News
Antinuclear activists refuse to move tents from gov't land
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Antinuclear activists rejected a call by the industry ministry to remove their tents from its precincts by 5 p.m. Friday, and continued a four-month-old occupation of ministry grounds to press their demand for the closure of all nuclear power plants in Japan.
The activists said they will not move the tents until the government promises not to allow idled nuclear reactors to resume operating. The ministry said it will not try to evict the activists by force but continue to ask them to remove the tents voluntarily.
On Friday, hundreds of people attended a gathering of antinuclear activists in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, chanting "stop nuclear power plants" and "give us back Fukushima."
Setsuko Kuroda, 61, who attended the gathering from Fukushima Prefecture, said, "Please do not take down our activity's important symbol. What should be taken down are not these tents but the nuclear plants."
The tents were set up last September on the grounds of the trade and industry ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district, where many government offices are concentrated.
The ministry on Tuesday urged the protesters in writing to remove the tents, citing safety as a reason following a small fire late last year caused by a gasoline-powered generator used by the activists.
Since the radiation-leaking disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant following last March's massive earthquake and tsunami, scenes of civilians holding antinuclear demonstrations in front of the ministry have become commonplace.
The ministry oversees the electricity industry, including the crippled plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., and has the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency under its wing.
(Mainichi Japan) January 28, 2012
