents. After the rally, they marched in demonstration through the downtown area.

A 37-year-old woman living in Matsuyama, marching with her small children, said, “I cannot allow this land to be contaminated with radiation from the nuclear plant because I want to raise my children here and grow old here. Political leaders and power companies should listen to our voice.”