A group of protesters took to the streets of Tokyo in Japan on Wednesday to condemn the government's renewed push to expand nuclear power generation, in a rally staged to mark the 15th anniversary of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, after its reactor cores melted down following a massive earthquake and tsunami.
The protesters who gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday said they were gravely concerned about the government’s renewed push to expand nuclear power in this earthquake-prone country, and its record in dealing with the aftermath of the nuclear disaster 15 years ago.
"The radioactive substances released at the time not only affected the surrounding areas. They even spread throughout the entire Kanto region. Now the government is planning to distribute the nuclear-contaminated soil across the country and use it in public construction projects. Once the soil is transported, radioactive substances will spread again. Nearby residents and workers will all be affected, and once those radioactive substances enter the lungs, it is very difficult to remove them," said one protester.
"The government is still pushing to restart nuclear plants, and they are trying to increase the number of restarts as well. But the fact is such a serious accident has already happened. Even now, many people can't return to their hometowns. The coastal area of Fukushima's Hamadori region has completely changed," said another.
Demonstrators said that the handling of the aftermath of the nuclear accident at Fukushima showed why they opposed any expansion of the country’s current nuclear power generation program.
"After such a serious accident, they talk about 'Fukushima's recovery.' But what does 'recovery' really mean? Even now, tens of thousands of people are still unable to return to Fukushima, and their lives remain extremely difficult. Just thinking about those people is enough to show the situation. If there are plans to restart nuclear plants, then how is the accident, which has not been properly handled, viewed? Even now, the nuclear disaster has not come to an end. I am absolutely against it," said a protester.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) resumed power generation and transmission to the grid from its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, last month.
It marked the first TEPCO-run unit to go back online since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which has met local opposition amid criticism that the plant sits on an active seismic fault zone.
Tokyo protesters denounce government's renewed push to expand nuclear power generation
China's first 500-kV cross-border alternating-current power interconnection project entered service Monday, creating the highest voltage grid tie between the two countries and advancing Belt and Road energy cooperation.
The project raises two-way power transfer capacity between the two countries from 50,000 kW to 1.5 million kW, enabling the annual transmission of about 3 billion kWh of clean electricity, roughly 30 times the capacity of previous lines, according to China Southern Power Grid.
As the largest cross-border grid project and the highest-voltage power link between China and Laos, it connects southwest China's Yunnan Province with Oudomxay and Luang Namtha provinces in northern Laos.
Cross-border electricity trading began as the project entered operation. About 4.81 million kWh of power from clean energy bases in northern Laos was transmitted to Yunnan through the new line, marking a more regular and institutionalized phase of power connectivity between the two countries.
It is also the first time an overseas new energy project has participated in China's electricity market, the company said. The power involved in the transaction came from a large mountain photovoltaic project in Laos, one of the core supporting power sources for the interconnection line.
"This project is the cross-border power grid project with the highest voltage level between China and Laos. Leveraging the China-Laos power grid interconnection and the power markets in southern China, surplus hydropower from Laos can be transmitted to China during the rainy season, while China can supply supplemental power to northern Laos during the dry season. This project represents yet another landmark achievement between China and Laos in deepening power cooperation and jointly advancing the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Li Jingru, general manager of Electricite du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), a joint venture of China Southern Power Grid and Lao state-run Electricite du Laos.
The solar project has an average annual power generation capacity of about 1.65 billion kWh. In 2026, it is expected to transmit about 1.1 billion kWh of solar power across the border, supporting energy complementarity between the two countries.
"In the future, efforts will be made to further promote normalized cross-border electricity trading, meet the trading needs such as electricity transmission from Laos to China's Yunnan, from China's Yunnan to Laos, and from Laos to China's Guangdong, and facilitate the optimal allocation of energy resources in the Lancang-Mekong region," said Li Minhong, marketing director of China Southern Power Grid.
Construction of the interconnection project began in late February last year. Spanning a total length of 177.5 km, the transmission line includes a 145-km Chinese section and a 32.5-km Lao section.
New China-Laos power link expands transfer capacity 30-fold, boosts electricity trading
