Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of the country's 54 nuclear reactors switching off yesterday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.
Japan will now be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in 40 years after a reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on Hokkaido goes off-line for maintenance checks. After last year's quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor stopped for check-ups has restarted. The government has warned of blackouts as Japan is forced to turn to oil and gas for energy.
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