Poll: Japanese oppose restarting closed reactors

[AsahinaKimi]

TOKYO – A poll suggests most Japanese oppose restarting nuclear reactors closed since the tsunami disaster.

Before the March 11 tsunami, about 30 percent of Japan's electricity was provided by 54 reactors across the country. But since the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, 35 remain closed after maintenance and safety inspections.

A poll released Monday by The Nikkei, a conservative business daily, found nearly 70 percent opposed restarting reactors now offline. Forty-seven percent said the number of reactors should be decreased and 21 percent said they should all be closed.

The poll of 893 eligible voters was conducted by telephone over the weekend by the Nikkei and TV Tokyo Corp. A poll of that size would normally have a 3 percent margin of error.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110627/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_nuclear_poll

Japanese parents fume over Fukushima radiation impact

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Angry parents of children in Japan's Fukushima city marched along with hundreds of people on Sunday to demand protection for their children from radiation more than three months after a massive quake and tsunami triggered the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

"We want our lives back, we want to live like before the quake in happy families," said Hiroko Sato who marched in heavy rain with her nephews, age 3 and 7, next to banners saying "No Nukes" and "One Fukushima is Enough." "My baby was born two weeks before the nuclear accident and I don't feed her with my milk as I'm afraid I was exposed to too much radiation," said Sato.

Three reactors went into meltdown after the earthquake hit the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in northeastern Japan on March 11, forcing 80,000 residents to evacuate from its vicinity as engineers battled radiation leaks, hydrogen explosions and overheating fuel rods.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110626/wl_nm/us_japan_fukushima_rally

LDP in Fukushima goes antinuke

FUKUSHIMA — The Fukushima prefectural chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party declared Sunday it will no longer promote nuclear power.
The LDP, which held power for most of the postwar period until it was defeated by the Democratic Party of Japan in the August 2009 general election, has been a long-time promoter of nuclear power.

"We will definitely not promote nuclear power generation in the future," said the chapter's policy platform for fiscal 2011 . The platform was adopted at its regular convention amid the crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
more..
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110628a5.html

[MadHound]

1. It would be stupid, dangerous and extremely irresponsible to restart those reactors

Sorry, but the design, construction and safety of those reactors have been irrevocably compromised. To restart them would be to take a huge risk. Decommission them and shut them down permanently.