Former prime minister of Japan speaks out against nuclear power

New York Times : Four years after retiring from politics, Japan’s former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi announced Tuesday that he opposes nuclear power. The announcement came as a surprise because Koizumi had backed nuclear power when he was in office. However, since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster more than two years ago and the subsequent cleanup efforts, Koizumi has apparently reconsidered the issue. Antinuclear protests throughout the country peaked a year ago . Koizumi won two elections, in 2002 and 2005, and continues to be popular, but whether his renouncement of his former pronuclear stance will reignite the popular opposition movement remains to be seen.