Anti-nuclear power movement in Japan Anti-nuclear power movement in Japan Long one of the world's most committed promoters of civilian nuclear power, Japan's nuclear industry was not hit as hard by the effects of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident (USA) or the 1986 Chernobyl disaster (USSR) as some other countries. Construction of new plants continued to be strong through the 1980s and into the 1990s. However, starting in the mid-1990s there were several nuclear related accidents and cover-ups in Japan that eroded public perception of the industry, resulting in protests and resistance to new plants. These accidents included the Tokaimura nuclear accident, the Mihama
Tokaimura nuclear accident Tokaimura nuclear accident There have been two Tokaimura nuclear accidents at the nuclear facility at Tōkai, Ibaraki: on 11 March 1997, an explosion occurred in a Dōnen plant, and on 30 September 1999, a serious criticality accident happened in a JCO plant. The first Tokaimura nuclear accident was the accident which occurred on 11 March 1997, in a nuclear reprocessing plant of the Dōnen (Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation). Another name is the . On the night of Tuesday 11 March 1997, a small explosion occurred in a nuclear reprocessing plant of the Dōnen. Windows were smashed and