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UPDATE/ Thousands March As
Japan Switches Off Nuclear Power
Fukushima Nuclear Crisis
Magnetic Field Detector
May 06, 2012
Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the
switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear
reactors on May 5, waving banners shaped as giant fish that
have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.
Japan was without
electricity from nuclear power for the first time in
four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the
northern island of Hokkaido went offline for mandatory
routine maintenance.
After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set
off meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, no
reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public
concerns about the safety of nuclear technology.
“Today marks the starting point for future
generations,” economic critic Katsuto Uchihashi told an
anti-nuclear energy rally, which was held in Tokyo. About
5,500 people attended, according to the organizer.
“The suspension of nuclear power generation
today represents preparations for restarting nuclear
reactors,” he said. “Without a transformation of our
society, the day will not come when Japan can truly wean
itself from nuclear power.”
Writer Keiko Ochiai said, “Let every one of us
promise to keep on doing without nuclear power forever. We
would like to make a fresh start from here.”
“Today is a historic day,'' Masashi Ishikawa
shouted to the crowd, some holding traditional “koinobori''
carp-shaped banners for Children's Day that have become a
symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.
“There are so many nuclear plants, but not a
single one will be up and running today, and that's because
of our efforts,'' Ishikawa said.
The activists said it is fitting that the day
Japan stopped nuclear power coincides with Children's Day
because of their concerns about protecting children from
radiation, which the Fukushima No. 1 plant is still spewing
into the air and water.
The government has been eager to restart nuclear
reactors, warning about blackouts and rising carbon
emissions as Japan is forced to turn to oil and gas for
energy.
Japan now requires reactors to pass new tests to withstand
quakes and tsunami and to gain local residents' approval
before restarting.
The response from people living near nuclear
plants has been mixed, with some wanting them back in
operation because of jobs, subsidies and other benefits to
the local economy.
The mayor of Tomari city, Hiroomi Makino, is
among those who support nuclear power.
“There may be various ways of thinking but it's
extremely regrettable,'' he said of the shutdown.
Major protests, like the one on May 5, have been
generally limited to urban areas like Tokyo, which had
received electricity from faraway nuclear plants, including
the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
Before the nuclear crisis, Japan relied on
nuclear power for a third of its electricity.
The crowd at the anti-nuclear rally shrugged off
government warnings about a power shortage. If anything,
they said, with the reactors going offline one by one, it
was clear the nation didn't really need nuclear power.
A citizens organization calling for blocking
restarts of two reactors at the Oi nuclear power plant in
Fukui Prefecture ended a 19-day hunger strike in front of
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Taro Fuchigami, who heads the organization,
said, “We will count the number of days when no electricity
generated by nuclear power is used until all nuclear
reactors are gone.”
Whether Japan will suffer a sharp power crunch
is still unclear.
Electricity shortages are expected only at peak
periods, such as the middle of the day in hot weather, and
critics of nuclear power say proponents are exaggerating the
consequences to win public approval to restart reactors.
Hokkaido Electric Power Co. spokesman Hisatoshi
Kibayashi said the shutdown was completed late on May 5.
The Hokkaido Tomari plant has three reactors,
but the other two had been halted earlier. Before March 11
last year, the nation had 54 nuclear reactors, but four of
the six reactors at Fukushima No. 1 plant are being
decommissioned because of the disaster.
Yoko Kataoka, a retired baker who was dancing to
the music at the rally waving a small paper carp, said she
was happy the reactor was being turned off.
“Let's leave an Earth where our children and
grandchildren can all play without worries,'' she said,
wearing a shirt that had, “No thank you, nukes,''
handwritten on the back.
The last time Japan was nuclear power-free was
for five days to May 4, 1970, when the two reactors then
existing were shut for maintenance, according to the
Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan.
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