For a nuclear-free Japan

Oh, excellent. Thanks for the shot, JT.

"Goodbye nulclear power! No restarting!"

I have combed the Japanese news sources for a picture of this rally and banners but as of Saturday late arvo apart from Twitter couldn't even find this news reported anywhere.

thank you, JT for the Where's Waldo san pic

carp banners... by a stretch, I guess I can get the connection; the people are swimming against the governmental / tepcohead current?

gees.. if we could get them to incorporate, say, whale-sized banners - we probably could kill two societal issues in one splash.

more like for shrinking economy japan! we need to turn on the reactors to reduce our energy imports.

With all my heart, I wish and pray that it stays that way and that nuclear reactors don't get started again. It was horribly unwise idea to even make these reactors in the Ring of Fire, but hey, the whole world has to pay the price now...

U-turn crowd with banners (!)

THESE are the kind of parades we need!

The greatest gift for children on Children's day! Thank you Japan for doing the right thing!

I'm not a nuclear power fan, but I'm not sure I understand the reason for the cheering. It seems a bit simplistic as well as premature.

Shutting down the reactors doesn't remove the aging reactors from the country, doesn't change the fact that spent fuel rods and radioactive waste are still sitting there on top of faults along the ring of fire. The risk to Japan from next big earthquake is not substantially lessened by turning the plants off.

It does create more unemployment, more depressed-economy towns where the reactors are located, and funnels down the manufacturing-line chain. It merely creates another set of problems for Japan.

In the short term, at the very least, wouldn't it be better to step up safety measures and reduce consumption while developing a long-range plan that creates the greatest benefit and minimizes the potential harm at all levels? Perhaps that's hard to do when government & leadership changes as often as a new litter of rabbits, but.

WHEN YOU ARE BANKRUPT soon since you have to import more and more oil... when your electricity bills goes through the roof... when you have blackouts during the summer.... You will see that Japan with no natural resources cannot live without nucleur power!

I am psyched on the movement. It's time for the first revolt of the people in Japanese history! If you aren't convinced nuclear power should be abolished, watch prof. Koide's lecture 'why a nuclear specialist opposes nuclear power'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBVQ3B-Jvrw

Heskun. thanks for the link but 90 mins is a long video.

I applaud Japan for the effort, many Nations need to learn form this. However as Philly has pointed out shutting them down is not the end. Once those reactors were fired up they began producing Radioactive Waste and not until all reactors are dismantled and all waste is off of Japanese soil will this truly be a victory. BigBoy also has a valid point...can you make do without it? If you know you are going to have blackouts then you should be able to plan for them. Case in point is that you do not want a blackout during the dead of Summer or Winter. Many of us can do without Air conditioning or Heating during the Spring and Fall. As for myself I have about a month and half in each of those seasons that I do not use AC or Heating. I guess the other question would be how much energy can your store and for how long. If you take the energy that would have been used from rolling blackouts can you store it for the times when energy consumption is up? I do not know.

About the middle of July, I bet all those protesters that live in apartments jammed in neat little squares that block the breezes from all directions will be having second thoughts about pulling the plug, not to mention those folks who work in high-rise office buildings with non opening windows.

If you take the energy that would have been used from rolling blackouts can you store it for the times when energy consumption is up

There is no technology or capacity to store energy in the present electrical grid. In general, it would take a large investment in infrastructure and a significant change in mindset.

I bet all those protesters that live in apartments jammed in neat little squares that block the breezes from all directions will be having second thoughts about pulling the plug

All the parents that scrutinise the labels of the food they buy for their children and wonder if they can be trusted, not to mention the people who have been forced out of their homes and will never be able to return, have for over a year now been having second thoughts about allowing the nuclear industry to have its way in the first place.

Fixing the windows to open will be easier than trying to make NPPs sitting on fault lines or tsunami-prone coastlines safe.

Introduce day light saving, you would save so much power !