Activists challenge Japan’s “nuclear village”
MONDAY, FEB 27, 2012 10:00 AM EST
A year after Fukushima, an energized civil society pushes for solar power and accountability
BY AKITO YOSHIKANE


The quiet resolve of Japanese citizens in the aftermath of last year’s triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and reactor meltdown quickly turned into frustration as the government failed to adequately respond to the worst nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl in 1986.
In the nearly one year since the March 11 earthquake, Japan has suffered a bevy of problems, from rolling blackouts and currency woes, to radiation fears, all under the tutelage of a central leadership that has failed to inspire public confidence.
So much so that Japan changed prime ministers last August – now the sixth in five years – amid a pivotal period in the country’s history. Yet the crisis in leadership, lack of transparency and revelations of nuclear safety oversights have also facilitated activism in a civil society that typically emphasizes cohesion over confrontation.
The fallout from Fukushima and the bungled response have spurred an increasing number of citizens to challenge the bureaucracy and nuclear industry as health and safety concerns still linger. Local areas are undergoing a rapid shift toward renewable energy. And citizen groups – many of which are led by women — are also leading the charge for a more direct democracy by attempting to hold what would be an unprecedented national referendum on the use of nuclear power.

The grass-roots effort is ...