Japan Press Weekly

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2012 April 11 - 17 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Amid protests, gov’t judges restarting of Oi NPP reactors as valid

The government on the evening of April 13 approved the restart of two idled reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO)’s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture while protesters were gathering in the street in front of the Prime Minister’s office.

Economy and Industry Minister Edano Yukio said to the press, “Though it’s not a final decision to reactivate the offline reactors,” the government “has finally confirmed the safety” of the two reactors at the Oi plant. He also said that he will visit Fukui to gain prefectural government consent for the resumption.

In the meantime, about 1,600 people gathered in protest in front of the PM office. At the same time in Osaka, another protest action took place in front of the KEPCO headquarters. The simultaneous protest actions were organized through Twitter.

While engaging in these actions, participants received the breaking news that Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko and three other ministers “have judged the restart of the two Oi reactors to be valid.” Many protesters shouted in anger and some shed tears in frustration.

A 37-year-old woman participating in the Tokyo action was stunned by the news and said, “The government has ignored public opinion again. I’m so angry. I will never give up and will continue opposing nuclear power generation.”