Japan anti-nuclear groups protest at parliament

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people protested against nuclear power outside Japan's parliament on Sunday, the same day a proponent of using renewable energy to replace nuclear following the Fukushima disaster was defeated in a local election.

Shareholders Push Tepco to Abandon Nuclear Power

Masafumi Asada bought shares of the Tokyo Electric Power Company almost a decade ago with a single purpose: To vote against the use of nuclear power.

Mr. Asada, a 70-year-old resident of Fukushima prefecture, the epicenter of Japan’s nuclear crisis, will speak on behalf of 402 shareholders on Tuesday at the annual general meeting of the utility known as Tepco, to ask it to stop atomic generation.

Tepco Halts Filtering of Tainted Water at Japanese Plant

TOKYO — The Tokyo Electric Power Company said Saturday that the filtration system it had struggled to put into operation at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant had broken down after just five hours, a disappointing setback in its efforts to cool the reactors.

The company said that the sprawling system, which is designed to siphon oil, radioactive materials and salt from the water used to cool the reactors, was shut down because of readings that indicated one of the filters had filled up with radioactive cesium. The rapid depletion of a filter that was supposed to have lasted several weeks suggested the presence of far greater radioactive material than anticipated.