The emerging power of Japan’s ‘Hydrangea’ revolution

Like the flower it has been named after, a budding civil movement is emerging and taking root in Japan to protest against the government’s decision to restart the Ohi nuclear plant. The restart, just 18 months after the devastating tsunami and resulting nuclear Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, has sparked indignation and alarm in a Japanese society left scarred by the catastrophe. We are a nation not especially known for public protests or civil disobedience, the rolling demonstrations in Japan this week and last suggest a major shift in Japanese society. This movement against nuclear energy has been named after the Hydrangea, a flower the Japanese have traditionally loved because it blooms in June and July, giving hope during the dark, rainy season. The symbolism of the flower is strikingly synonymous with the growing civil movement against nuclear power. Born out of the aftermath of arguably one of Japan’s darkest hours, the movement offers hope and is gathering in numbers – similar to how the Hydrangea forms its flower; each small flower bunches together to form a bigger, more vibrant, flower. By Greenpeace