Nobel Women's Initiative

Japan commemorated the 66^th Anniversary of the Hiroshima - Nagasaki disaster on Saturday August 6^th.  Thousands attended the ceremonies to honour and remember all of the victims who died as a result of the attack.

This year's activities to mark the annivesary of Hiroshima differed with an underlying current of opposition to nuclear power facilities in Japan.  Polls place citizen’s desire to get rid of nuclear energy at 70%. This follows the recent nuclear disaster in Fukushima. 

Activists took to the streets following the Anniversary Ceremonies to protest nuclear energy, embarking on a walk that ended at the exterior if the Chugoku Electric Power Company.  While the Prime Minister of Japan has called to reduce nuclear energy output in the future, the support for a transition to alternative energy sources grows amongst the people of Japan, and people are actively speaking out. 

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Japan Marks Hiroshima Anniversary, CBC, 6 August 2011.

Fukushima Stokes Fear On Hiroshima Anniversary, ABC Sydney, 7 August 2011.

Nuclear Power Criticized on Hiroshima Anniversary, NPR, 7 August 2011.