Heavy cross to bear

Picture of the Day ( 31 )

Heavy cross to bear

A protester dressed as Jesus Christ participates in a march during an anti-nuclear power demonstration in Tokyo on Saturday. The protesters called on Japan’s government to abandon nuclear energy.

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31 Comments

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  • 6

    BlueWitch

    Oh Gods!! The guy portraying "Jesus" looks like "Gadhafi", actually!! LOL

    Still, a local "Jesus"....you don't get to see that every day... ha!

  • 0

    roughneck

    The protesters called on Japan’s government to abandon nuclear energy.

    And use what? Candles? There are no easy alternatives!

  • 3

    Emmiko

    And use what? Candles? There are no easy alternatives!

    No no no! fluffy magical Rainbow Bunnies! (They are a rare breed only found in the upper mountains of Shikoku.)

  • 0

    some14some

    Good activity on weekend. Govt will build more nuclear power plants for sure.

  • 6

    zichi

    Japan has 54 reactors but during the summer only 18 were operational, the rest were shut down because of 3/11 or for maintenance. That at least shows there is no need for 54 reactors. The older reactors can be shut down immediately. I think there are a further 11 planned for construction, I think the ones at the planning stage will be abandoned but the ones were construction has started will continue.

    The Monju Fast Breeder reactor has to date, cost about ¥1.7 trillion but only managed to generate 60 minutes of power. A very expensive one hour of power. The budget has been cut but the project has not been abandoned.

    Nuclear power generates about 30% of total power. Geothermal generates about 1.5%, but experts in that field have stated that it could be increased to 15%. That would reduce the need for nuclear power to 15%.

    But Big Nuke is a rich and powerful lobby. TEPCO forced it's employee's to make donations to the LDP. Big Nuke will fight tooth and nail to keep nuclear power, including increasing the number of reactors. It will use climate change to prop up it's argument for nuclear power, or the security of fuel supplies, which have to be imported.

    And while it may take some years to reduce the number of nuclear reactors with the eventual aim of having none, following the TEPCO nuclear wipe out, it's a target the country should aim for.

    Nuclear plants cost billions to build, can't be insured, cost billions to decommission, cost billions to deal with all the nuclear waste and cost trillions when they go wrong like Fukushima.

    Renewable energy is making rapid advances with the technology. Japan should end its use of nuclear fuel.

    "Thanks to Jesus for being on the right side!"

  • 0

    ben4short

    Right on, Lord Jesus. Whatever the contents, whatever the nonviolent means, any activity that stirs the pot of apathy and the status quo must, by its very nature, be positive and good.

  • 0

    yanee

    Jesus arrives in Japan...too good! He died not for our sins...but for nuclear power...time are a changing!

  • 0

    noriyosan73

    At least there was ONE protester who arrived on foot. All the others took the ELECTRIC trains, buses and subways, or maybe an electric taxi powered by electricity from nuclear plants. Just imagine a transportation system with coal fired trains delivering people and goods today. Just ask great-grandmother what it was like to breath the pollution.

  • 0

    zichi

    A panel from MIT, predicted that between 2005-2050, there will be 5 major nuclear disasters, we have had one of them.

  • 1

    miyazawa3

    The Jesus Christ of Nazareth.. ( peace be upon him )....never carries a cross in His life time.. He was raised to heavens...

  • 0

    CrazyJoe

    The cross doesn't look heavy at all. Besides, Jesus did not carry the full cross, he carried the patibulum (horizontal beam). The crossbeam would weigh at least 40 pounds. This man needs a shave. I do feel people who make fun of Jesus stink in the nostrils, but that's your perogative.

  • -1

    gyouza

    What is the Jesus connection anyway?

  • 7

    Farmboy

    What is the Jesus connection anyway?

    I would assume the message is: "Radioactive contamination is our cross to bear." It's not so much about Jesus, but with the idea of carrying a heavy burden.

  • 4

    Papa_will_preach

    And use what? Candles? There are no easy alternatives!

    How about letting the night be dark?

    They say demand for electricity is high. Nonsense. They use it because it is there, not because they demanded it. Japan survived with 2/3 of its nuke plants shut down during the peak of the summer months. If the electricity is not there, people will find other means, or even just let it be. A little inconvenience for the sake of not having to live (or rather die) in a nuclear wasteland is fine by me.

  • -1

    The Munya Times

    Weird, morbid, ridiculous yet shocking and awakening.

  • 0

    anglootaku

    Everyone is protesting about something this year around the world..

  • 1

    paulinusa

    "What is the Jesus connection anyway?"

    Jesus stood up for poor, powerless people ( full disclosure, I'm Catholic, but agnostic ) Can't say for sure, but some Japanese will make that connection.

  • 4

    Cricky

    During summer 18 were operational, so the "Dependence" issue is not as great as pumped up. Is it too much to ask a "Technological" (hanko please) leading nation who can produce clapping robots (a must for every house) to generate a safe and viable alternative? It is regrettable that I think this.

  • -1

    kwatt

    There is surely nothing to do with Jesus connection, but something impressed. Japanese government would have to reduce the numbers of present reactors in the future as most people don't want them now.

  • -2

    RaichuLov

    OoOoo...some more protesting....but what's the connection between protesting against nuclear power and Jesus? I kinda don't see one, buuutt if the guy dressed as Jesus claims there's a connection, there must be a hidden one? But I do have to say though, no matter how random it is, it's kinda a bit too early to dress up for Halloween, don't you think?

  • 1

    Foxie

    The connection between Jesus and nuclear power is the drowning effect. When Christians were prosecuted in Japan, they were put on crosses in the sea and with the tide coming in, they were slowly drowning. The same with the nuclear catastrophe, they are slowly dying.

  • 1

    paulinusa

    Some of you are either not Christian or clueless. It's about the powerless versus the powerful. The average Japanese citizen versus Tepco and the government bureaucracy. Radiation sickening people who have no control over their lives.

  • 1

    Papa_will_preach

    but what's the connection between protesting against nuclear power and Jesus?

    I cannot picture Jesus being pro-nuke.

  • 0

    WilliB

    That Jesus looks more like Colonel Gaddafi!

  • -1

    Tigerta9

    At first the Jesus analogy appears overly dramatic but let's hope that there are no more martyrs beyond the displaced people that have had their lives destroyed or turned upside down as a result of this debacle.

    BTW, what is the state of the food, water and air in Tokyo? Is there an authoritative and trustworthy source of information? I've been informed on a number of occasions that Tokyo is safe and the level of radiation is no higher than it is in HK, France or parts of Nevada.

  • -1

    Disillusioned

    What is the Jesus connection anyway?

    Maybe he is a Christian.

  • 0

    choiwaruoyaji

    Thank you, Jesus!!

  • 1

    warnerbro

    Japan has only 11 of 54 reactors generating power now. Anybody inconvenienced by this? Did your train not run today? Did your light not go on? If there are no problems with only 11 on line, then we need no more than that. Jesus knows very well that we can do without the great majority of reactors and not suffer in the slightest.

  • -1

    WilliB

    warnerbro:

    " Japan has only 11 of 54 reactors generating power now "

    So what is the baseline? Of course, all of the reactors are never operating at the same time. Some are always down for maintenance, inspection, or re-fuelling.

  • 1

    zichi

    Currently, there are only 10 nuclear reactors in operation. Repairs to the Tokai Daini nuclear plant damaged by 3/11 will take until Aug. 2012 to complete.

    Nuclear reactors are generating 8,684 MW, 17.7% of the total power generated.

    Full capacity with all 54 reactors would be 48,960 MW.

    Prior to 3/11, about 23 reactors were operating. No reactors have been restarted since 3/11. If none are restarted, Japan’s entire nuclear sector – which before March 11 disaster accounted for nearly a third of electricity generation – could be offline by mid-2012.

    There is no shortage of electricity-generating potential in this country. The 10 regional electric power monopolies have perpetrated the myth of the inevitability of nuclear power in order to manipulate this essential market to their own gain.

    http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E7L41DL20111012

    http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E7L314O20111003

  • 1

    Christina O'Neill

    That people are protesting and bringing their message across by any means that will bring attention and publicity to their cause is commendable. Not long ago some posters were concerned by the lack of protest in relation to the unsafe siting of nuclear reactors by the Japanese population in general. It seems at last they have found their voice and are no longer willing to passively accept the oppinions of the powers that be, but instead to question both their power and motive. Like I have iterated before, Power to the people

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