JAPAN-POP GROUP/ANTI-NUCLEAR Japanese pop group calls for an end to nuclear power

Record ID: 145945

  • Title: JAPAN-POP GROUP/ANTI-NUCLEAR Japanese pop group calls for an end to nuclear power
  • Date: 28th July 2015
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SKI (SYMPATHY KEEPING INSTITUTION) GROUP MEMBERS (FROM RIGHT TO LEFT) YURIA SAITO, NAO SAITO, KANA KINASHI, RINA NISHINO, AND THE GROUP'S HONORARY CHAIRWOMAN, MIKA HASHIMOTO, WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) SKI MEMBER, YURIA SAITO, SAYING: "Even though four years have passed since the nuclear disaster that the Japanese government deemed safe, the reality is that the situation is not under control. Even with that reality, the Japanese government prioritizes the economy, and in order to sell nuclear power plants overseas, they are trying to restart the plants in Japan." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9LA1AG8MTTCFJ19OZX8EQKCW
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Pop group SKi, which stands for 'Sympathy Keeping Institution' in English, called for an end to nuclear power at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday (July 28).
    The group's statement comes as Japan's nuclear power plants are scheduled to be restarted next month.
    All 43 of Japan's operable nuclear reactors are currently offline following the earthquake and tsunami that set off meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.
    "Even though four years have passed since the nuclear disaster that the Japanese government deemed safe, the reality is that the situation is not under control. Even with that reality, the Japanese government prioritizes the economy, and in order to sell nuclear power plants overseas, they are trying to restart the plants in Japan," group-member Yuria Saito said at the news conference.
    Four of the nine active members of SKi attended the event and performed their song, "End, end the nuke power!".
    Group member Noa Saito said she hopes to spread awareness of social issues.
    "Before all of these activities (on social issues), my parents watched the news only two to three times a week, so I think that by joining this group, my entire family will became more aware and educated about social issues," she said.
    Kyushu Electric Power is set to restart one of its Sendai reactors in southwestern Japan in August, pending a final sign-off by the nuclear regulator.
    It would be the first restart of a reactor in Japan after the Fukushima meltdowns of 2011, which led to the eventual closure of all of the nation's reactors in September 2013 for checks and costly safety upgrades. The shutdown of an energy source that supplied about a third of Japan's power forced utilities to burn record amounts of fossil fuels, pushing them into losses.
    Fukushima was the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier and turned most of the Japanese public against atomic power even as electricity became more expensive.
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