Japan Press Weekly

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2012 June 20 - 26 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

45,000 people surround PM Office to protest restart of Oi NPP

“Stop the restart!” “Abolish nuclear power plants!” “Protect children’s lives!” About 45,000 citizens on the evening of June 22 surrounded the prime minister’s official residence in protest against the Noda Cabinet’s decision to restart operations of idled nuclear reactors at the Oi NPP in Fukui Prefecture.

This action was posted on Twitter by the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes (MCAN).

On June 8, the day PM Noda expressed his intention to resume the NPP, some 4,000 residents gathered in front of the PM’s official residence. On June 15, the day before the government officially decided on the restart, more than 12,000 people thronged the gates to the residence. The action on June 22, the first after the government’s decision, was the largest since the MCAN started such protest actions in March.

A woman participating with her baby from Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture said, “It is wrong to reactivate the NPP due to the political influence of a handful of people profiting from nuclear power generation. I hope to hand down to my children a society where they can live without having to worry about the risk of a nuclear accident.”

Another young woman from Saitama Pref. said, “Finding out about this action on the Internet, I came to join in the protest action for the first time. Joining such rallies or demonstrations needs courage. But I think remaining silent can be construed to mean approving of nuclear power generation.”

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo also rushed to the scene of the action. Amid the cheers of protesters, Shii called out over a microphone, “Prime Minister Noda! Can’t you hear the voice of the public? Stop forcing us to accept the resumption of NPP using the threat of a ‘power shortage’. I will continue to work with the public to eliminate the risk of radiation exposure and ensure the health of our children.”