“While local communities may benefit if nuclear plants are operating, I do not think operations should be resumed,” said Mariko Ito, 63, who evacuated from Okuma, which co-hosts the crippled plant along with Futaba.
Aware that communities such as Okuma have been helped by the economic benefits of hosting nuclear plants, she said she could understand the feeling of local governments wanting operations to resume because they depend on the plants for their livelihoods.
However, having been forced to evacuate, Ito said, “There are no safety guarantees for nuclear plants. If they are really concerned about their livelihoods, moves should be made toward eliminating all nuclear plants.”
Ito’s husband, who used to work for Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, said about the Oi resumption, “There is the possibility of a recurrence of what happened here. There should never be another case of an ‘unexpected’ accident.”
Continue reading at Fukushima evacuees, citizens groups vexed by Oi restart decision
