Japan Press Weekly

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2011 February 23 - March 1 [ENVIRONMENT]

Electric company forcibly builds nuclear power plant

In Kaminoseki Town in Yamaguchi Prefecture, a tense situation continues between corporate promoters and residential opponents of the construction of a nuclear power plant there.

The Chugoku Electric Power Co. Inc. on February 21 resumed its reclamation work that had been suspended for 15 months due to residents’ opposition. It mobilized many security guards to the construction site to block the protesters and forcibly carry out the construction work.

On February 23, a scuffle broke out between protesters and security guards, resulting in two protestors being injured.

The electric company plans to build two nuclear reactors by reclaiming land from the sea off Kaminoseki Town, known for rich fishing grounds and for being the habitat for diverse species, including the endangered Japanese Murrelet.

“A nuclear plant will never provide a bright future for our town,” said Koyanagi Akira, a former Kaminoseki Town Assembly member of the Japanese Communist Party who has consistently opposed the construction plan jointly with residents.

“The mayor and other advocates of the nuclear plant construction say that the town should receive the national government’s subsidy by hosting the plant and use it to build tourist facilities. However, it doesn’t lead to increasing local job opportunities. What the town should do instead is to strive to utilize its natural environment and traditions in order to ensure residents’ employment and help raise their incomes,” said Koyanagi.