Embattled N. Korea sends top diplomats to Russia, China: reports

Yahoo – AFP, January 29, 2016

Embattled N. Korea sends top diplomats to Russia, China: reports

Facing a US-led push for tough United Nations sanctions over its latest nuclear test, North Korea appeared to be looking for Security Council allies Friday, sending top diplomats to Moscow and possibly Beijing.

China and Russia, both veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, have helped temper the international reaction to North Korean provocations in the past.

Although the patience of both has been tested to its limits by North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions, neither wants to see the chaotic collapse of a nuclear-armed state on its border.

The North's official KCNA news agency said a delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-Guk had departed for Russia on Friday.

No details were given of the itinerary, but the visit comes as Washington is seeking to build a regional and international consensus on the need for harsh sanctions after the North carried out its fourth nuclear test earlier this month.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing unidentified sources, said a top North Korean foreign ministry official had been spotted arriving at Beijing's international airport.

The official, Choi Son-Hui, was a former deputy head of delegation to the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

There was no information on Choi's itinerary and it was not immediately clear if she was planning to visit China or transit to a third country.

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Anti-nuclear rally in Tokyo draws tens of thousands

Googel – AFP, 9 March 2014

Women shout slogans in front of the National Diet in Tokyo on March 9, 2014

as they take part in a rally denouncing nuclear power plants (AFP, Toru Yamanaka)

Tokyo — Tens of thousands of citizens turned out for an anti-nuclear rally in Tokyo on Sunday, as the nation prepares to mark the third anniversary of the Fukushima disaster.

Demonstrators congregated at Hibiya Park, close to central government buildings, before marching around the national parliament.

They gathered to voice their anger at the nuclear industry and the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has called for resumption of nuclear reactors to power the world's third largest economy.

A woman holds a placard in front of the

 National Diet in Tokyo on March 9, 2014

 as she takes part in a rally denouncing

nuclear power plants (AFP, Toru

Yamanaka)

"I felt it's important that we continue to raise our voice whenever possible," said Yasuro Kawai, a 66-year-old businessman from Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo.

"Today, there is no electricity flowing in Japan that is made at nuclear plants. If we continue this zero nuclear status and if we make efforts to promote renewable energy and invest in energy saving technology, I think it's possible to live without nuclear," Kawai said.

This week, Japan will mark the anniversary of the deadly 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the northern region on March 11, 2011, that prompted killer tsunami that swept the northern Pacific coastline.

The natural disasters killed 15,884 people and left 2,636 people still unaccounted for.

Huge waves swamped cooling systems of the Fukushima plant, which went through reactor meltdowns and explosions that spewed radioactive materials to the vast farm region.

The plant remains volatile and engineers say it will take four decades to dismantle the crippled reactors.

Protesters in Tokyo stressed that Japan can live without nuclear power as it has done so for many months while all of the nation's 50 commercial nuclear reactors have remained offline due to tense public opposition to restarting them.

In a light-hearted approach to get their message heard, musicians performed using electricity generated by huge solar panels at the park, while dozens of merchants promoted products made in the tsunami-hit region.

People display mock drums of nuclear waste in Tokyo on March 9, 2014

during a march denouncing nuclear power plants (AFP, Toru Yamanaka)

The rally featured stars like composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who played music he created three years ago to mourn for the victims of the disasters.

Although no one died as a direct result of the atomic accident, at least 1,656 Fukushima residents died due to complications related to stress and other conditions while their lives in evacuation become extended.

"The Fukushima accident continues today," Sakamoto told the audience.

Tokyo resident Michiko Sasaki, 80, said Japan's national priority should be to think about how to end nuclear power and to rebuild the northern region hit buy the disaster.

"In this small nation of ours, there are so many nuclear plants. We are prone to earthquakes," she added.

"Unless we end it now, what will happen in the future? Politicians must think about children of the future," she said.

Anti-nuclear protests in Taiwan draw tens of thousands

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Anti-nuclear protests in Taiwan draw tens of thousands

Deutsche Welle, 8 March 2014

Tens of thousands have marched in anti-nuclear protests across Taiwan, calling on the government to phase out nuclear energy. The protest comes ahead of the third anniversary of the Fukishima disaster.

Anti-nuclear protesters in Taiwan held four rallies across the country on Saturday, urging the government both to stop construction of a new nuclear power plant and to abandon nuclear power altogether.

Organizers said some 50,000 people attended the protest march and rally in the capital, Taipei, while three other events held simultaneously in other parts of the country drew a combined total of some 30,000.

The Taipei protest was attended by members both of opposition parties and the ruling Kuomintang (KMT).

Concern about the risks posed by Taiwan's atomic power plants has been growing since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami unleashed a nuclear disaster at Japan's Fukushima plant on March 11, 2011.

Taiwan is also regularly hit by earthquakes, raising fears that its currently three nuclear facilities may be similarly vulnerable.

Protesters called on the government to cease construction work on a fourth plant that is being built in a coastal town near Taipei. The plant was originally scheduled to be completed by 2004, but the project has been delayed by political wrangling.

Several polls conducted last year showed that about 70 percent of Taiwanese oppose the building of the plant, which is situated near undersea volcanoes.

The existing plants furnish about 20 percent of the country's energy needs.

tj/kms (dpa, AFP)

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Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan says he spied for Israel

BBC News, 26 November 2013

Arnon Milchan, shown in a September 2008 file photo, said he had
 long had to beat back Hollywood rumours he was an arms dealer

A Hollywood producer behind hit films such as Pretty Woman and Fight Club has said he spied for Israel in support of its nuclear programme.

Arnon Milchan, who was born in what is now Israel, gave an account to Israeli investigative programme Uvda.

Mr Milchan said he performed dozens of clandestine missions on behalf of Israel after he was recruited by Shimon Peres, now Israel's president.

"I did it for my country and I'm proud of it," he said.

'Risked my life'

Mr Milchan, 68, said he was recruited to Israel's Bureau of Scientific Relations, a secretive organisation founded to supply the nation's nuclear programme, in the 1960s by Mr Peres.

Then the owner of a successful fertiliser company, Mr Milchan said he aided the bureau in obtaining scientific and technical information for confidential defence programmes.

At one point, Uvda alleges, Mr Milchan was operating 30 companies in 17 countries on behalf of Israel.

His activities continued after he became a high-profile Hollywood producer, rising to chairman of film company New Regency.

He produced such hits as Mr and Mrs Smith and LA Confidential, and worked with famed directors including Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski and Oliver Stone.

During the interview, which aired on Monday, Mr Milchan also said Academy Award-winning director Sydney Pollack helped in covert acquisitions of sensitive military equipment.

Pollack died in 2008.

Mr Milchan told Uvda that rumours of his own involvement with Israel had swirled around Hollywood for years and he wished he had addressed them head on.

"In Hollywood, they don't like working with an arms dealer, ideologically... with someone who lives off selling machine guns and killing," he said. "Instead of someone talking to me about a script, I had to spend half an hour explaining that I'm not an arms dealer.

"I'm not an arms dealer, I don't sell guns, I don't sell rockets," he added. "If people knew how many times I risked my life, back and forth, again and again, for my country."

Nuclear lobbyists wined and dined senior civil servants, documents show

Office for Nuclear Development officials received hospitality from industry representatives at luxurious restaurants and clubs

guardian.co.uk, Leo Hickman, Wednesday 28 November 2012

The Lancaster hotel in London, where Mark Higson, the chief executive of the OND,
 was entertained by a nuclear plant construction company, weeks after the office's
creation. Photograph: Rex Features

Senior civil servants responsible for ensuring the building of the UK's new fleet of nuclear power stations have been extensively wined and dined by nuclear industry lobbyists, documents released under freedom of information reveal.

A hospitality register (.zip) released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) show that the three most senior officials at the Office for Nuclear Development (OND) have received hospitality from nuclear industry representatives on dozens of occasions since the office's formation in September 2009. Many of the meetings have taken place at some of London's most luxurious restaurants, hotels and private members' clubs.

Mark Higson, the OND's chief executive, received his first hospitality in the role just a few weeks after the office's creation with a dinner at the Lancaster hotel in Kensington hosted by Westinghouse, the US nuclear plant construction company, and the Nuclear Industry Association. In the intervening period up to last month, Higson and his colleagues Hergen Haye and Stephen de Souza separately accepted hospitality from a range of companies with a vested interest in the nuclear industry, including Babcock, EDF, Areva, and GE Hitachi, as well as a range of industry consultants and trade associations.

In the year between June 2010 and June 2011, Higson received hospitality on four separate occasions from KPMG, the global financial consultants. The hospitality included two dinners at the five-star Berkeley hotel, which hosts Marcus Wareing's two-Michelin star restaurant where the tasting menu costs £98 a person.

The period covered a time when KPMG was working for companies with a potential key stake interest in the UK's nuclear industry, as well as advising investors in the nuclear industry. In July 2010, KPMG published a report commissioned by RWE npower which said that unless the government raised the carbon "floor price", large utility companies would not deem it economic to invest in the UK's new nuclear sector.

Other venues for hospitality enjoyed by the OND's senior officials include the Reform Club, the Cavalry and Guards Club, the Royal Horseguards hotel, the RAC Club, Roux at Parliament Square, the Naval & Military Club, 1 Lombard Street and the Cinnamon Club.

In 2008, Higson was among the civil servants criticised by Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, for "entirely inappropriate behaviour" after the Independent of Sunday reported that civil servants working in the nuclear consultations and liabilities unit at the now disbanded Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform had enjoyed hospitality paid for by nuclear industry representatives at venues such as the Ritz, Royal Ascot and the Café Royale. At the time, Higson headed the unit.

According to its website, the OND provides "advice to ministers on regulatory decisions" and "focuses on removing potential barriers to investment, and signals clearly to the industry the serious intent of the government to push forward nuclear new build". It adds that it is "facilitating new nuclear investment in the UK, by enabling new nuclear to make the fullest contribution it is capable of, with no public subsidy, and with unnecessary obstacles removed".

A Decc spokesman told the Guardian: "The government has made it clear that nuclear should be part of the UK's energy mix. Decc officials work closely with industry to bring on new investment in nuclear as well as renewables and oil and gas. All hospitality is accepted in line with Cabinet Office policy."

Asked why so many of the meetings take place at such luxurious venues, the Decc spokesman said: "Industry meetings are hosted at our offices as well as at external events. The choice of location for external events is a matter for the hosting organisations." He added that such meetings are considered to be "informal" and that, as a result, minutes of conversations are not kept by the department. Ministers are not routinely informed of the meetings, he said, as all hospitality is recorded in accordance with Cabinet Office policy.

Craig Bennett, the director of policy and campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: "It is the worst kept secret in Whitehall that the energy bill due out on Thursday is almost entirely being done to rig the market in favour of nuclear power. The so-called contracts for difference are all about providing not-so-hidden subsidies for nuclear. What the taxpayer should be asking is whether this succession of lavish hospitality has resulted in lavish subsidies for nuclear."

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version) 

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”

Slow, leaky, rusty: Britain's £10bn submarine beset by design flaws

Exclusive: Royal Navy's HMS Astute 'has a V8 engine with a Morris Minor gearbox'

Hunter-killer submarines were doomed from the start

The Guardian, Nick Hopkins, Thursday 15 November 2012

HMS Astute, the Royal Navy's nuclear hunter-killer submarine on the Firth
 of Clyde in Scotland. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images

The Royal Navy's new multibillion pound hunter-killer submarine, HMS Astute, has been beset by design and construction flaws that have raised doubts about its performance and potential safety.

The Guardian can reveal that Astute, the first of seven new submarines costing £9.75bn, has been unable to reach its intended top speed.

At the moment, the boat, heralded as the most sophisticated submarine ever built for the navy, cannot sprint to emergencies or away from an attack – an essential requirement for a hunter-killer boat.

It would also be incapable of keeping pace with the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers, which will be able to travel at more than 30 knots and need the submarines to protect them. One source told the Guardian the boat had a "V8 engine with a Morris Minor gearbox".

Other problems that have affected the boat in recent months include:

• Flooding during a routine dive that led to Astute performing an emergency surfacing.

• Corrosion even though the boat is essentially new.

• The replacement or moving of computer circuit boards because they did not meet safety standards.

• Concern over the instruments monitoring the nuclear reactor because the wrong type of lead was used.

• Questions being raised about the quality and installation of other pieces of equipment.

• Concern reported among some crew members about the Astute's pioneering periscope, that does not allow officers to look at the surface "live".

The MoD confirmed Astute had suffered some "teething problems" during sea trials. "It is normal for first of class trials to identify areas where modifications are required and these are then incorporated into later vessels of the class," a spokesman said.

Though the MoD said it cannot discuss the speed of submarines, the spokesman said Astute would "provide an outstanding capability for decades to come".

However, if the propulsion problems persist, they would represent one of the biggest procurement disasters the MoD has ever had to deal with, and potentially leave the Astute fleet struggling to perform all the duties it was built for.

John Large, an independent nuclear safety analyst and specialist engineer, said: "These problems are much more significant than the niggles and glitches expected to arise during working up of a new class of nuclear-powered submarine. Particularly disturbing is the apparent mismatch between the nuclear reactor plant and the steam turbine sets, putting the submarine speed below par and making her susceptible in the anti-submarine warfare theatre."

The shadow defence secretary, Jim Murphy, said ministers "must be clear over the impact of any problems with this essential programme on timing and cost".

Even though the boat has yet to start formal service, Astute – four years overdue and £2bn over budget – has been surrounded by controversy since it was first commissioned 15 years ago. In 2010, it was marooned off Skye, a calamity that led to its commander being removed from post. Last year a senior officer was shot dead by a junior member of the crew.

The Guardian has learned that during exercises off the east coast of the United States, a cap on one of the pipes that takes seawater from the back of the submarine to the reactor sprang a leak. A compartment began flooding with seawater, forcing the commander to surface immediately. Though nobody was hurt, an investigation revealed a cap was made from the wrong metal, even though construction records said the right metal had been installed.

The cap was supposed to have been "level one quality assurance". This means that BAE, which is responsible for building the boat, is supposed to give it the highest scrutiny.

"The fact the cap failed is bad enough, but the most worrying thing is that there is no way of knowing whether the submarine has other pieces of equipment like this on board," said a source. "The quality assurance tests are there to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen, but it did. So what else has been installed that we don't know about? It is impossible to know. They fitted the wrong cap but it was still signed off."

The MoD confirmed that the incident had taken place. "During trials last year HMS Astute experienced a leak which was immediately isolated and the submarine returned safely to the surface," a spokesman said. "An investigation found one small part which had not been made of the correct material had corroded. A replacement was fitted at sea and the submarine continued with her programme. BAE Systems have carried out a full assessment which concluded all similar parts were fitted correctly."

Neither the MoD nor BAE was prepared to discuss how a cap made from the wrong metal had been fitted. BAE also declined to explain how it could be sure other parts were installed correctly when the quality assurance inventory system was proved to be flawed.

Some of the instruments which tell commanders about the state of the nuclear reactor were also feared compromised, the Guardian can reveal. The detectors which measure the power coming from the reactor are in a lead-lined water jacket that surrounds the reactor core.

The lead has to be "virgin" metal, mined from great depth, so that it does not carry any electrical charge of its own that could generate a false reading.

However, the lead used in Astute was not of the right quality, which means instruments gave incorrect readings. Using impure lead can also have a knock-on effect during maintenance – the charged metal can create increased and persistent radioactivity within the reactor compartment.

A source said this oversight was "unforgivable". Initially the MoD denied there was a problem with the reactor instruments. However, it then conceded the wrong lead had been used – but insisted tests showed the accuracy of the readings had not been affected. In addition, some of the small computer switchboards on Astute should have been placed six inches apart, but they were only one inch apart.

They did not conform to either naval or Lloyds civilian safety standards and are now having to be moved or replaced. The MoD says this work has been completed.

Of all the difficulties, it is the problems with propulsion which are the most sensitive. The MoD stated Astute would be able to make 29 knots, but the Guardian has been told it cannot do this.

Rather than building a new power plant for Astute, the MoD chose to use the Pressurised Water Reactor 2 (PWR2) from the much bigger Vanguard-class Trident submarines. It was linked to a steam turbine system based on the model used in the aged Trafalgar Class attack submarines.

"This was always likely to be a big problem, and so it has proved," said a source. "The PWR2 was meant for a much bigger boat, and Astute had to be designed around it. That may have cut costs, but it has caused problems. The power from the reactor does not translate into forward movement."

Large added: "So much promise was held out for the Astute class of nuclear powered submarine but these faults occurring during its commissioning into active/service, particularly in the propulsion system and its under-performance, suggest that the whole has been cobbled together from some ill-fitting parts – the real concern here is that these or similar mismatches will compromise nuclear safety at risk to crews and the public generally."

BAE Systems, which is responsible for building the Astute fleet, said: "Safety is of paramount importance to every stage of the design, build, test and trials of a submarine and is at the heart of everything we do. Before entering full service, every submarine is required to complete an exhaustive period of sea trials, which are designed to prove the vessel's capabilities. These trials also present an opportunity to improve performance by resolving any issues that may come to light during this time, which is not uncommon on a first-of-class submarine."

Read more: why Astute was trouble from the start

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Among the loans underwritten by the Export Credits Guarantee
Department  was one for £35m to Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe for
the purchase of five of BAE Systems' Hawk fighter jets. 
Photograph: PA

Britain owed millions for weapons used by autocratic regimes

Former Indonesian president General Suharto. Britain lent 
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was stifling demonstrations. Photograph: AP

Nuclear industry funded Japan's safety experts, report claims

Yahoo - AFP News, 4 November 2012

This file aerial view, taken in 2010, shows Hokkaido Electric Power's Tomari 

nuclear power plant. Four out of the six members of a government team drafting

 new safety standards for nuclear reactors have received thousands of dollars in 

grants from the nuclear industry, a report said late on Saturday

Four out of the six members of a government team drafting new safety standards for nuclear reactors have received thousands of dollars in grants from the nuclear industry, according to a report.

The four experts have received between 3 million yen ($37,000) and 27 million yen each in grants, donations and compensation in the past three to four years, Kyodo News reported late on Saturday, citing data disclosed by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA).

The NRA said the members "have been selected in line with rules, and there should be no problem", shrugging off concerns that judgments could be swayed, the report said.

The NRA requires experts to disclose remuneration and donations, but has no rules for disqualifying them in light of such information, it said.

Of the four recipients, Akira Yamaguchi, an Osaka University professor, received a total of at least 27.14 million yen in donations and research grants from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., a manufacturer of nuclear plant equipment, and other relevant entities, it said.

Akio Yamamoto, a professor at Nagoya University, received a total of 10.1 million yen from Japan Atomic Power Co., a builder and operator of nuclear power plants, among others, it said.

Tsukuba University professor Yutaka Abe received a total of 5 million yen from parties including a laboratory of Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), while Japan Atomic Energy Agency researcher Tomoyuki Sugiyama received a total of 3 million yen from Nuclear Fuel Industries, it said.

Meanwhile, TEPCO, the operator of crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, plans to set up a regional headquarters in Fukushima prefecture to better oversee local reconstruction, decontamination and compensation payments, Kyodo and other media said.

Related Articles:

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version) 

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”

Anti-Nuclear Protests Signal New Activism in Japan

Jakarta Globe, August 26, 2012

In this June 29 file photo, protesters stage an anti-nuclear protest rally near
 Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's office in Tokyo when at least 10,000 protesters
 demanded Noda's government to stop the resumption of two reactors in western
Japan. Japan’s nuclear crisis (and the government’s handling of it) has spawned
 a new breed of protesters. Drawn from the ranks of ordinary citizens rather than
 activists, they are a manifestation of a broader discontent with government and could
 create pressure for change in a political system that has long resisted it. (AP Photo/
 Koji Sasahara, File)

            

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Tokyo. This is Japan’s summer of discontent. Tens of thousands of protesters — the largest demonstrations the country has seen in decades — descend on Tokyo every Friday evening to shout anti-nuclear slogans at the prime minister’s office. Many have never protested publicly before.

“I used to complain about this to my family but I realized that doesn’t do any good,” said Takeshi Tamura, a 67-year-old retired office worker. “So I came here to say this to his office. I don’t know if we can make a difference but I had to do something, and at least it’s a start.”

The government’s much-criticized handling of the Fukushima nuclear crisis has spawned a new breed of protesters in Japan. Drawn from the ranks of ordinary citizens rather than activists, they are a manifestation of a broader dissatisfaction with government and could create pressure for change in a political system that has long resisted it.

What started as relatively small protests in April has swollen rapidly since the government decided to restart two of Japan’s nuclear reactors in June, despite lingering safety fears after the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

As many as 20,000 people have gathered at the Friday rallies by unofficial police estimates, and organizers say the turnout has topped 100,000. Officials at the prime minister’s office say their crowd estimate is “several tens of thousands.” Either way, the two-hour demonstrations are the largest and most persistent since the 1960s, when violent student-led protests against a security alliance with the United States rocked Japan.

The protesters include office workers, families with children, young couples and retirees.

“No to restart!” they chant in unison without a break.  “No nukes!”

Despite the simple message, the anger runs much deeper, analysts say.

“It’s not only about nuclear,” says writer and social critic Karin Amamiya. “It mirrors core problems in Japanese society, and the way politics has ignored public opinion.”

Distrust of politics runs deep in Japan, and many think politicians are corrupt and only care about big business. Some voters were angered when the government rammed through a sales tax hike in July that had divided public opinion and the ruling party. The government has also done little to reduce the US military presence on the southern island of Okinawa despite decades of protests there, under the security alliance that had initially triggered violent student protests.

In a country not known for mass protests, the nuclear crisis has galvanized people to an unusual extent. Unlike other issues, it cuts across ideological lines. For Japanese from all walks of life, it has shattered a sense of safety they felt about their food, the environment and the health of their children.

That helps explain why the long-standing frustration with government exploded in protests after the restart of two reactors in Ohi in western Japan. They were the first of Japan’s 50 reactors to resume operation under a new regime of post-tsunami safety checks.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was criticized for making the restart decision behind closed doors and calling the weekly chanting and drum-beating outside his office “a loud noise.” An apparently chastised Noda met with rally leaders, who have proposed talks, allowing them inside his office compound for the first time Wednesday. Noda also met with leaders of Japan’s influential business lobbies afterwards.

“It’s not a loud noise that we are making. It’s desperate voices of the people,” said Misao Redwolf, an illustrator who heads the weekly protests, as she demanded Noda immediately stop the two recently resumed reactors and eventually abandon nuclear energy. “We’ll continue our protests as long as you keep ignoring our voices.”

Noda promised to listen to the people’s voices carefully before deciding Japan’s long-term energy policy, but refused to stop the two reactors.

Protest leaders said they don’t expect anything to happen just because they met Noda, but at least hold on to their hope for a change.

“All these years, lawmakers have only cared about vested interests, and that was good enough to run this country,” Kiyomi Tsujimoto, an activist-turned lawmaker, said at a recent meeting with protest organizers. “The government is still seen doing the same politics, and that’s what people are angry about. I think (the demonstrations) are testing our ability to respond to the changes.”

Masanori Oda, cultural anthropologist at Chuo University who heads a drum section of the protest, said many Japanese also contributed to prolong such a system “very convenient” to politicians by not getting angry or standing up against unfavorable policies.

“Now more Japanese are learning to raise their voice. Japanese politicians should develop a deeper sense of crisis about the situation,” Oda said.

Separately, an even larger rally, joined by rock star Ryuichi Sakamoto and Nobel laureate author Kenzaburo Oe, drew 75,000 by police estimates on July 16, a public holiday. Organizers put the crowd at Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park at nearly 200,000. Thousands also ringed Japan’s parliament after sunset on July 29 and held lit candles.

Smaller rallies have sprung up in dozens of other cities, with participants gathering outside town halls, utility companies and parks.

“Obviously, people’s political behavior is changing,” says Jiro Yamaguchi, a political science professor at Hokkaido University. “Even though a lot of people join demonstrations, that won’t bring a political change overnight. The movement may hit a plateau, and people may feel helpless along the way. But there could be a change.”

Already, there are signs of change. Many lawmakers have converted to supporting a nuclear-free future amid speculation that a struggling Noda will call an election in the coming months and that nuclear policy will be a key campaign issue.

A new party, established by veteran lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa and about 50 followers who broke away from Noda’s ruling party after opposing the sales tax hike, has promised to abolish atomic energy within 10 years. Some lawmakers have launched study groups on phasing out nuclear power. A group of prefectural, or state-level, legislators has formed an anti-nuclear green party.

The government was also forced to step up transparency about the method and results of town meetings to better reflect public views on energy policy to determine the level of Japan’s nuclear dependency by 2030. The options being considered are zero percent, 15 percent and 20-25 percent.  That already delayed the energy report for several weeks, and officials set up a new panel Wednesday to discuss how to factor in public opinion in policies.

“If we carry on, we could get more people to join in the cause around the country,” said Mariko Saito, a 63-year-old homemaker from nearby Kamakura city, who joined the protest outside the prime minister’s office on a recent Friday. “I’ll definitely vote for an anti-nuclear candidate. Their nuclear stance would be the first thing I’ll look at.”

The rallies are peaceful compared to the 1960s, when activists wearing helmets and carrying clubs threw stones and burst into the parliament complex. One died and dozens were injured.

Today’s protesters hold flowers or handmade posters and even chat with police officers.

“It’s almost like a festival,” journalist and TV talk show host Soichiro Tahara wrote in his blog. “The people have finally found a common theme to come together.”

Associated Press

Sayonara atomic energy: Biggest anti-nuclear rally hits Tokyo

RT.com, 16 July, 2012

Protesters march during an anti-nuclear demonstration demanding a stop to
 the operation of nuclear power operations in Tokyo July 16, 2012 (Reuters /
Kim Kyung Hoon)

Tens of thousands of people overran a park in Tokyo urging Japan to abandon nuclear power as the country prepares to restart another reactor, which was shut down among 50 others following last year’s meltdown at Fukushima.

Temperatures sweltering, the Yoyogi Park failed to accommodate all the rally participants from all over Japan, who were waving banners “Goodbye Nuclear Plants” and “The Nuclear Era is Over” while chanting “No Nuclear.”

“If we don’t do anything and stay silent, it means we agree in restarting the nuclear plants,” said the protesters, led by Nobel-winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe.

Organizers put the number of attendees at 170,000-200,000; this makes the demonstration the largest in 50 years. Over 7.4 million signatures have been collected for a petition demanding a phase-out for nuclear power.

All of Japan’s 50 working nuclear reactors had been offline since the tsunami-generated disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in spring 2011. A meltdown at the facility caused evacuation of over 150,000 people from a 20-km zone around the epicenter over contamination fears; the area is considered unsafe for living for years to come.

In the wake of the disaster, the world's second-worst nuclear accident after Chernobyl, many in the nation would opt for a nuclear-free future.

But in June, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda decided to restart one of the reactors at the Ohi plant in central Japan. Another Ohi reactor is set to go online later this week. The government cites lack of energy concerns and biting oil costs, which come too expensive on the budget pierced by the 2011-tsunami.

While regular anti-nuclear protests have almost turned into a part of Japan’s daily life, opponents to the activists point out at the lack of long-term aims behind the demonstrators when it comes to replacing nuclear energy. This cannot be done in a year or two, they say.

But protesters insist it is ridiculous to risk people’s lives for electricity. Moreover, Japan did pretty well without nuclear energy this year, they add.

Outrage was also vented over a parliamentary investigation that called the Fukushima disaster “man-made”, maintaining it was the result of “collusion between the government, the regulators and TEPCO, and the lack of governance by said parties.” The report still attributed it to Japan's culture of “reflexive obedience” and failed to hold any individuals responsible.

Protesters demanded the right people be punished for their mistakes:

“Things can never change if we blame culture. We need to get to the bottom of this.”

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