Japan Press Weekly

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2011 June 8 - 14 [JCP]

JCP holds signature drive to shut down all nuclear power plants

The Japanese Communist Party carried out signature drives throughout Japan calling for a withdrawal from nuclear power generation on June 11 on the three month anniversary of the March 11 earthquake.

In front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo, about 50 JCP members, led by Policy Commission Chair Koike Akira and Lower House representative Kasai Akira, took part in the action. They collected nearly 300 signatures in just one hour.

Koike said to passers-by, “Earthquakes and tsunami are natural disasters, but a nuclear accident is a human-generated crisis due to government energy policy.” He stressed that a change in energy policy to one promoting renewable energy sources will make it possible to bring an end to nuclear power generation.

Kasai stated that the signature campaign calls on the government to withdraw from nuclear energy and set up a timetable to shut down all nuclear power stations. He asked people to sign the petition if they want all nuclear power plants in the nation to be shut down.

A similar signature petition drive was carried out in Osaka, taken part in by JCP House of Representatives member Miyamoto Takeshi.