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Von: "Steve Zeltzer" <>
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Yokohama antinuclear
conference draws thousands of activists, experts
Datum: Sonntag, 15. Jänner 2012 02:58
Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012
Yokohama antinuclear conference draws thousands of
activists, experts
By KAZUAKI NAGATA
Staff writer
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120115a3.html
YOKOHAMA — A two-day antinuclear conference kicked off
Saturday in
Yokohama with the aim of sharing lessons from the
Fukushima crisis and
fostering global momentum against atomic power.
Atomic anger: Activists stage an antinuclear
demonstration in Yokohama
on Saturday, in support of the two-day Global Conference
for a Nuclear
Power-Free World. The conference, which drew activists
from around the
world, kicked off in the city the same day. YOSHIAKI
MIURA
"Nuclear power plants are all over the world. In order to
deal with
this issue, we must create a global network," said
Tatsuya Yoshioka,
director of the nongovernmental organization Peace Boat,
during the
opening ceremony for the Global Conference for a Nuclear
Power-Free
World.
The conference drew thousands of participants to the
Pacifico Yokohama
convention center, including about 100 experts and
activists from 30
countries and nearly 200 domestic groups.
Holding an event of this scale in Japan just 10 months
after the
Fukushima No. 1 plant meltdowns represents a significant
meaning for
the antinuclear movement, said Yoshioka, chairman of the
event.
Germany's Rebecca Harms, a member of the European
Parliament, said the
Fukushima crisis had a strong impact on Europe, pointing
to Germany's
decision to close eight old reactors almost immediately
after the
crisis was triggered by the March 11 disasters.
She said Japan is now managing its electricity supply
with much less
dependence on nuclear power since only five of its 54
reactors are in
operation.
She also said public opinion in Japan had changed and
most oppose
using atomic power in the future, bringing Japan's
opinion in line
with Germany's.
Japan does not need to go back to nuclear power, she
said.
"Please, people of Japan, learn from the German
experience."
NISA to OK Oi's reports
Kyodo
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is set to
approve reports
submitted by Kansai Electric on stress tests carried out
on two idled
reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture,
government sources
said Saturday.
This will be the first time NISA will issue an assessment
on reactor
stress tests reports. The government introduced the
stress tests in
light of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and made them a
precondition
for restarting idled reactors.
But even if NISA endorses the reports, it remains
uncertain if the
plant's idled reactors will be restarted immediately as
other hurdles
remain, including checks by the International Atomic
Energy Agency,
the sources said.
Kansai Electric Power Co. submitted stress tests reports
for the Oi
plant's No. 3 and 4 reactors last year. The reports said
nuclear fuel
in the reactors' cores would remain undamaged even in the
event of an
earthquake 1.8 times stronger than the maximum
anticipated temblor in
the area.
The reports also estimated that the cores could withstand
an 11.4-
meter tsunami — four times higher than the largest waves
projected.