2015 October 28 - November 3 [
SOCIAL ISSUES]
4,000 people hold rally to protest against restart of Ikata nuclear power plant
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Around 4,000 people on November 1 participated in a rally in Ehime’s Matsuyama City to protest against Shikoku Electric Power Company’s plan to restart the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant.
As Ikata Town Mayor Yamashita Kazuhiko and Ehime Governor Nakamura Tokihiro gave their approval for the restart to the utility last month, the power plant is set to be put back online in January.
Kusanagi Jun’ichi of a citizens’ group against the Ikata NPP delivered a speech on behalf of the rally organizer. He said, “The reactivation plan is totally irrational and unethical. We can never accept the plan as it will push residents into the depths of anxiety.”
A victim of the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant appeared on a stage and called on the audience to keep raising their voices in protest against nuclear power generation.
Nagase Fumio of the national liaison council of anti-nuke groups pointed out, “Not only Ehime residents, but also people in the rest of the country are objecting to the reactivation of the Ikata power plant. The government by ignoring public concerns has no future.”
Misao Redwolf of the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes (MCAN) stressed, “We need to put an end to the runaway policies of the Abe government in order to prevent idled nuclear reactors from going back online.”
Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kasai Akira said to the audience, “Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is sticking to the use of nuclear power and putting corporate profits before people’s lives. We have to kick him out of government leadership without delay.”
One of the participants, a 34-year-old mother living in Matsuyama City, said that she does not want her three children to suffer from a nuclear accident in the future.
Past related article:
> Ehime governor OKs restart of Ikata nuclear power plant in spite of public opposition [October 27, 2015]