Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Post-disaster nuclear safety endeavors. Two months after the devastating March 11 earthquake
and tsunami in northeastern Japan, workers at the damaged power plant in Fukushima Prefecture
continue their efforts to minimize the nuclear crisis. Thousands of residents who once lived
within 20 kilometers of the facility are still banned from entry due to dangerously high
levels of radiation, with many who remain in shelters. On Saturday, May 7, Crown Prince
Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako went for the second time to offer encouragement to
evacuees forced to leave Hirono town in Fukushima Prefecture.
The government is meanwhile monitoring the radiation levels at schools in the affected
area, with latest measurements showing that they continue to fluctuate. On Friday, after
Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked Chubu Electric Power Company to suspend operations at its
Hamaoka nuclear plant in central Japan due to the plant's location near a quake fault
line, thousands of people marched through the streets of Tokyo in protest of nuclear
power in Japan. Demonstrations were also held Sunday in central Japan near Chubu Electric
Power Company's headquarters in Nagoya, where people called for the plant's shutdown as
a step toward a nuclear-free society despite a statement made by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshito Sengoku that same day that the nation would continue with nuclear power. In response
to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, hundreds of protesters in Madrid, Spain, also rallied
for an immediate shutdown of Spain’s nuclear plants.
We appreciate the efforts of the Japanese officials and dedicated workers for your efforts
to restore safety to the region, as well as the citizens in both Japan and abroad for
your unified voice of concern for the welfare of people and the environment. May radiation
and related dangers soon be eliminated through humanity’s more benevolent stewardship of
the ecosphere�