カナダde日本語関西電力が原発のない日々に終止符

2012.07.02 (Mon)

関西電力が原発のない日々に終止符

夜通し多くの抗議を受けたにもかかわらず、1日に大飯原発3号機は何事もなかったかのように再稼働し、2日午前6時に連続的な核分裂が安定して起こる「臨界」に達した。今日は、カナダ・デイでカナダの１４５回目の誕生日。カナダではまわりの人々が浮かれきっているが、私にとってはとても浮かれているような気分ではなかった。

ロシア・トゥデイ（RT)が大飯原発が再稼動したことについて記事にしていたので、紹介しよう。

和訳：

日本に原発がない状態が続いた約２ヶ月後、関西電力が原子炉を再稼動させた。その動きは、去年の３月以来、原子力発電に反対する何十万という人々を日本中で抗議させることになった。

福井県にある大飯原子力発電所は、日本政府が５月に安全上の懸念から日本の最後の原発を停止させて以降、最初に再開させた原子力発電所となった。

再稼動は、何度も厳しい交渉を重ねた上で決定された。地元の自治体が、大飯原発を再開する前に関西電力から追加の保障を要求したのに対し、政府は、経済の安定のため、大飯原発を早急に起動させる必要があると主張した。

日曜日には、何百人という活動家たちが抗議のために大飯原発の入り口の前に集結した。警察は原発の門から抗議者たちを押し戻すという措置を取った。

野田佳彦首相の政権が６月１６日に大飯原発の再稼動を決定してから、日本では原発の再稼動に反対する抗議者の輪が広がっている。

つづく

【More・・・】

Japan restarts first nuclear plant amid mass protests (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Published: 01 July, 2012, 08:43
Edited: 01 July, 2012, 19:12

Japan’s Kansai Electric Power Company has restarted a nuclear reactor after almost two months being nuclear free. The move has been met with mass protests, as tens of thousands have rallied throughout the country since March to oppose nuclear energy.

The Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture is the first nuclear site to go back online since the government shut down the last of Japan’s nuclear reactors this past May over security concerns.
The restart was preceded by a round of rigorous negotiations. While local authorities demanded additional guarantees from KEPCO management before reopening the plant, federal authorities insisted that the facility needs to be restarted as soon as possible for the sake of economic stability.

On Sunday hundreds of activists have gathered in front of the plant to protest. Police had to take measures to push demonstrators back from the gates of the plant.

Ever since Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s government moved forward with the decision to restart some of the country’s nuclear reactors on June 16, there has been a chain of demonstrations against renewal of nuclear energy in Japan.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Tokyo on Friday carrying banners to protest the return to nuclear power in Japan. Protesters surrounded Noda's residence in central Tokyo to make sure their message would not be ignored.

Despite massive public opposition, the government refused to reconsider its decision on practical grounds. Prior to the March 2011 Fukushima disaster, Japan drew approximately 30 per cent of its energy from nuclear power. The closure of nuclear power plants has created an energy vacuum, with supplies falling short by 14 per cent in Tokyo and up to 16 per cent in western Japan.

At 9 pm local time (12:00 am GMT) on Sunday, reactor #3 of the Ohi nuclear power plant was restarted in the presence of Seishu Makino, Japan’s senior vice industry minister.

By Monday the reactor is expected to reach the critical stage of self-sustainable chain reactions resulting from nuclear fission. Two days later the reactor will start generating electricity. Four more daysare needed for it to start operating at full capacity.

But the nuclear reactor restart at Ohi is not going to be the only one. The operator of the Ohi nuclear plant is set to restart reactor #4 on July 17, whereby it will be working at full capacity the following week.

Both reactors have been monitored for 24-hours and thoroughly checked since the government took the decision to return to nuclear energy two weeks ago.

In early May 2012 Japan shut down the last of its 50 working nuclear reactors, leaving the country without electricity generated from nuclear power for the first time since 1970.

The issue of nuclear energy has been highly debatable in Japan since a powerful magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated the Fukushima nuclear power plant, whose fallout was reportedly four times greater than that of Chernobyl.

There have been no officially registered deaths as a direct result of radiation, but tens of thousands of residents in Fukushima province have had to leave their homes. Their native land will remain uninhabitable for many decades to come.