Arab News Japan

TOKYO: KAN Naoto, Japan’s prime minister at the time of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, has criticized the energy policy of current Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio who wants to increase the use of nuclear power in Japan.

At a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) building on Sunday held to protest against Kishida’s plans, the former prime minister recalled how he had to manage the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis in the face of incompetent METI officials.

Kan told Arab News Japan that the world could face another major crisis in Ukraine if the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant wasn’t protected. If a missile hit the plant, he said, it would not only be a disaster for Ukraine but for all of Europe.

The former prime minister said that it was possible to live without nuclear energy by using renewable energy sources and he castigated Kishida’s energy policies.

A cattle farmer, who lives 14 kilometers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in the no-entry zone, recalled how his animals fell ill following radioactive releases from the plant, which was damaged by a huge tsunami in 2011.

He showed photos of his animals with white patches on their coats that are attributed to exposure to radioactivity.

As the rally ended, Buddhist monks prayed for an end to the use of nuclear energy.