Ex-Japan PM joins anti-nuclear demo outside PM's office

Source: Reuters

In a rare move by a former Japanese prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama joined a boisterous anti-nuclear demonstration outside his old office on Friday, a fresh sign that the ruling party he once led is fracturing over energy and other policies.

Japan's debate over nuclear power has become increasingly heated after incumbent Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's decision to restart idled reactors despite persistent public safety concerns following last year's Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The question of nuclear power's role in a new energy portfolio the government is set to decide next month is adding to divisions in Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), already rent by feuds over his plan to double the sales tax to curb debt and the possibility Tokyo might join a U.S.-led trade deal.

On Monday, an estimated 100,000 anti-nuclear protesters took to the streets in Tokyo, while ever-bigger crowds have been gathering every Friday outside Noda's office.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-japan-nuclear-idUSBRE86J0AE20120720