- then Last year, following the violent earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor was thrown into a state of emergency. System failure prevented adequate cooling of enriched uranium rods, causing a meltdown while hydrogen explosions rocked the plant.
- nowJust under a year removed from the disaster, a group of Japanese activists have submitted a petition in Osaka (within Kansai Prefecture), calling for a referendum on nuclear power. Osaka is Japan’s second largest city behind Tokyo, and draws power from 11 nuclear reactors near the city. source