Anti nuclear rallies in Japan on Tsunami Anniversary

Tokyo: Anti-nuclear rallies took place in Japan on Sunday on the eve of the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, urging Japan’s new government to abandon nuclear power.

“Sayonara, nuclear power,” another sign said. Similar rallies were held elsewhere in Tokyo and across the rest of the nation, with local media reporting as many as 150 anti-nuclear events planned for the weekend and tomorrow.

Protesters are calling for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office late December following his party’s election win, to dismantle all nuclear plants.

Public opposition to nuclear power peaked after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Pacific waters in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, and unleashed a massive killer tsunami which battered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The plant was hit by a meltdown and explosions that severely contaminated the vast farming region and became the worst nuclear accident in a generation.

In the hard-hit city of Rikuzentakata, where almost 1,600 people died and 217 people are still missing, mayor Futoshi Toba reiterated his pledge to rebuild the city.

“We will move forward to build a beautiful city that is the pride of the nation where its citizens live happily and comfortably,” he said.