Japanese women lead fight against nuclear power

Summary of story from The Guardian, December 22, 2011

The Fukushima nuclear power plant, crippled earlier this year, has prompted an unprecedented rise in women leading anti-nuclear protests.

Japan’s nuclear power industry has found its existence threatened by women angered over the failure of officials to immediately report to the public the meltdown of the Fukushima reactors following the tsunami in March, and which caused huge health risks to the local population.

More than 100 anti-nuclear demonstrators, most of them female, met with officials of the Nuclear Safety Commission this week and handed over a statement calling for a transparent investigation into the accident and a permanent shutdown of all nuclear power plants.

Currently six of Japan’s 56 nuclear plants are closed, some for stress tests after the Fukushima accident exposed serious breaches of safety precautions in the nuclear power industry.

More than 150,000 people remain unable to return to their homes because of high levels of radiation in the Fukushima vicinity.

And there is now evidence that contamination has spread to rice and vegetables grown in nearby farming areas, and has found its way into babyfood products on supermarket shelves.

Groups of women, braving a cold winter, have been setting up tents since last week, preparing for a new sit-in campaign in front of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The women have pledged to continue their demonstration for 10 months and 10 days, traditionally reckoned in Japan as a full term that covers a pregnancy.

Experts view the ongoing protests as a landmark in Japan’s fledgling social movements long consigned to the sidelines of a prosperous and hardworking society that puts a premium on achievement and success.