Takahama.
Welcome guests
29 June 2002
Today, the crew got a chance to meet several local activists from the Fukui Prefecture.
Many of the these activists have mixed feelings about seeing the defective plutonium MOX shipped back to the UK. Naturally, they don't want such dangerous material stored near their homes, and for this reason many are happy to see it leave. But at the same time, they feel a strong empathy towards the people of Britian - who will be no safer from this material then the people of Takahama. And, realizing that the Pacific Pintail will probably return with a fresh load of plutonium MOX, most of the activists visiting today opposed the shipment.
Takashi (left) and Tojiro
on the Arctic Sunrise
Overall, there is emphatic agreement on a fundamental point: There will be no solutions until the root of the problem is addressed. Business and political leaders will have to admit the obvious. The nuclear industry is unsafe. Nuclear waste has no means of safe disposal. Japan's plutonium program must be stopped, there must be no more reprocessing and no more shipments of plutonium MOX fuel.
Some of the anti-nuclear activists from Takahama, which is about two hours away by car, visited the Arctic Sunrise today. The defective plutonium MOX has been stored in Takahama (population 12,200) since 1999.
Takashi Watanabe is a member of the local council, and Tojiro Okumura is the head of the local anti-nuclear group.
In their own words (audio translation by Yuko):
Takashi shares how he became involved in nuclear issues.
Takashi speaks about local people's view of the nuclear industry.
Tojiro on how the people of Takahama view this particular shipment.
