Stop Nuclear Reactor Restart International Action June 13-15

The Ohi Genpatsu (nuclear reactor) and the reaches of radiation to Osaka and beyond should accident strike (Map courtesy of Olive News)

A coalition of six groups Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center (CNIC), FoE Japan, Green Action, No Nukes Asia Forum, Peace Boat, and Shut Tomari have united to organize international protest against nuclear restart in Japan. Despite intense public opposition (see Women "die-in" at the Ohi reactor June 7th), and international celebration for the shut down of all reactors in Japan, officials have turned a blind eye, and are proceeding with plans to restart the mismanaged Ohi reactor in Fukui Prefecture, Western Japan.

The coalition is urging support to conduct the following acts of civil protest, preferably on Wednesday to Friday this week / June 13~15, 2012:

1. Please assemble in front of the Japanese embassies in your capital to voice your protest against the decision and policy of Prime Minister Noda.
2. Please try to submit a letter of protest -addressed to Prime Minister Noda- to the Japanese Ambassador in your country and request the Japanese Ambassador to forward this letter of protest to the Japanese Prime Minister
3. Please try to seek coverage of this action by your local and international media, especially Japanese media, as well as on the Internet
4. Please give us notice about your planned action, so we can organize a press event in Japan to reinforce your message to the Japanese government.

Some actions in Tokyo and Osaka include the following:

Tokyo
Time: Friday, June 15, 2012, 6 to 8 pm.
Location: In front of the prime minister’s official residence. (In front of Kokkai Kisha Kaikan, right outside #3 exit at Kokkaigijidomae station.)
Organizer: The Metropolitan area anti nuclear power plant alliance members.

Osaka
Time: Friday, June 15, 2012, 6 to 8 pm.
Location: In front of Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) headquarter. (6-16 Sancho-me, Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka Prefecture)

More information at Fukushima Voice.

Send YOUR event information to: info@greenaction-japan.org or share it with us here at Ten Thousand Things.

Here is a draft letter of protest created by the coalition with contact details for the Prime Minister posted below:

Letter of Protest

To: Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister of Japan

We protest your decision to restart two nuclear power reactors in the town of Ohi in Fukui Prefecture. We ask you to reconsider and instead impose a moratorium on nuclear power in Japan. We ask you to come up with a responsible energy policy for a Japan without nuclear power and based on energy conservation and renewable energies.

Here are our reasons:

1. Your decision is undemocratic. The Japanese public is not supporting you. Many members and parliamentarians of your own party are not standing with you.

2.The full truth about the meltdown of the three reactors in Fukushima has not been established, yet.

3.The prevailing, temporary safety standards that have been applied by the stress tests and that you referred to when you declared the Ohi reactors to be safe, are insufficient. At present, essential safety measures that are required by the stress tests have not yet been implemented in Ohi. It is not verified whether the reactors can be shut down safely if a serious earthquake were to occur.

4.Any new regime of safety standards must be formulated and overseen by a truly independent Nuclear Safety Agency. This agency has not yet been established, and parliamentary procedures have just been started.

5.The sharp increase in seismic activities in Japan since the earthquake and tsunami catastrophe of March 11 is alarming. The fact that there are active fault lines in the vicinity of the Ohi reactors, and perhaps even under the site is a major reason of concern.

You may reject this letter as an outside interference into the internal affairs of Japan. However, we know since Chernobyl and Fukushima that the fallout of nuclear accidents does not know national borders, but severely impacts the global environment and bears unknown risks to the health of all mankind. We believe it is our moral obligations to voice our concerns to you.

We also know that our concerns are shared by many people in your country and that a majority of your people does not agree with you. We have high respect for the people of Japan, for their sense of community and service in times of great harm. We believe in their creativity and strong will to overcome these difficult times, and to rebuild a Japan without nuclear power.

We, therefore, ask you to kindly reconsider the restart of the Ohi reactors and to declare a moratorium on nuclear power. We ask you to come up with a responsible energy policy for a Japan without nuclear power based on energy conservation and renewable energies.

Yours sincerely,

Date:
Signature:
Contact Details for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda
●Prime Minister’s Office TEL:+81-3-3581-0101 FAX：+81-3-3581-3883
Opinion box to Prime Minister (in Japanese) https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/forms/goiken_ssl.html
●Diet Office TEL：+81-3-3508-7141 FAX：+81-3-3508-3441

●Local Office TEL：+81-47-496-1110 FAX：+81-47-496-1222