The All Japan 3.11 Action Committee released the statement that is abridged below below on March 11.
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March 11 marks the one year anniversary of the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor accident. Many people were forced to evacuate and still continue to live under hardship without enough compensation.
Despite the fact that an rising number of people in Japan (up to 70%) want to end nuclear power, the Japanese government is obsessively promoting it.
This is shown by an unrealistic declaration made by Prime Minister Noda that the nuclear reactors had reached a state of cold shutdown and that this element of the power station accident had thus been brought to a conclusion; an inhumane policy that exposes children in Fukushima to high levels of radiations before it reaches a level for evacuation; the hiding of proceedings of initial government emergency meetings on handling the nuclear power accident; the ratification of the export of nuclear reactors through a majority vote by parliament members; and a strong push to restart nuclear power without any provision of appropriate safety measures.
Such policies are possible because “The Nuclear Village” is still holding power over nuclear policy in Japan, even after March 11. What is at stake today is democracy in Japan.
The government is unable to make a decision to put an end to nuclear power, but the shock of the March 11 accident has definitely changed the the minds of the Japanese people about nuclear power.
At the moment, only two out of 54 nuclear power reactors are operating. If we manage to stop the restart of these reactors, all the nuclear reactors will be stopped in Japan by the beginning of May.
We cannot afford to miss this opportunity, which is made possible by the immense damage suffered by people in Fukushima due to the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
If we manage to realise zero nuclear power in Japan now, it will certainly speed up the process of putting an end to nuclear power, not only in Japan but also the world.
Those who have been promoting nuclear power, such as electricity companies, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), are stepping up their pressure to restart Oi Unit 3 and 4 in Fukui prefecture. They intend to restart Oi Unit 3 an 4 as early as April.
They are using a stress test, which is a mere computer simulation exercise, as a method to check the safety level of nuclear reactors. Such a process is supported by the experts, who have received donations from nuclear industries.
It is also supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is a nuclear power-promoting UN agency. Old standards on earthquake resistance and safety measures have been invalidated.
To us, in absence of a thorough investigation of the causes of Fukushima Daiichi accident, a restart of any nuclear reactor is simply out of the question.
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Bikini, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and now Fukushima. Human life cannot co-exist with nuclear power. The best way to prevent more nuclear disasters is to finally put an end to nuclear power and nuclear weapons.
The anniversary of the Fukushima accident is an opportunity for all of us ― the citizens of the world ― to demonstrate our will to put an end to nuclear power.
With our combined efforts, let’s force the Japanese government to not only take the political decision to not restart, but to immediately abolish nuclear power. Let’s move all of our governments to put an end to nuclear power.
We appeal to all citizens in the world to say with one voice: “Let’s support Fukushima!” and “Goodbye to nukes!".