A group of young mothers march and sing, waving a flag with “No Nukes” written in German in Satsumasendai on 15 December 2013. The case for the transition to alternative energy from nuclear energy is often argued at anti-nuclear demonstrations. Photo by rieko uekama. Copyright Demotix

About 1,800 people marched on December 15, 2013 in protest of the re-start of the Sendai Nuclear Power Station [ja], according to the protest organizer. After two years of the plant's operations being suspended, Kyushu Electric Power Company applied for a review in July from the Nuclear Regulation Authority with the intention of bringing the power plant back online, making citizens against nuclear power feel unsafe.

The number may sound small for a little-known city of Satsumasendai in the southwest tip of Kyushu island, a community long been dependent on nuclear power for its economy, yet this is said to be the biggest rally in the last 40 years of silence to utter against 30 year-old nuclear plant. 

Greenpeace Japan submitted a letter [ja] on November 29 demanding the governor of Kagoshima prefecture not to approve restart of the plant. Citizen Media Miyazaki covered the protest on YouTube [ja].