OSAKA, July 30, Kyodo—Some 67.1 percent of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 believe Japan should reduce the number of nuclear power stations, according to results released Saturday of a Kyodo News survey taken after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.
Although many have campaigned for years for the abolition of nuclear weapons, the so-called ’’hibakusha’’ have avoided discussing the pros and cons of nuclear power due to the potentially divisive nature of the issue. But the crisis has caused more than 40 percent to become opponents of nuclear power, the survey showed.
The questionnaire was distributed in June to July to 2,400 hibakusha across Japan via the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization and other bodies, and 1,006 responded.
Kyodo