Anger in Japan over nuclear restart moves

Moves towards restarting nuclear reactors in Japan have provoked an angry protest from people worried about a repeat of the Fukushima disaster.

They disrupted a hearing in Tokyo by a panel of experts reviewing the results of stress tests on two reactors that may be restarted.

The activists were protesting against a decision not to allow civilian observers to take part. One of the experts involved, Professor Hiromitsu Ino of Tokyo University, said it was wrong to have the public excluded. He and a colleague withdrew from the meeting when it reconvened several hours later.

Japan’s nuclear watchdog is carrying out tests across the country’s nuclear facilities as part of a wide-ranging review of safety standards. However officials at a national and local level will have the final say on whether reactors shut down.

They are coming under increasing pressure from people still traumatised by the disaster to keep the reactors idle.

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