Shouting antinuclear slogans and beating drums, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Japanese prime minister’s residence on Friday in the largest display yet of public anger at the government’s decision to restart a nuclear power plant.
Impressions of the massive demonstration against the restart of nuclear power plants that took place in front of the official residence of Japan's Prime Minister on June 29, 2012. See photos at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.336917429719983.78032.115812641830464
Every Friday, demonstrators protest in front of the official residence of Japan's Prime Minister against the restart of nuclear power plants. Most news programs have ignored them, but last Friday, Asahi reported on that day's protest. And the next day, several newspapers did as well.
Possibly because of the exposure, as well as the government's decision to restart two nuclear reactors in West Japan on July 1, today's protest was massive.
The organizers claim that at least 160,000 people attended, a figure that can not easily be checked. The police put the number at 17,000. Local media estimated the crowd at between 20,000 and 45,000.
At first, the police tried to keep the road open for traffic. This always makes the crowd look much smaller than it really is. But today, the crowds surged forward, albeit in a well-mannered way, and totally overpowered the police, who reluctantly gave up the road to the huge crowd of protesters.
They shouted "Saikadou Hantai! Saikadou Hanzai!" "We are Against Restarting the Nuclear Power Plants. Restarting the Nuclear Power Plants is a Crime."
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