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© 2015 AFPDeserted Fukushima town to remove pro-nuclear signs
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© 2015 AFP
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Sensato
These are painfully ironic, and surreal in that they could have come right out of a distopian sci-fi movie.
They now unintentionally send a very anti-nuclear message and act as a warning against overconfidence when it comes to potentially disastrous technologies. I really wish they would leave them up as a reminder to future generations.
toshiko
The Japanese message is Gehshi -rypku Akarui Mirai no Energy Just advertisement slogan.
Mark Weiss
the problem I see is that with colder winters coming due to the Suns in activities the next 50 years, people will rely more on energy to heat their homes. Imagine a world with no cheap nuclear energy and its 30 or 40 degrees below zero for much of the winter. A lot of people are going to die if cheap affordable energy is not available.
Wc626
For past 2 1/2 decades, most people in the US were baffled. Seeing Japanese protesting US subs / aircraft carriers floating around the pacific. (Providing for Japan's security) Yet, there they were quick to harness this hazardous source of energy. And now nuclear energy is being shown the door by the public. Looks like anything nuclear having to do with Japan will always be ill-fated.
Brandon Sherman
The problems were known forever, here is a story about the protests like 35 - 40 years ago. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fukushima-mark-nuclear-reactor-design-caused-ge-scientist/story?id=13141287
Sensato
@toshiko
The sign pictured reads "Nuclear power: the energy for a bright future" (genshiryoku akarui mirai no enerugi 原子力明るい未来のエネルギー).
This is much more than a mere "advertising slogan" given its original intent and prominent placement as a message welcoming people to the town.
The distopian aura of the sign pictured here reminds me of the "Arbeit macht frei" (work makes [you] free) signs placed over the entrances to many of the concentration camps.
This poignancy in retrospect is obviously the reason for their removal, rather than the lame excuse given by authorities -- "We’ve decided to remove them because they have become decrepit and are risky for people who make temporary returns to their houses." What a laughably lame excuse that is.
I hope there is a proper dose of outrage and protest against their removal.
tohokudaisuki
I've seen these in other towns too
M3M3M3
It's often politely overlooked that many of the people who lived in these nuclear communities were some of the most fervent supporters of nuclear power. The signs might be painful reminders of their own hubris rather than a focal point of anger and resentment towards TEPCO. But I agree they should be preserved for future generations.
Iain McSwan
Surely this is a good idea to use natural energy alternatives.
Wc626
Right M3. Lots of who supported that nuclear power. While some of those same people were anti-nuclear subs / carriers. This double standard is baffling.
toshiko
@lain: Japanese corporations such as Mitsubishi has new kind of solar energy plants in Calif. North to South. ////////////////////check Wikipedia to see even cold northern states utilize sunshine up in the sky more than clxe to earth. But TPP etc are not happy on Solar Energy. Many US states such as Alaska had plan to sell their natural gas but talks disappeared.
zettaiEngineer
The real irony is that such an absurb contrast (between the slogan and the abandoned town) is lost even before officials try to suppress it - because no outsider risks a visit to see it...
GW
Agreed the signs MUST STAY!!!
No one is going to living there anymore period, these need to be left so people don't FORGET!!!
This kinda reminds of a scene in the old planet of the apes movie
Leave them be & lets agree to learn from these mistakes
sengoku38
Why spend 4.1 million JPY to whitewash history and lie to future generations?
Star-viking
There's double irony in that these towns and villages probably could not have existed without the cash they got for hosting the nuclear plants.
Serrano
“Nuclear power: the energy for a bright future,”
So far it's been a disaster for Japan.
"Imagine a world with no cheap nuclear energy"
Or, imagine a world with cheap nuclear energy that doesn't produce deadly toxic waste. That would be great...