Voters in Fukushima Prefecture, where about 150,000 people still can’t return to their homes because of the nuclear crisis, urged politicians Thursday to face the reality of the catastrophe as official campaigning for the July 21 Upper House election got under way. japantimes.co.jp

Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida declined Friday to give his consent to TEPCO’s plan to restart two of the seven reactors at the world’s largest nuclear power plant. japantimes.co.jp

A  new group, modeled after Cape Downwinders, the grassroots organization created to project the lives and welfare of the residents of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket against the threat from the use of nuclear energy at Pilgrim Nuclear Plant and other locations, has been formed in Wellfleet.   wickedlocal.com

Russia is going to put the first Yasen-class nuclear-powered submarine in service on Dec 25 of 2013. nuclear-news.net