Reuters: #Fukushima residents say resounding "no" to nuclear energy

The government has been holding this sham of public meetings in 20 locations in Japan to "hear" from citizens what the government should do with its long-term energy policy.

It's the one planned and organized and analyzed by one of the biggest PR and ad agencies in Japan, and the politicians attend the meeting as if they are just props. The government was accused of letting the employees of electric power companies (nuclear plant operators) speak at the meetings.

The most recent one was held in Fukushima City, and almost all the citizens who were allowed to speak said "zero nuke". To be expected, Yomiuri Shinbun ignores the news, Asahi Shinbun reports but with no mention that almost all of the citizens were against having any nuclear power plant. Nikkei Shinbun, Kyodo News, and a host of local papers quoting Kyodo News report it (if you read Japanese, here's a link to see for yourself). And Reuters reports it.

From Reuters (8/1/2012):

Fukushima residents say resounding "no" to nuclear energy

(Reuters) - Get out of nuclear power and do it fast, angry Fukushima residents told Japanese government officials on Wednesday at a public hearing on energy policy held in an area ravaged by a nuclear disaster that has whipped up opposition to atomic power.

The Fukushima hearing, the ninth out of 11 planned nationwide, sought to gather views on nuclear power's role in the nation's energy mix as the government struggles to cover a power shortfall by that could threaten economic growth.

Meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima nuclear plant after an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 last year caused radiation to spew over large areas of Fukushima, forcing more than 160,0000 people to flee. In the following months, all of Japan's nuclear plants were shut for safety checks. Two reactors resumed operations last month.

"I want all the reactors in Japan shut immediately and scrapped," a grey-haired woman, who introduced herself as a farmer living 65 km (40 miles) from the Fukushima plant, said at the public hearing in the prefecture capital.

"Many people are now aware that the government's talking of 'no immediate risk to health' is tantamount to 'long-term health risk'," she said to the applause of about 200 residents packed in a small concert hall.

Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the response to the nuclear crisis, was heckled as he apologized for the suffering of people in Fukushima.

"I will never forget what I heard today, and I'm determined to do everything I can," he said.

Fukushima prosecutors on Wednesday launched an investigation after more than 1,000 residents filed criminal complaints against 15 former and present Tokyo Electric Power officials, including former company president Masataka Shimizu, and 18 government officials, including Nuclear Safety Commission head Haruki Madarame, a lawyer for the group, Hiroyuki Kawai, told Reuters.

Kawai said Tokyo prosecutors had launched a separate investigation.

A panel of experts appointed by parliament concluded last month that the disaster could have been prevented and that failure to take precautions was the result of "collusion" among the utility, regulators and the government.

"After reading the report by the parliament-appointed panel, prosecutors could not stand idly by," Kawai said.

THREE OPTIONS

Japan met about a third of its energy needs with nuclear power before the disaster and had plans to boost that share to more than half, in part, to combat global warming.

Now, three options that the government has put on the table are to phase out nuclear power completely as soon as possible, aim for a 15 percent share of the power supply by 2030, or a 20-25 percent share by the same date.

Residents of Fukushima, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, overwhelmingly backed the zero option, with all but one of the 30 who were picked in a draw to speak backing a swift exit.

The Asahi newspaper reported this week that elsewhere 70 percent of those taking part in the hearings opted for the nuclear-free scenario. It is not clear how the hearings will affect the final energy plan that could come as soon as this month.

But commentators said it would be hard for the government to ignore the findings as 17 months after the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, many still live in fear and thousands hired to dismantle the Fukushima plant face decades of grueling and dangerous work.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's decision to restart two reactors in Japan's western manufacturing hub to avoid blackouts galvanized the anti-nuclear movement.

More than 100,000 people attended an anti-nuclear rally last month and protests staged weekly outside of Noda's residence have grown, with ordinary workers and mothers with children joining the crowds.

"I'm scared. I'm really scared," said a middle-aged woman, addressing the hearing.

"I'd like the government to think about why people have gathered in front of the prime minister's residence every Friday since April. That's not fashion. That's not a temporary fever. That's a heartfelt scream from the public."

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in Tokyo; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Ed Lane)

"But commentators said it would be hard for the government to ignore the findings as 17 months after the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl"? Who are these commentators? Do they think Japan is a democracy or something?

Reuters clearly doesn't know about the ad agency managing this whole event.

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Aerial Photographs of July 29 "Surround the Diet Building" Protest

The crowd doesn't look as big as some of the past Friday protests at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. Calling it "200,000" like the organizers did is probably a stretch, but so is the call by AP of "thousands". Reuters' "tens of thousands" may be just about right. But who knows. I wasn't there to feel the size, so what am I to say?

These aerial photographs were taken by "正しい報道ヘリの会" (proper reporting helicopter's group).

Photos by Masaya Noda (（cc）Masaya NODA / JVJA). Click to enlarge:

Photos by Ryuichi Hirokawa (（cc）Ryuichi HIROKAWA):

By the way, the organizers of this protest and Friday protests at PM Official Residence (except on July 27) are meeting with politicians including former Prime Minister Naoto Kan on July 31. Just as some older and more cynical observers of the whole protests have long predicted. The organizers are proudly declaring they are so different from the stupid old-timers who only knew how to throw rocks at the police. (Uh huh.)

DPJ's leadership election is scheduled on September 21, and Yoshihiko Noda is expected to win.

This friendly discussion meeting between the organizers and politicians is closed to the public, but Iwakami's IWJ and Nico Nico will do the live netcast for the rest of us from 5PM on July 31, according the organizers.

Whenever I look at the photos and videos of the Friday protests or any other local protests, what I see is the old timers - people in their 50s, 60s, 70s who do not want to leave the country like it is now to their children and grandchildren.

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July 29 "Surround the Diet Building" Protest Drew Anywhere from "Thousands" to "Two Hundred Thousand" People, Depending on Who You Ask

(UPDATE) AP's reporter sent me a tweet saying "Even though the opening says "thousands", "10,000" is mentioned in the article and even the event with 200,000 people is mentioned in the article." Yes they are, and that's what I quoted below. I'm asking her why the opening was "thousands".

================================

Photo from Mainichi, showing part of the crowd that may have been "several thousands" to "200,000" (Mainichi has 11 photographs of the protest at their site):

AP's Japanese reporter in Tokyo says "thousands" of people:

TOKYO (AP) — Thousands of people formed "a human chain" around Japan's parliament complex Sunday to demand the government abandon nuclear power — the latest in a series of peaceful demonstrations on a scale not seen in the nation for decades.

The reporter Yuri Kageyama notes later in the article that July 16 protest in Yoyogi Park drew "nearly 200,000" thanks to celebrities leading the pack, and says the Sunday crowd was smaller:

Similar demonstrations have been held outside the prime minister's residence every Friday evening. The crowds have not dwindled, as people get the word out through Twitter and other online networking. A July 16 holiday rally at a Tokyo park, featuring a rock star and a Nobel laureate, drew nearly 200,000 people.

The crowd appeared to be smaller Sunday. Kyodo News service estimated it at about 10,000 people. Participants said they came from across Japan, underlining the widespread appeal of the protests.

Reuters's foreign reporters in Tokyo says "tens of thousands", and also notes the defeat of an anti-nuclear candidate in the gubernatorial election in Yamaguchi Prefecture held on July 29:

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people protested against nuclear power outside Japan's parliament on Sunday, the same day a proponent of using renewable energy to replace nuclear following the Fukushima disaster was defeated in a local election.

The protesters, including old-age pensioners, pressed up against a wall of steel thrown up around the parliament building shouting, "We don't need nuclear power" and other slogans.

On the main avenue leading to the assembly, the crowd broke through the barriers and spilled onto the streets, forcing the police to bring in reinforcements and deploy armored buses to buttress the main parliament gate.

The Metropolitan Police says (remember, there is no "official" number form the police on any demonstration) "ten and several thousands", according to Mainichi. TBS says "15,000", quoting their police source.

The organizers, who discouraged people from showing up on Friday to concentrate on the July 29 event, says "200,000". One of the organizers tweeted that she was going to focus on media handling (giving interviews) at the event, but did see the actual protest.

She was also tweeting about the Friday protest that she and her friends disapproved of, saying the number of 2,800 was "just about right", to which others responded by saying that was just too low.

The July 29 protest did produce two arrests.　As Reuters and TBS News note, the protesters had a scuffle with the riot police when people flooded the streets, and two protesters were arrested for obstructing the police in the performance of their duties.

Interestingly, unlike the previous protests at the PM Official Residence on Fridays, BBC and NPR (National Public Radio in the US) have been reporting this particular protest repeatedly. I wonder if someone has gotten smarter and is contacting the foreign media to prompt better coverage.

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Live Netcast: July 29 Surround the National Diet Building in Tokyo

Nico Nico Video netcast is here (no need for registration):

http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv101516452#02:50

Some woman is speaking with rough words. Looks hot, looks like a lot of people. Now some group of women is about to sing some songs.

At Yasumi Iwakami's IWJ Channel on USTREAM, people are shouting with drums and whistles and horns:

Live Video streaming by Ustream

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#Anti-Nuclear Japan: EdaNO! Protest in Omiya City, Saitama (Mr. Yukio Edano's Constituency)

Following the last week's success, they are at it again, protesting in Omiya City against the restart of Ooi Nuke Plant and against Mr. Edano himself, calling out loud, "EdaNO, YameRO! (Edano, resign!)" with accent on "NO" and "RO".

The crowd looks less than last week, but just as noisy and vigorous.

Come to think about it, Japan has come a long way. Now ordinary citizens are calling the sitting minister of one of the most powerful ministries in the Japanese government without "Mr.".

Live Video streaming by Ustream

I like these local events. There are no fences, there are no orange cones. People are shouting about all kinds of issues.

"No No EdaNO!"
"Genpatsu Iranai, Edano mo Iranai!" (We don't need nuke plants, we don't need Edano)
"Zo-zei Iranai!" (We don't need tax increase!)

and "Let's vote them out in election. Let's vote out Edano!"

I wonder if people in Goshi Hosono's constituency are doing any protest...

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It's Friday, and Protest Is On, Rain or Shine, at PM Official Residence in Tokyo (7/20/2012)

Also at a host of other locations, I'm sure. Tokyo is raining.

Same place, same time:

• Areas around PM Official Residence and government ministries in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo
• 6PM to 8PM

Yasumi Iwakami's IWJ USTREAM channels:

Ch1—Yasumi Iwakami, in front of the National Diet Building
Ch3—21:30- Aerial video (if it's raining, from the car)
Ch4—at the Diet Press Club building
Ch5—at PM Official Residence, front line
Ch6—at "Family Area"
Ch7—around Ministry of Finance
Ch8—at Ministry of Economy, Annex [That's where NISA is.]

From the organizer (Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes)'s website,

Attention:
- Please kindly refrain from carrying banners, flags, placards of particular political organizations or political themes that have nothing to do with anti nuclear or beyond nuclear theme.
- As it is crowded in the areas, if you are going to distribute flyers or collect signatures please do so after 8PM, after the protest is over.
- This protest in front of Prime Minister's Official Residence is a non-violent, direct action. Please understand that spirit, and participate accordingly.
- We ask you to please follow the instructions from the organizers.
- About speeches, please cooperate in the following manner:
1. Please limit your speech to 1 minute.
2. Please refrain from making a speech on a theme that has nothing to do with anti nuclear/beyond nuclear.
3. Please refrain from making a speech that will advertise a particular organization. Please make a speech as an individual.
4. Please note that if we, as organizers, think the speech doesn't fit in with our intention, we may ask you to stop.

注意事項：
※反原発・脱原発というテーマと関係のない特定の政治団体や政治的テーマに関する旗やのぼり、プラカード等はなるべくご遠慮ください。
※現場が混雑しているため、ビラ配布や署名集め等は抗議終了後の20:00以降にお願いします。
※この首相官邸前抗議は、あくまで非暴力直接行動として呼びかけられたものです。その趣旨を十分にご理解頂きご参加いただきますよう、宜しくお願い致します。
※その他、基本的に主催者の指示に従っていただきますようあらかじめご了承お願いたします。
※スピーチに関しましては以下のご協力をお願いいたします。
１．一人あたり 「1分以内」 でお願いします。
２．反原発・脱原発テーマに関係のないテーマでのスピーチはご遠慮ください。
３．特定の団体のアピールにつながるスピーチはご遠慮ください。個人としてアピールをお願いします。
４．主催者側の意向に沿わない内容であると判断した場合、中断をお願いすることもあります。あらかじめご了承ください。

As I posted before, one such speech that didn't fit in with the organizers' intention was a speech about radiation exposure for the young policemen who were sent to high radiation areas in Fukushima Prefecture with little protection.

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(Humor) PM Noda as "I'm a Real Wild One..."

Someone's masterpiece in one of the July 16 demonstrations in Tokyo after the 170,000-strong gathering in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo that even NHK reported (from @RinkoWaters):

I'm a real wild one...
See how I restarted Ooi without surveying the faults...
There is no vent...
Don't tell anyone that thermal power was shut down, worth 3 nuclear reactors...

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New York Times: "Thousands Gather in Tokyo to Protest Nuclear Restart" (Browser Headline)

Uh... thousands?

(Battle between the editors at New York Times?)

New York Times joined LA Times and others to report on the July 16 protest in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo against nuclear power generation. When I searched for the article, this title popped up as the NY Times article:

Thousands Gather in Tokyo to Protest Nuclear Restart - NYTimes.com

and that's what is displayed on the top bar of my internet browser.

The article itself is now titled:

Tokyo Rally Is Biggest Yet To Oppose Nuclear Plan

The caption of the photograph full of labor union flags says:

Tens of thousands of antinuclear protesters gathered on Monday in central Tokyo in the largest rally since last year's Fukushima disaster.

The article by Ms. Hiroko Tabuchi starts:

In Japan’s largest antinuclear rally since the disaster at Fukushima, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at a park in central Tokyo on Monday to urge the government to halt its restarting of the nation’s reactors.

and goes on to mention:

Organizers said 170,000 people filled a Tokyo square to sing songs, beat drums and cheer on a series of high-profile speakers who called for more Japanese to make their voices heard.

The entire article from New York Times (7/16/2012):

Tokyo Rally Is Biggest Yet To Oppose Nuclear Plan

By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: July 16, 2012

TOKYO — In Japan’s largest antinuclear rally since the disaster at Fukushima, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at a park in central Tokyo on Monday to urge the government to halt its restarting of the nation’s reactors.

Organizers said 170,000 people filled a Tokyo square to sing songs, beat drums and cheer on a series of high-profile speakers who called for more Japanese to make their voices heard. The police put the number at 75,000, still making it the biggest gathering of antinuclear protesters since the Fukushima accident last year.

“To stay silent in the wake of Fukushima is inhuman,” the Oscar-winning musician Ryuichi Sakamoto told the crowd, which braved soaring temperatures to gather at Yoyogi Park.

Polls suggest that public opinion is still divided over the future of nuclear power in Japan. But a unilateral decision last month by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to start putting the country’s reactors back into use has angered many Japanese and galvanized the antinuclear camp.

Antinuclear protests have gained momentum especially here in the capital, where tens of thousands of protesters now gather every week to shout slogans in front of Mr. Noda’s official residence.

After the rally, protesters marched through some of the city’s busiest shopping districts, prompting curious looks from passers-by but largely maintaining a strict discipline that has come to characterize the antinuclear rallies in recent weeks.

“It doesn’t matter, for now, if people hear us or not,” said Ayuko Higashi, an illustrator from Kamakura, southwest of Tokyo, who said this was her third antinuclear rally. “It’s just a big step forward to start raising our voices.”

Rally organizers have gone to great lengths to project a friendly image in a generally conformist country where protesters of any kind are seen by many as fringe agitators at best and terrorists at worst. This perception is left over from mass protests in the 1960s and ’70s against a security treaty with the United States, during which rioters armed with pipes and makeshift gasoline bombs clashed with the police.

At the weekly protests in front of the prime minister’s office, organizers cordon off family-only zones to urge parents with children to participate. They also ask protesters to cooperate with the local police and to go home at 8 p.m. on the dot.

Organizers have also started issuing pamphlets with advice on what to bring (drinks and hand wipes on sticky days), advice for shy or first-time participants (no need to say anything) and guidance on what to do if fellow demonstrators start getting out of hand (politely ask them to calm down).

An unlikely leader of the antinuclear movement is a fuzzy fictional character called Monju-kun, who has amassed a following on social networking sites like Twitter for his child-friendly jabs against the government’s energy policy.

Monju-kun made a brief appearance at the protest Monday with a colorful stuffed costume. “The government is restarting our nuclear reactors, and that makes me sad,” he said to squeals from fans — many of them families with small children — waving Monju-kun posters.

“If we’re not careful, we could have another nuclear accident, like a fire,” said Rion Nakajima, 5, who was clutching a balloon emblazoned with a smiling Monju-kun.

“We decided to participate because we want the Japanese government to realize that any mistake it makes now will have serious repercussions for future generations,” said Rion’s mother, Kazuki.

Nuclear power supplied nearly a third of Japan’s electricity before the Fukushima accident, but almost all reactors are now offline for checks or maintenance. Japanese leaders pledged last year not to restart any nuclear plant without local approval. But they apparently did not foresee the level of resistance that has since developed, and they have begun to push for plant reopenings, citing economic and security reasons. Last month, Mr. Noda approved the restarting of a reactor in western Japan. Others are expected to be put back into use in the coming months.

Recent polls have shown that public opinion remains divided between those who argue that Japan should abandon nuclear power and those who warn of a crippling energy shortage. A majority favor more stringent checks of reactors.

It is unclear whether the antinuclear protests can become a political force. There is still no significant Green Party in Japan, and the two largest parties say the country, for now, needs its reactors.

Mr. Noda, who initially raised the ire of protesters by calling their rallies “loud noise,” said last week that he was fully aware of public opinion both for and against nuclear power.

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July 16 Protest in Yoyogi Park "Largest Anti Nuclear Protest Ever in Tokyo", Reports NHK

What a surprise. I'm just shocked, SHOCKED! that NHK reported!

(Sarcasm off)

NHK reported on the July 16 protest in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, for a change. It must be near impossible to ignore, because NHK is located right around the corner from the park.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police apparently told NHK that 75,000 people participated.

From NHK (7/16/2012; part):

東京で過去最大の反原発集会

Largest-Ever Anti-Nuclear Event in Tokyo

関西電力大飯原子力発電所３号機がフル稼働に達するなど、国内で原発の運転再開に向けた動きが進むなか、東京で、過去最大規模の原発に反対する集会が開かれ、参加者が運転再開の撤回や原発の廃炉を訴えました。

As Reactor 3 at KEPCO's Ooi Nuclear Power Plant is in full operation and other nuclear plants in the country may be getting ready to resume operation, an anti-nuclear event was held in Tokyo which attracted the largest crowd ever. The participants demanded the reactor at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant be stopped and that nuclear reactors be decommissioned.

１６日の集会は、ノーベル賞作家の大江健三郎さんやルポライターの鎌田慧さんなどが呼びかけ人となって、政府に抗議の声を届けようと開きました。

The July 16 gathering was organized by people including Nobel Prize winning author Kenzaburo Ooe and Satoshi Kamata, journalist and author, to let the government hear their voice of protest.

会場となった東京の代々木公園には、市民団体や労働組合のほか、ツイッターなどで呼びかけられた人たちが集まりました。
参加したのは、主催者側の発表でおよそ１７万人、警視庁によりますとおよそ７万５０００人で、東京で行われた反原発の集会やデモとしては、過去最大の規模になったということです。

Citizens' groups, labor unions, and people who had learned of the event via Twitter [and other net media] gathered in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. The number of participants was 170,000 according to the organizers, and 75,000 according to the Police. It was the largest crowd ever gathered in Tokyo for anti nuclear protest.

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Some Citizens Got Wiser on July 13 Protest at PM Official Residence in Tokyo, on Bikes and Cars to Take Advantage of Roads Cleared by the Police

From OurPlanetTV (7/14/2012):

I tweeted some of the suggestions from the readers of this blog about the protest, including using cars going round the Prime Minister's Official Residence. From the reaction from my Japanese followers, it simply didn't occurred to them. But it did occur to some people who took part on their bikes and cars, as you see in the video above.

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"July 16 Goodbye Nuclear Protest" in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo

(UPDATE) The organizer says 170,000 people have gathered in the park.

This is Channel 2 Main Stage:

Streaming by Ustream

Anti- (or beyond-, if you like) nuclear celebrities are giving speeches with high-sounding words, how nuclear power has been pressed on the poor regions, talking about happiness of mankind without nuclear power, etc., etc. Now, some comedienne from Osaka with mohawk hair is shouting into the microphone.

And all I can think about while listening to these people is that old mother and her daughter in the no-entry zone in Fukushima, without water, without gas, whom (ex-journalist) Takashi Uesugi visited.

===========================================

The organizer, "Sayonara Nuke", hopes to attract 100,000 people.

If I remember right, it was somewhat like this last year - several months after the March 11 nuclear accident, several organizations started to stage anti-nuclear ("beyond nuclear" 脱原発, as they phrase it) gatherings and marches. I was rather disinterested in those events, with celebrities giving emotive speeches and ordinary citizens participate and chant "Beyond nuclear".

I couldn't care less last year as I was more interested in and worried about the radiation contamination of the environment and food. I remember often wondering why these people looked content "protesting" against nuclear power in the most generalized term after one of the worst nuclear accidents in history had happened in their own country with very tangible damage, particularly in Fukushima and southern Tohoku and northern Kanto.

Well the big gathering is back in Tokyo, in Yoyogi Park. It's just started, and you can view it on IWJ's 9 USTREAM channels:

Ch2,
Ch3,
Ch4,
Ch5,
Ch6,
Ch7,
Ch8,
Ch9,
Ch10

The channels I've checked says "Recorded Live". I don't know what's the deal is, but I hope it will start netcasting live soon.

This year, I am less disinterested because of totally citizen-based demonstrations that have been cropping up all over Japan.

Here's Channel 3, at the Second Stage. Some kind of funny act by a chubby man dressed as a devil, when I saw it:

Live stream by Ustream

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Anti-Nuke, Anti-Noda Protest in Funabashi, Chiba Started

"7.15 What a big demonstration! We need anti-nuke demos to protect the citizens' living! Slaying Noda [as in slaying a fictional monster] Demonstration Part 2 - Drus of Fury" just started.

It looks like a nice, hot sunny day in Funabashi, Prime Minister Noda's constituency. People are of good cheer.

Live netcast by IWJ's Chiba Channel 1.

Live streaming by Ustream

Unlike the protest at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo, people here seem free to say anything. The head of the Japan Communist Party just spoke in front of a cheering crowd of ordinary citizens.

One of the organizers is saying "Let's make the protest into 30,000-strong..." I think 300 hundred people or so all over Chiba, or Japan for that matter, is just fine.

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July 15: "Take the Yellow Train (Sobu Line) to Funabashi (Noda's Constituency), Make the Sound of Drums Heard!" Demo from 1PM in Funabashi, Chiba

I think I like these organizers.

Clearly including the ones who organized the very fun protest on June 24 in Funabashi City, Chiba (Prime Minister Noda's constituency), the group of people calling themselves "Drums of Fury" is doing another protest in Funabashi. Participants are encouraged to take the "Yellow Train" - JR Sobu Line that goes from the western Tokyo into Chiba.

This protest looks to be fun again, if I judge by their blog page.

There are many who legitimately ask "How effective are these protests? They haven't achieved anything." I do share that sentiment, particularly when I see people falling for made-up symbols and slogans that have little to do with what's been happening in Japan since March 11, 2011. But on the other hand, it is still amazing to me, as a Japanese, to see Japanese people having been able to focus their attention to anything nuclear for the past 16 months. I've always thought (still think) the Japanese collectively have "attention deficit disorder". So, keeping doing something like protest marches all over Japan, no matter how small or large, may itself be worthwhile.

After all, to express discontent to the authorities using drums, music, dance, ridicule, and marching on the streets and roads is a wonderful Japanese tradition for centuries.

Anyway, if you live along the JR Sobu Line (yellow train) and want to participate, here's the tongue-in-cheek details, making fun of what PM Noda has said in the past. (Oh and there are several Funabashi merchants offering discounts for the protest participants, just like on June 24. Check out the maps at the organizer's site.)

“7.15大きなデモだね！国民の生活を守るために脱原発デモが必要だ！”野田退治デモ第２弾
"7.15 What a big demonstration! We need anti-nuke demos to protect the citizens' living!" Slaying Noda [as in slaying a fictional monster] Demonstration Part 2

["What a big demonstration" is a pun on Noda's comment that the protest outside the PM Official Residence was "a big sound". "We need anti-nuke demos ..." is a pun on Noda's reason for starting Ooi Nuclear Power Plant.]

集合西船近隣公園(前回と同じ)
集会13：30
出発14：00
解散は天沼弁天池公園です！(これも前回と同じ)

Starting place: Nishifuna Kinrin Park (same as before)
Meeting will start at 1:30PM
March will depart at 2PM
Ending place: Amanuma Bentenike Park (same as before)

【呼びかけ】
首相官邸前抗議など、日本各地で「原発をなくそう！」「再稼働反対！」と声が高まる中、
野田首相は事もあろうに抗議の声を「大きな音」だねと警備に当たる警官に漏らしたそうです。
一方で「国民の声を受け止めたい」と言いながら、抗議の声は「音」でしかないならば、
怒りの「声」をもっと「大きな音」で叩き付けて、無視出来ないデモにしようと企画されました。
野田首相の選挙区内で、彼を支持し期待した方もきっと多く居たはずの船橋で、
MC 悪霊のコールと言葉と共に、怒りを叩き付けに行きます。
何卒よろしくお願いします。

Our call
As the voices rise in various parts of Japan against nuclear power plants and against the restart of these plants including the protest at the PM Official Residence, Prime Minister Noda has reportedly commented on the protest voice to the police guarding the Residence, "It is a big sound." If the voice of protest is nothing but a "sound" to him, let's make our "voice" of anger into a really big sound and hit him so hard that he cannot ignore. That's the purpose of this demonstration. We are going to hit hard with our anger and our MC "Akuryo (Evil Spirit)" the constituency of Prime Minister Noda, Funabashi City, where there must have been many people who supported him and expected great things out of him.
We look forward to having you there.

主催：脱原発船橋（仮） ＋ 怒りのドラムデモ実行委員会
後押し：黄色い電車連合
協力：ロフトプロジェクト
賛同：原発さよなら千葉

Sponsors: Beyond Nuke Funabashi + Drums of Fury Executive Committee
Support: Yellow Train Alliance
Help: Loft Project
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「黄色い電車連合」時刻表　ＪＲ総武線1105C
JR Sobu Line Time Table (train 1105C) from Yellow Train Alliance
三鷹 Mitaka 11:43発
西荻窪 Nishiogikubo 11:48
阿佐ヶ谷 Asagaya 11:53
中野 Nakano 11:57
新宿 Shinjuku 12:04
飯田橋 Iidabashi 12:15
秋葉原 Akihabara 12:22
西船橋 Nishibunabashi 12:48着
※先頭車両
Take the first car.

【出演】
MC悪霊（illeastrecords ）＆DJ M28

Appearance:
MC Akiryo, DJ M28

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Police "Divide and Conquer" on Friday July 13th Protest in Tokyo against Ooi Restart

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police put up metal fences along the sidewalks, roadblocks, and restricted access to areas in the "protest zone" that they had set up, and effectively divided the protest into small pieces. No one seems to know how many people showed up.

The supposed "police" number quoted by the press is 10,000 people, though the PR department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police has said they don't announce the numbers. What "police" the mainstream media outlets have been quoting, no one knows; supposedly some anonymous inside source that the press club reporters have access to all the time.

So, it was a success for the Noda administration and the pro-administration media, who didn't need to quote the number from the organizers this time.

This photo from the article by independent journalist Ryusaku Tanaka (7/13/2012) shows the police on one side of the metal fence and protesters on the other side. An older man on the left, looking at the camera looks puzzled and annoyed. (Click to enlarge.)

Tanaka calls it "Intifada". In Japan, it usually means the Palestinian ones. That's how he describes the protest that is herded in by the metal fences and the law enforcement.

In his article, Tanaka quotes two protest participants, both women in their 50s. The first one speaks like a man:

　「ふざけんじゃねえ。国民が自分の意志を表すために集まって来ているのにこんな鉄柵をつけるのはおかしい。これだけの人が来るのだから車道を開放すべきだ」（中野区・女性=50代）

"Stop bullshitting me. Citizens gather here to express their wills, and what's the point of this metal fence? With this many people coming, they should just open the road." (a woman in her 50s from Nakano-ku, Tokyo)

「初めて官邸前に来たら鉄柵があった。ものものしい雰囲気にびっくりしている。ノーと言える子供を育てたい。今日は子供たちに教室を休む理由を説明してきた」（名古屋・音楽教室を営む女性=50代）

"I'm here for the first time, and there are these metal fences. I'm surprised at this elaborate security. I want to raise children who can say "No". Before I came here today, I explained to my students why I was not giving lessons today." (a woman in her 50s from Nagoya, who runs a private music school)

There are tweets from younger people saying they didn't like the "obnoxious and impolite" baby-boomer generation at the protest, who apparently complained loudly to the police and to the pushy cameramen from the media, as they should. Well, young people, tough.

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Osaka Protest at KEPCO HQ: Station Exit Blocked, KEPCO Sign "Loitering Prohibited" (7/13/2012)

Reader Rick Streeby joined the protest in front of KEPCO's headquarters in Osaka City for the second time on Friday July 13, and posted the photographs he took of the protest on his blog.

Though much smaller in scale and in publicity, people have been protesting there against the restart of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant operated by KEPCO and the number is increasing.

Here are some of the photographs from Rick's blog post (7/13/2012) (Click to enlarge):

I am surprised that the Osaka police, or the train operator under the advice from the police, mimicked the Tokyo Metropolitan police in closing the exit at the closest station. Rick reports, "They closed the station exit this time, so we couldn't get our message out to commuters, at least for a while."

Ordinary citizens, in front of KEPCO Headquarter:

KEPCO's temporary signs. The first one says "Loitering prohibited", the second one "Agitation like handing out leaflets prohibited" (that's so 1960s):

and this, as Rick says, ""No sales, leafleting, gatherings, placing of objects, loitering or other nuisance behavior --Kansai Electric Power." Yeah. "Nuisance behavior." Unlike the creation of nuclear waste without a plan for safely disposing of it."

More photos at his blog, here.

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Friday July 13th Protest in Tokyo Live Netcast

(UPDATE: IWJ's channels don't seem to be working. Go to Nico Nico Video.

You can wait for IWJ's all 9 screens to go on air, here.

==============================================

IWJ's USTREAM channels on the protest at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo for Friday July 13th, 2012:

Ch1—Yasumi Iwakami in front of the National Diet
Ch3—Aerial video or video from the car
Ch4—Bird's-eye view from a nearby building
Ch5—Front line at the PM Official Residence
Ch6—between the No.2 stage and the Ministry of Finance
Ch7—between the PM Official Residence and the Ministry of Finance
Ch8—Tents at the Ministry of Economy - Ministry of Education - Ministry of Economy
Ch9—In front of TEPCO, in front of KEPCO
Tokyo Ch1—Family area

Here's Channel 5. People holding white balloons must have gotten from Yasuo Tanaka, the head of New Party Nippon.

Live video from your iPhone using Ustream

You can also go to Nico Nico Video, netcasting the event for free for both members and non-members, here. You see the policemen on the other side (road-side) of the metal fences they installed.

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Tokyo Metropolitan Police Getting Ready for Another Big Protest at PM Official Residence in Tokyo on Friday July 13, 2012

Photos posted at Portirland (tamugon) blog:

This is new:

These were there before, too:

This is new:

This is new:

If you go, be safe.

If you want to watch USTREAM, Yasumi Iwakami's IWJ has 9 channels. See his page, here.

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It's Friday in Japan, It's Protest Time From Hokkaido to Kagoshima

(UPDATE: For people going to the Kantei Demo in Tokyo, only No.4 exit at Kokkaigijidomae Station will be open. Better walk from the neighboring stations. Also, the police will set up metal fences and try to confine the protest areas. Asahi Shinbun has the map of the "designated" areas of protest by the police.)

For those of you who want to watch USTREAM live video, IWJ has 9 channels. Nico Nico Video has one channel you can view without subscription. See my latest post for channel links.

=================================

But people who plan to participate in the protest at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo, watch out. The Metropolitan Police has announced that they will use (for the first time since the protest started in March this year) metal fences to prevent the protest walkers from spilling into the road and confine them to the sidewalks. Bad move. Some suspect the Police, under the direction of the Noda administration that seems to worship the US, wants to emulate the police in the United States. Bad move.

More "Friday Protests" seem to be cropping up in various parts of Japan, and the following may be just a partial list:

Hokkaido
Time: 6PM
Event: Anti-Nuke Action against Hokkaido Prefectural government
Place: in front of the Hokkaido Prefectural government office

Tokyo:
Time: 6PM
Event: protest against the restart of Ooi Nuke Plant
Place: near Prime Minister's Official Residence in Nagata-cho, Tokyo

Ishikawa
Time: 6PM
Event: protest against the restart of nuclear power plants
Place: in front of Hokuriku Electric Ishikawa Office

Aichi
Time: 6PM
Event: Action against KEPCO
Place: in front of KEPCO Nagoya Office

Osaka:
Time: 6PM
Event: protest against the restart of Ooi Nuke Plant
Place: in front of KEPCO headquarters

Kyoto
Time: 5PM
Event: Protest against KEPCO
Place: KEPCO Kyoto Office

Hyogo:
Time: 6PM
Event: Occupy KEPCO Kobe Office
Place: in front of KEPCO's Kobe Office

Nagasaki
Time: 12:20PM to 12:50PM
Event: Lunch time protest walk "Hydrangea action"
Place: Nagasaki City Hall Water Department - City Police - Nagasaki City Hall (長崎市役所水道局前→県警前折り返し→長崎市役所前)

Saga
Time: 6PM
Event: Goodbye Nuke Plant Saga
Place: at a park on the east of Saga Prefectural Government Office 佐賀県庁東側の城内公園

Kagoshima
Time: 6PM
Event: Emergency Action against Kagoshima Prefectural Government, against the restart of Sendai Nuke Plant (in Kagoshima) 対鹿児島県庁、川内原発再稼働反対の緊急抗議行動
Place: unknown

(Ugh. Hydrangea.)

There is one thing that has made me stop and think about the protest that's been on every Friday in Tokyo. It has swelled to 150,000 (according to organizers), and the organizers is pressing the participants to adhere to their guideline that this is a "single issue" protest. The single issue is to protest against the nuclear power plants, including the restart of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant.

The most telling, if this is true (I have no reason to doubt), was the tweet from someone who was either at the scene or watching the live netcast of the protest:

官邸前抗議、ある女性が、目の前の警官たちにも語りかけるように、被曝防護も不十分に全国の若い警官が汚染地に任務に就かされたことを切々と訴えていいスピーチだなぁと思って聞いていたら終わった直後に主催者が関係ないスピーチはお断りみたいなことを言ってちょっとびっくりしたことはあった

During the protest at Prime Minister's Official Residence, one woman made a speech. She was talking to the policemen in front of us, telling them and to us that young policemen from all over Japan have been sent to the areas contaminated with radiation without adequate protection against radiation exposure. I was listening to her, and thinking what a wonderful speech. Right after she was finished, the organizer said something like "Do not make speeches on irrelevant issues". I was taken aback a little.

If the radiation contamination and effect of radiation exposure on people are "irrelevant" to the organizers, what is relevant to them? From the tweets of some of the members of the organizers (coalition of organizations), it is pure "anti nuclear" movement, without even considering what has happened as the result of the nuclear accident at Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Thus their tweets about excluding "Kinoshita-esque" elements and "Hayakawa-esque" elements from the protest movement, as both Mr. Kinoshita and Professor Hayakawa do worry about radiation contamination and radiation exposure effect on people.

I wonder how the sheer majority of people who have joined the protest on Friday in Tokyo respond to the request by the organizers to focus only on "anti nuclear" and not speak about anything else. As the people so good at following orders and even outdoing what the orders require of them, I'm afraid they will simply follow the order this time, too. "Well I didn't know we shouldn't be talking about such a thing..." was the next tweet by the person whom I quoted above.

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July 8 EdaNO! Protest Against Nuke Plant Restart & Yukio Edano in Omiya City, Saitama (Mr. Edano's Constituency)

I just missed the USTREAM live netcast, but there were several hundred people gathered in Omiya City in Saitama Prefecture to protest against the Ooi Nuclear Power Plant restart and against Mr. Yukio Edano, whose constituency is Omiya City.

Mr. Edano was Chief Cabinet Secretary in March last year under Prime Minister Kan, and he was the voice and the face of the government and administration dealing with the nuclear accident and radiation contamination (of which he was instrumental in de-emphasizing and diminishing the severity). His refrain of "There is no immediate effect" at his press conferences in those days will be forever remembered by the Japanese people. He is the current Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

According to the tweets of people who were watching the USTREAM (IWJ's channel), they even stopped in front of the huge mansion of Edano and protested. Residents of Omiya City were seen receiving the anti-nuke and anti-Edano flyers from the protesters. Way to go, people.

I'm watching the video recorded live. Ordinary people, quietly walking the main street of Omiya City. As they walk and are warmed up, they start to shout very funny slogans. They also have an excellent collection of hand-made signs and banners.

Screenshot of the USTREAM video (recorded live, still available for a little while), organizers of the event and their handmade sign featuring Mr. EdaNO:

Look at the caricature of Mr. Edano in the screenshot below. The words say "Let's immediately un-elect EdaNO! Goodbye Nuclear [Goodbye] EdaNO! Protest Executive Committee". Take a close look at a yellow balloon that's coming out of Mr. EdaNO's behind. It is a "vent":

People are yelling "Usotsuki EdaNO!" (Liar Edano, with emphasis on NO), "Sayonara EdaNO!", "Don't take us for fools!" "Don't lie to us!", "NO, NO, Eh-Dah-NO!, NO, NO, Eh-Dah-NO!" Then, "Edano wa Jiko Bengoshi." "Jiko bengo" is to defend oneself, make excuse for oneself. "Bengoshi" is an attorney. Edano is an attorney.

This man's sign on his back says "He that will lie will become EdaNO!":

Ah...this is fun.

I think this is Mr. Edano's house. It looks like a fortress (just like TEPCO's former chairman Katsumata's house in central Tokyo):

People are shouting, "EdaNO, Yamero! (Resign!), EdaNO, Yamero!" It rhymes. Sort of. They shouted "Resign!" in front of Mr. Edano's district office in the city center.

Well, Mr. EdaNO is extremely unlikely to resign, so he has to be un-elected, come the Lower House election.

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#Radioactive, Idiosyncratic Japan: Fukushima People Protest Against Nuke Plant, Miyagi Fish with 3,300 Bq/kg Cesium, PM Noda Wants To Lower Retirement Age to 40

Last post of the day (or night, whatever), a collection of small news pieces that I saw in the past hour or so:

Independent journalist Ryusaku Tanaka tweets he's at Fukushima Prefectural Government Building in Fukushima City. People gathered there are shouting "We don't need nuke plants!" Prime Minister Noda is visiting the governor of Fukushima at his office there today.

Meanwhile, the general manager of the antenna shop in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo that sells agricultural produce from Fukushima says he will drive the sales as hard as he can, paying close attention to quality, according to Jiji Tsushin. Uh huh. The Jiji article did say he asked the wholesalers to conduct the test for radioactive materials last year. No word about this year. And we know how the wholesalers' testing goes.

Miyagi prefectural government announced on July 6, 2012 that 3,300 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from black seabream caught off the coast of Higashi Matsushima City in Miyagi. That is extremely high, even compared to last year. Miyagi's governor continues to ship disaster debris outside the prefecture even when his own Assembly says the debris should stay inside Miyagi, and he continues to support fishermen without spending much or doing much on testing the catch for radiation.

Nikkei Shinbun says the government committee on national strategy (chaired by Prime Minister Noda) has compiled the report on the government's long-term strategy called "Frontier Plan". What's in the "Frontier"? Japan is indeed going where no one has gone before. Noda and his people want to make the retirement age at 40, with the retirement money of 1 to 2 years worth of salary. Why? To make employment more mobile, to compete with developing nations. They want to eliminate the distinction between contract workers and full-time employees - i.e. cutting the benefits for full-time employees. In their mind, this somehow will translate into (hold your breath).... birthrate increase.

How will an extremely insecure employment with the developing country-level wage lead to the increased birthrate? It won't, except in Noda and his experts' minds it will.

Oh, and the baby Panda is male, says NHK.

I can't take it any more for the day. Signing off...

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