Tens of thousands protest against nuclear power in Tokyo

[G_j]

Source: Digital Journal

Tens of thousands protest against nuclear power in Tokyo

By Brett Wilkins
Jun 3, 2013 - 5 hours ago

Tokyo - Tens of thousands of Japanese rallied in their nation's capital on Sunday to protest government plans to resume nuclear power generation.

UPI reports that as many as 60,000 people turned out for a demonstration near the Diet (parliament) building in Tokyo on Sunday. Metropolitan Police estimated the size of the crowd at closer to 20,000-30,000.

AFP reports that the protesters are angered by right-wing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to restart the nation's nuclear reactors, which were shut down in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi meltdown.

Among the protesters gathered in Shiba Park were disaster victims and Nobel literature laureate Kenzaburo Oe. Following a rally in the park, they marched through the streets of the capital chanting anti-nuclear slogans and holding signs denouncing nuclear power and the politicians who support it.


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/351473#ixzz2VDRJS86Q

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[Rhiannon12866]

1. WOW!

Small wonder, but what a crowd!

[RobertEarl]

2. Why would they do that?

I read on DU that nukes were safe. Do the Japanese think nukes are dangerous?

[Heywood J]

3. I guess my question would be what they plan to do to bridge the gap?

It's a very mountainous, resource-poor country with a lot of people and industries that consume electricity. My understanding was that they were importing more oil and LNG to burn while the reactors are shut down. Even if one fancies that they could somehow go all-renewable, there's a lag time before that could happen and millions of tons of carbon are being burnt in the interim. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/24/energy-japan-mof-idUSL4N0AT00Y20130124

TOKYO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Japan's LNG imports soared 11.2 percent to a record high of 87.31 million tonnes in 2012, driven by an increased need for fuel to generate electricity after the nuclear sector was hit by the Fukushima crisis, government data showed on Thursday.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-28/japan-s-oil-imports-from-iran-rise-to-highest-since-march-2012.html
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/04/japan-eyeing-billions-in-lng-investments-in-western-canada/