Anti-nuclear rallies took place across Japan yesterday on the eve of the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, urging Japan’s new government to abandon nuclear power.
Tens of thousands gathered in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, where activists and unionists packed a concert hall to voice their opposition.
Academics, businesspeople and volunteers gave anti-nuclear talks as musicians performed, before the crowds marched through the government district of Kasumigaseki to parliament.
They planned to hand petitions to anti-nuclear lawmakers, urging the government to stop its nuclear programs.
“I think it is adults’ responsibility to achieve zero nuclear power, before we die,” said one of many banners held by the marchers.
“Sayonara, nuclear power,” another sign said.
Similar rallies were held elsewhere in Tokyo and across the rest of the nation, with local media reporting that as many as 150 anti-nuclear events were planned for the weekend and today.
Protesters are calling for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office in December last year following his party’s election win, to dismantle all nuclear plants.
Public opposition to nuclear power peaked after a magnitude 9 earthquake struck Pacific waters in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, and unleashed a massive killer tsunami which battered the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The plant was hit by a meltdown and explosions that severely contaminated the vast farming region and became the worst nuclear accident in a generation.
Japan turned off its 50 stable reactors in the wake of the disaster, but restarted two of them citing possible summertime power shortages.
Abe, whose conservative Liberal Democratic Party has close ties with the nation’s powerful business elite, has repeatedly said he would allow reactor restarts if their safety could be ensured.
In many tsunami-hit cities residents dressed in black yesterday for ceremonies to mourn the victims of the disaster, which killed 15,881 people, while 2,668 remain unaccounted for.
In the hard-hit city of Rikuzentakata, where almost 1,600 people died and 217 people are still missing, Mayor Futoshi Toba reiterated his pledge to rebuild the city.
“We will move forward to build a beautiful city that is the pride of the nation where its citizens live happily and comfortably,” he said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS