Sayonara nuclear power
Picture of the Day ( 23 )
Protesters in costume perform during an anti-nuclear demonstration in Tokyo on Monday. Chanting “Sayonara nuclear power” and waving banners, tens of thousands of people marched to call on Japan’s government to abandon atomic energy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident.
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23 Comments
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2
some14some
Pls share this picture with Hosono Goshi who is assuring IAEA of Japan's "safer" future with nuclear power energy !
4
zichi
Great to see protesting. I think some news stated upto 80,000?
3
sillygirl
WOW
0
Serrano
I'll bet they were screaming.
-1
Konsta
Not to contradict or criticize or anything, but how Japan can manage without nuclear energy is not clear to me.
4
Alex80
Now most of the nuclear plants are off, and the country works anyway. So, Japan can live without nuclear energy.
-2
Piltdown Man
A protest of 60,000 strong and I have yet to see it featured by the Japanese-language press. Getting that many Japanese people together to protest anything should be a major news event. Has anybody seen this story delivered by a major Japanese media source?
I just watched the Japanese-language morning news, and looked at the top stories on the Japanese-language Yomiuri and Asahi newspaper websites. Plenty of stories listed in their top stories that don't even come close to the news-worthiness of this.
The story has been featured prominently in the foreign media: Reuters, NY Times, Washington Post, Le Monde, Guardian to name a few.
Why is the Japanese press so reluctant to publish stories that might suggest that all is not roses among the Japanese populace. Should be treated as a major news story in Japan. Smacks of censorship.
Moderator
Please note that this story was covered by the mainstream media, both TV and print.
-1
Graham DeShazo
Now most of the nuclear plants are off, and the country works anyway. So, Japan can live without nuclear energy.
In the short-term it works just fine, as long as you are not an industry in need of reliable electric power for you basic operations. I am not without sympathy for those opposed to nuclear power, and I would even support a long-term solution for weaning Japan off of it and on to a path to become the most green country on the planet. But this "shut-em down and damn the consequenses2 attitude is simply not a rational policy.
Japan needs power for its basic industries, and people need those industries for their jobs. No power, no industry, no jobs. I predict that would not fly very well w/ Mr./Ms. Yamada.
1
Piltdown Man
The Japanese-language Mainichi Shinbun newspaper did feature this among their top stories of the day. Mainichi does have more of a liberal bent than the other major media organizations.
1
beangry
Pitdown Man is right There are actually quite a few anti-nuke protests, though most are much smaller. This has been going on for years, and especially since the spring. When more than a few hundred people gather the major companies send a crew - this is standard practice. It's also standard not to feature the protests at all or if so in a tiny little article, even smaller than this. Good uck finding anything in Japanese. They even haven published pictures of protests just like this but then didn't translate the signs, leading non-Japanese readers to think something else was happening. Censorship? Yes, self-censorship.
As to Noda talking about "safe" nuclear power, that is a direct statement meaning; "I'm going to reverse Kan's wishy washy position, and I'm going to wholeheartedly going to support nuclear power". Anyone who knows anything about the PR of those companies know that "safe" energy has been a talking point for years, It means keep the current plants but make them "safer". It doesn't refer to ending nuclear power in the short or long term. Noda is saying he supports Nuclear power, but is afraid to say it more directly. IF you can read, then you know what his words mean.
@Graham,
I don't agree are reliable sources of energy - even right now, including natural gas as a supplement. The difference is that it is not cheap because there is a serious lack of investment in it (that will soon change). This is what worries companies. They want YOU to believe that renewable energy is reliable. You can believe whatever you want, but know that it's nuke industry propaganda, and utterly false.
-2
Kabukilover
So much for the myth of the passive Japanese. The blackout of this momentous event by so much of the mainstream media shows the Japanese need to learn English to find out what is going on in their own country.
Moderator
All mainstream Japanese media - both TV and print - covered this event.
1
zichi
It was featured on news TV.
1
beangry
My typo Graham,
I meant to say that I do not agree with you position that R Energy is not reliable. It is. But the slightly higher costs over the shorter term mean lower corporate profit, and that is one reason why those companies are complaining so much. Dn't believe half of what they say. These same people - the very same - swore up and down (look at the old vodeos on youtube or read the articles) that there's be no electricity, there'd be terrible blackouts and we'd be living back in the stone age, business would collapse, people couldn't live because they'd have no energy for their iphones. All nonsense. 11 nuke plants out of 54 are online. A saving of energy of almost 23% was reached, just about cancelling out the need for nukes. There is no evidence to suggest nuclear power is needed.
-2
Disillusioned
Ah, the laments of the uninformed masses! Nuclear power is safe 'IF' it is maintained and updated. The Fukushima disaster is only a result of the stinginess and dithering of both TEPCO and the J-Gov. These people should be venting their anger at TEPCO and their own government for letting the Fukushima disaster happen. This plant was nearly 40 years old and TEPCO had been warned to update it, but the ignored the warnings and the J-Gov let them get away with it.
-1
Elbuda Mexicano
Gen patsu dasu!! This was what the the protesters at this rally were chanting, GEN PATSU DASU!! Nuclear reactors get out! Get the Nuclear reactors out of Japan ok??
-1
Piltdown Man
@Moderator
The mainstream media may have covered the story, but are obviously considering it a minor news event. Case in point, today's Yomiuri newspaper website doesn't even list it in their top 8 stories (sogo top) of the day. Instead, the eight stories that get higher precedent pertain to: 1. landslide at town of Tanabe, 2. Mitsuibishi Heavy Industries hit by cyberattacks, 3. 80-year anniversary of the Mukden Incident in China, 4. PM Noda's remarks about the consumption tax, 5. cold shutdown of Fukushima plants, 6. Satellite falling to earth, 7. Remarks of Osaka's mayor regarding Osaka's governor, 8. arrest of a firefighter over alcohol-related accident.
They are obviously burying the story.
-5
noriyosan73
Get a job, then no time to do these protests. Socialism in Japan is growing. Public support for a standard of living that lets these people protest and not go to work is exactly what happened in the USA before Katrina. Join a monastery or another religious group in order to walk everywhere, but remember, there is no air conditioning, refrigerated food, or sanitation. Smells like..., looks ... (Finish it.)
-4
Mark Bradley
Goodbye Nuclear? Hello, coal! And half flooded / half desert wasteland from global warming?
3
cleo
noriyosan73 - Note the protest took place yesterday, which was a public holiday. Are you saying that people should work 24/7? If so, practice what you preach - stop wasting time on your computer and get back to work, you layabout.
0
Serrano
I'll bet this demonstration was a scream.
0
Christina O'Neill
No need for words, the pic says it all. Brilliant turnout.
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