The small Japanese town of Yaku passed a resolution yesterday banning the construction of nuclear waste storage facilities within its borders, the latest sign of a growing grassroots movement against nuclear power in Japan. A local power plant had been rumored to be interested in building a storage plant in the town. The town council also plans to adopt an ordinance later this month that would bar the entry of any radioactive materials into the town, the first move of its kind in the nation. Anti-nuclear sentiment has been mounting in Japan in the wake of a big accident last September that killed one worker and exposed more than 100 people to radiation. Trade Minister Takashi Fukaya said on Friday that the national government is set to begin a sweeping review of its energy policy, a move that is likely to lead to cuts in plans to build new nuclear reactors.
