Many politicians and anti-nuclear activists in other countries are joining the international outcry against Japan and its decision to restart two reactors at the nuclear power plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture. Over the last week, those with concerns have been sending letters and gathering in rallies outside their countries’ Japanese embassies and consulates. Among those who condemn the Japanese government’s decision include green political parties in Australia and Europe, doctors, and labor unions, all citing the Fukushima tragedy as the basis of their opposition to a return to the use of nuclear power.
On Tuesday of last week, all 53 members of Germany’s green party sent protest letters to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Issei Nishikawa, the governor of Japan’s western Fukui Prefecture. Rebecca Harms, in Berlin, represented the members of the European Green Party in asking for reconsideration on choice to reactivate the nuclear facility. The Australian Greens’ Senator Scott Ludlam wrote a protest letter to the Japanese Embassy in Canberra.
Japan’s Embassy in Rome received a petition with signatures from 3,700 Italians who appealed for a ban on restarting any nuclear reactors. In the United States, activists gathered outside the Japanese Consulate in New York on Friday, and on Monday, a rally is planned for the embassy in Washington D.C. Chicago and Los Angeles’ anti-nuclear groups have also stated they will have events throughout this week. In other parts of Asia, residents of Thailand and South Korea made their voices heard in demonstrations on Friday in front of local Japanese embassies.