KAGOSHIMA--More than 1,000 protesters assembled before the prefectural government building here June 13 to oppose moves to restart a local nuclear power plant.
KAGOSHIMA--More than 1,000 protesters assembled before the prefectural government building here June 13 to oppose moves to restart a local nuclear power plant.
If the Sendai nuclear plant in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, were to go back online, it would mark the nation’s first restart under new safety standards brought in after the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture.
The rally, which organizers deemed a “critical phase” in their anti-nuclear efforts, coincided with the start of the prefectural assembly session.
“Governor, why don’t you pick a fight with the central government like the Hakodate mayor has done to protect the life and health of residents?” Satoshi Kamata, a noted nonfiction writer who has written extensively about labor and environmental pollution issues, barked through a loudspeaker.
Kamata, 76, was referring to a lawsuit filed in April by the Hakodate municipal government in Hokkaido to demand a halt to the construction of a nuclear power plant across the Tsugaru Strait in Oma, Aomori Prefecture.
“After serious problems of pollution in the 1970s, Japanese learned that their lives are more important than the nation’s economy. Why are we regressing to the same situation in the question of nuclear power?” asked Kamata, who flew in from Tokyo, where he regularly participates in a weekly anti-nuclear protest held outside the prime minister’s office.
Among the other participants were evacuees from the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The rally was organized by about 90 groups, including a local co-op.
The protesters submitted to prefectural officials a petition signed by about 120,000 people from across Japan in protest to the restart of the plant, which is operated by Kyushu Electric Power Co.
Safety inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Sendai’s two reactors have progressed the most out of all the nation’s reactors that are currently undergoing safety checks for restarts.
The NRA’s new safety standards were based on the aim of preventing a recurrence of a severe accident such as the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The nuclear watchdog plans to wrap up its assessment of the safety of the plant in July or later.
At the prefectural assembly session, Governor Yuichiro Ito said, “The central government needs to guarantee the safety of the plant when it is restarted.”
Ito reiterated a plan to hold meetings in five localities that are located within a 30-kilometer radius of the plant after the NRA completes its safety inspections. He intends to have NRA officials explain the results of the safety examination to gain the understanding of local residents.
Last year, the NRA expanded the area that should be fully prepared for a possible nuclear accident to 30 km from 8-10 km. Local governments in the 30-km radius are expected to put emergency response measures in place.
The opposition bloc is poised to attack the prefectural government about flaws in evacuation plans by the municipalities in the area.
The governor and the prefectural assembly are not expected to debate whether they should give consent to the restart during the current session, which winds up July 4.
“The NRA is not saying that its screenings secure absolute safety of the plant, but politicians are trying to propagate the idea that as long as nuclear plants clear the NRA standards, they will be safe,” Kamata said. “We are going back to the ‘safety myth’ of the pre-nuclear disaster era.”