SAYANORA Nukes: Japan takes it to streets to demand a nuclear-free future

ANTINUCLEAR MOVEMENT

Fukushima Fallout

Weekly updates by Keito Hirabayashi

The line of protestors marches on down Omote Sando in Tokyo

The Sayonara Nukes Rally, held on July 16 in central Tokyo, was a glittering manifestation of the political awareness, determination and sheer hope that is growing almost by the day in Japan. The authorities, I’m sure, thought that once they got one nuclear reactor restarted, all the protestors would give up, go home, turn on their TVs and be good little electricity consumers again, but in fact the opposite has happened. The demonstrations at the PM’s residence every Friday show absolutely no sign of dwindling since Ohi restarted and now 170,000 people –well over the 100,000 called for—have let the world know that they want their future and that of their children to be nuclear free.

Such large numbers of people have not been seen on the streets of Japan since the student protests in the 60s and 70s and there was a distinct feeling of triumph and excitement at the rally’s main stage, as tens of thousands, packed in under the hot sun listened to messages from the organizers, followed by an explosive performance by the Frying Dutchman, whose song Human Error has been known to instantly convert university students to an anti-nuclear perspective (a recording of this song with English subtitles is available at the Flying Dutchman website and is definitely worth listening to, although the version they did at the Rally was much more interactive). This was followed by a hilarious parody act by a group called Suishinja. Although most protestors left to participate in the marches after the addresses by Sakamoto Ryuichi, Oe Kenzaburo, Setouchi Jakucho (a popular Buddhist nun, who at 90 years old, claimed to be the oldest person at the rally) and other organizers, it shows how Japanese protest culture has developed, I think, when a semi-punk band and a comedy troop are also part of the official program.

In fact there were different routes that protestors could march along and, other than the main stage, there were also different areas where different groups assembled—trade unions, Gensuikin (Japan Congress Against A- and H- Bombs) and others, had their own area within the larger venue of Yoyogi Park. I thought this was a very good way of organizing everyone—especially after the minor controversy at the Friday protests where trade unions are not allowed to bring flags showing their union’s name. There is no doubt that the new generation of protestors, who have been very active in organizing the Friday protests, have different ways and styles of doing things which sometimes do not totally fit with the more traditional organized groups of protestors, but the Sayonara Nukes Rally managed to avoid this problem by allowing everyone their own space, yet still having a strong sense of togetherness.