Frustrated by candidates who have seemingly swept the nuclear power issue under the rug, protesters rallied in Tokyo to call for an end to Japan’s dependence on nuclear energy as campaigning for the Upper House election drew to a close.
Frustrated by candidates who have seemingly swept the nuclear power issue under the rug, protesters rallied in Tokyo to call for an end to Japan’s dependence on nuclear energy as campaigning for the Upper House election drew to a close.
The activists gathered near the prime minister’s office in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district on July 19. The election will be held on July 21.
“All we hear is a need to end a divided Diet,” said a 62-year-old homemaker from Tokyo’s Suginami Ward. “Nuclear power generation is hidden from campaign issues.
“If we talk about nuclear plants, people will think about them. I hope that more discussions will be held during the Upper House election campaign.”
A 68-year-old man was disheartened that anti-nuclear parties have failed to unify their candidates.
“I suspect that people who support a move away from nuclear energy cannot tell which (party) they should vote for,” he said.
When a candidate told the crowd, “We cannot condone ignoring public opinion and restarting nuclear reactors,” many protesters cheered their approval.
“I never want the suffering of Fukushima to happen again,” said a 68-year-old woman who is an evacuee from Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture.
The woman said she and her husband have been living in Tokyo’s Minato Ward for the past two years and have no idea whether they will be able to return home.
At a meeting before official campaigning started, she asked some Diet members to explain the standards by which restarting reactors can be judged safe. But no one replied.
She also said that few candidates seem willing to discuss the nuclear issue in TV debates.
“The issue will be forgotten if we do not have Diet members who will give serious thoughts to Fukushima,” she said.