Today marks the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. At a ceremony held at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park today, Prime Minister Naoto Kan drew parallels between the atomic bombing and the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. He took the opportunity to expound on the importance for Japan to ween itself off nuclear power.
On the crisis in Fukushima, Kan said, “The large-scale, long-running nuclear accident has triggered radiation leakage, causing serious concerns not only in Japan but also in the world… I will reduce Japan’s reliance on nuclear power, aiming at creating a society that will not rely on atomic power generation.”
Given Japan’s history with nukes, it is not surprising the people would be uneasy about using nuclear power.