Pierre Boutier

TOKYO: Around a hundred anti-nuclear demonstrators gathered in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on Saturday to demand the end of nuclear power plants and a halt to the discharge of water polluted with tritium into the ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

The protest outside the ministry has run non-stop for 3,654 days and has seen support from scientists and writers, former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who was in office during the Fukushima nuclear accident, and Hiroyuki Kawai, a lawyer for the victims of the nuclear disaster.

International Atomic Energy Agency Deputy Director-General Lydie Evrard visited Japan this past week to inspect the project for the discharge of water polluted with tritium from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean. She promised transparency and objectivity in the face of accusations of cover-ups by the plant operator TEPCO.

Lawyer Kawai demanded a society where renewable energies can replace nuclear power. He also mentioned Taro Kono of the Liberal Democratic Party, who is one of the favorites to become the new prime minister and is opposed to nuclear power.

Since 2011 and the zero nuclear policy decided by Naoto Kan, around 20 reactors have restarted.