Massive anti-nuclear rally staged in Tokyo

DHAKA: Tens of thousands of people rallied in Tokyo Monday demanding an end to nuclear power.

It was the latest in a series of anti-atomic gatherings following the tsunami-sparked disaster at Fukushima last year, reports daily Hurriyet.

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 the March 2011 quake-tsunami sparked the world’s worst atomic disaster in a generation.

‘We are so angry because no progress has been made in terms of compensation and decontamination,’ said Noboru Shikatani, a 71-year-old man who evacuated Fukushima to go 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 added.

‘We want to bring our voice to many people by joining this kind of demonstration.’

Participants included Nobel-winning author Kenzaburo Oe and Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
 
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.

BDST: 1814 HRS, JUL 16, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor