In Tokyo, Thousands Protest the Restarting of a Nuclear Power Plant

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NY Times June 29, 2012
In Tokyo, Thousands Protest the Restarting of a Nuclear Power Plant
By MARTIN FACKLER

TOKYO — Shouting antinuclear slogans and beating drums, tens of 
thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Japanese prime 
minister’s residence on Friday in the largest display yet of public 
anger at the government’s decision to restart a nuclear power plant.

The crowd, including women with small children and men in suits coming 
from work, chanted “No more Fukushimas!” as it filled the broad 
boulevards near the residence and the national Parliament building, 
which were cordoned off by the police.

Estimates of the crowd’s size varied widely, with organizers claiming 
150,000 participants, while the police put the number at 17,000. Local 
news media estimated the crowd at between 20,000 and 45,000, which they 
described as the largest protest in central Tokyo since the 1960s.

Protests of any size are rare in Japan, which has long been politically 
apathetic. However, there has been growing discontent among many 
Japanese who feel that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda ignored public 
concerns about safety this month when he ordered the restarting of the 
Ohi power station in western Japan.

Ohi was the first plant to go back online since last year’s accident in