Japanese youth protest nuclear bill. Delegates arriving at the Netherlands Conference Center on Wednesday were greeted with the sight of Japanese teenagers performing a mock ritual suicide to protest the Japanese government's plan to build more than a dozen new nuclear power plants. Kanta Hani, one of the organizers of the protest, said his group is opposed to draft legislation that would approve the construction of 13 new plants, bringing to 69 the total number of nuclear plants in Japan.
Nuclear energy provides about one third of the country's electricity.
However, public skepticism of nuclear energy is particularly high following an accident in September 1999 at a power plant in Tokaimura. The accident, which claimed two lives, and forced the evacuation of 161 people, was blamed on worker negligence. Over the years the Japanese government has successfully stemmed massive opposition to the construction of plants by pumping money into communities that agree to house them. We'll live another 50 years, our children will live 80 to 100 years longer. Comments about this story.