Tokyo, Aug 1 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The first meeting of the Japan Congress Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs began in Fukushima city with a plea for an end to the nuclear energy industry.
A magnitude 9 quake off Japan’s northeast coast March 11 triggered a tsunami and explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986. Radioactive elements were found in water, air and food products in some parts of Japan.
‘We should shout ‘No more Fukushima’,’ said Koichi Kawano, who heads the congress.
‘We have tended to focus on abolition of nuclear weapons while being weak in our campaign against nuclear power plants,’ he said Sunday.
Japanese authorities said earlier that it would take decades to decommission the crippled power plant, while environment experts reported higher concentration of radioactive elements in soil and produce from the region.
About 15,000 people took to the streets in Tokyo in April to protest against the nuclear power industry after the earthquake caused meltdown at the Fukushima plant.
Powerful aftershocks continue to rattle Japan, fuelling fears of another natural disaster that could hit the country any time.
