Thousands rally in Tokyo against Japan's push to restart aging nuclear plants

More than 8,000 people took to Tokyo's streets on Saturday to protest the Japanese government's push to restart aging nuclear plants.

The protesters urged the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to face up the lingering problems left by the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

"It's been 15 years since the Fukushima accident, and there's still no clear plan for how to resolve these issues. Despite this uncertainty, the government keeps moving forward with nuclear restarts. I find this extremely dangerous and frightening," said one protester.

"I don't think the government or TEPCO have any real intention to solve these problems. Actually, there's no long-term plan at all. Yet they talk about restarting and even building new nuclear plants. It's utterly absurd," said another participant.

The 2011 disaster forced tens of thousands to evacuate their homes. Many, like 70-year-old Ryoichi Takemoto from Okuma, Fukushima, remain displaced.

"Now my wife and I live together in Chiba. We only return to our hometown once or twice a year. Where we used to live, there were dozens of families, and now only one remains. It's basically impossible to go back. This is the current situation. In addition, medical facilities, healthcare services, hospitals, and nursing care are all far from reaching the level needed to live there again. Under these circumstances, it is extremely difficult to truly make the decision to return and live there," said Takemoto.

According to the latest figures from Japan's Reconstruction Agency, about 26,000 people are still living as evacuees as of February. Reconstruction efforts continue in the hardest-hit areas of Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi prefectures.

TEPCO reactivated a reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture in February, after a glitch with an alarm in late January forced the suspension of its first restart since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Rally participants expressed concern that the Japanese government and TEPCO, having failed to properly address the Fukushima accident, now seek to bring nuclear risks to Niigata Prefecture.

Thousands rally in Tokyo against Japan's push to restart aging nuclear plants

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that the United States' demand for Iran's unconditional surrender is "a dream they can take to their grave".

In a televised message released on Saturday, Pezeshkian acknowledged the Iranian people's resilience while calling for national unity at a time when the country is facing what he described as an unprovoked war of aggression by the United States and Israel.

"We call on every Iranian who lives in Iran, regardless of their religion, status, or appearance, to defend the integrity of Iran's territory," he said.

The Iranian president also rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for Tehran's unconditional capitulation to end the conflict.

"If they want us to surrender unconditionally, they should take such a dream with them to their grave," he said.

Pezeshkian said that Iran had no intention to attack neighboring countries unless attacks are launched from those countries. In a social media post on the same day, he also stressed that Iran's "defensive operations" only target facilities and sites used to initiate attacks against the country.

The United States and Israel, on Feb 28, launched strikes against Iran, plunging the war-torn Middle East into a new round of violent conflicts. Iran has retaliated with a series of counterattacks against Israeli and U.S. targets across the region.

Iranian president says U.S. demand for unconditional surrender is "dream they can take to grave"