Massive anti-nuclear rally staged in Tokyo
JAPAN: Tens of thousands of people rallied in Tokyo on Monday
demanding an end to nuclear power, the latest in a series of anti-atomic
gatherings following the tsunami-sparked disaster at Fukushima.
Demonstrators marched through streets near Yoyogi park under
scorching sunshine on a national holiday, chanting in chorus: “Don't
resume nuclear power operation. Prime Minister (Yoshihiko) Noda should
quit.” Organisers said the number of participants was estimated to reach
170,000, one of the biggest anti-nuclear rallies since last year's
quake-tsunami sparked the world's worst atomic disaster in a generation.
Participants included Nobel-winning author Kenzaburo Oe and Japanese
musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
“We are so angry because no progress has been made in terms of
compensation and decontamination,” said Noboru Shikatani, a 71-year-old
man evacuating from Fukushima to Tokyo following the disaster.
“We can't accept any resumption of nuclear power operation as the
Fukushima case has not been resolved at all,” Shikatani said. “We want
to bring our voice to many people by joining this kind of
demonstration.” The latest rally came after a nuclear reactor in western
Japan began full operations last week, the first restart since the
country shut down its atomic stations in the wake of last year's crisis.
The return to full operations ended a nearly two-month hiatus in the
aftermath of the atomic crisis, but came amid strong anti-nuclear
sentiment in Japan which has seen protesters come out in their tens of
thousands.
A damning parliamentary report said the accident at the Fukushima
Daiichi plant was a man-made disaster, marked by a lack of oversight and
collusion between plant operator Tokyo Electric Power, the government
and regulators.
AFP |