PanOrient News | Greenpeace Calls on Next Japanese Prime Minister to Decommission Nuclear Plants

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Greenpeace Calls on Next Japanese Prime Minister to Decommission Nuclear Plants

Friday, August 26, 2011

Kan announces his resignation

Tokyo- (PanOrient News) Greenpeace called on the next Japanese Prime Minister to "endure the vision for a nuclear-free future for Japan that was designed by Prime Minister Naoto Kan in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced his resignation today, nearly three months after first indicating he would do so., following the passage of two major bills in parliament. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan plans to hold a presidential election to choose a successor to Kan, the current leader of the ruling party, on Monday.

At a news conference on July 13, Kan showed a plan to establish a society with no reliance on nuclear power plants in the future.

A statement by Greenpeace Japan Executive Director Junichi Sato said that “the multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant have shown us that nuclear energy is fundamentally unsafe, and it is clear that Japan’s economy, its environment, and its people cannot withstand another nuclear accident.”

Sato said that “the new Prime Minister of Japan must immediately release funding to support comprehensive clean up and relocation activities in Fukushima, permanently decommission nuclear plants as they close over the next year, and use today’s historic passing of the renewable energy bill to show the world what a true energy revolution looks like.”

“85% of Japanese people want a future based on renewable, not nuclear energy, according to survey by Jiji press, and tens of thousands have continually taken to the streets to since March to voice their demands,” Sato said in the statement. “Greenpeace hopes that the Japanese government will learn from its mistakes, not reopen nuclear reactors as they close, and take the right steps to protect the health of the environment, the economy and the Japanese people and make this renewable revolution a reality.”

Japan's parliament passed today a bill aimed at promoting renewable energy such as solar. The law, already approved by the House of Representatives, the lower house, will take effect in July 2012.

PanOrient News