GAN NEMOTO -“Gan-San” has National Currency- Nuke Info Tokyo 74

Nuke Info Tokyo 74

By Shinichiro Hida,
Council Member of Ryugasaki City, Ibaraki Prefecture

We concerned citizens and workers have been involved in the anti-nuclear movement here at Tokai-mura in Ibaraki prefecture, the site of the JCO plant criticality accident, as members of a network called “Ibaraki Action Coalition against Nuclear Power.” We have been opposing the concentrated development of nuclear power such as Tokai-mura Reprocessing plant, Tokai nuclear power plant, and other nuclear related facilities at Tokai-mura

Mr. Gan Nemoto, whom I’m introducing today, has been a central and crucial figure and does indispensable work within our network. He also plays an important part in the national network of people from regions with nuclear sites. ‘Gan-san’ has nation-wide currency.

He has, for example, fought for nearly 20 years as one of the plaintiffs in the Tokai II Case (currently under a second review at the Tokyo High Court), and is an eye-witness to nearly 40 years of disputes between nuclear developers and citizens in Ibaraki prefecture. Yet despite being such a veteran, he still applies himself to the cause with all the energy of a very young man.

Many nuclear facilities exist in Ibaraki prefecture. In Tokai-mura there are research institutes such as the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), the Japan Atomic Power Company, and the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, which deal solely with plutonium in Japan. In Oharai-machi there is the Joyo fast-breeding test reactor, and in Naka-machi the JAERI’s Naka Institute, a nuclear fusion facility. The host of technically varied problems regarding each of these facilities strain our capacities, and require us to undertake a lot of studying.

As a leader more than merely being a specialist, Gan-san deals with each new problem that crops up. At the same time he continues with the tasks of recording and classifying information in order to maintain a constant watch on key developments and to bring to light nuclear related problems.

You may think that we always rely on Gan-san. In fact, many young people are emerging in this field, and a variety of people are lending strong support to their own regional anti-nuclear civil activities–encouraged, of course, by Gan-san. Activities in Ibaraki prefecture stand within a global network, and Gan-san is not fighting alone.