Three weeks after Japan's biggest antinuclear demonstration, there is still some dispute over how many people actually attended. The organizers estimate 60,000 and the police say about 30,000. Except for the Yomiuri and Sankei newspapers, which accept the police figure, the mainstream vernacular media have settled on 50,000.
That the number is closer to the organizers' than it is to the police's is a fair indication of the media's softening to the antinuclear position, something they avoided until a few months ago. Ever since it became obvious that a good portion of the public has turned against Japan's official nuclear-energy policy the press has gradually had to acknowledge this trend, but subsequent coverage of antinuke sentiments has been exactly that: focused on "sentiment."
Japanese television isn't very good at reporting breaking news, which is why coverage of the Sept. 19 demonstration in Tokyo was negligible on the day it took place. NHK included a two-minute report on its local 6 o'clock bulletin that made it look like another holiday festival, and there was absolutely no mention on the nationwide 7 o'clock news. In the following week, however, many news programs ran features on the demonstration, concentrating on celebrities: Nobel prize-winner and rally organizer Kenzaburo Oe giving a speech; former high-profile TV commentator Keiko Ochiai marching with a banner; actor and anti-nuke activist Taro Yamamoto as a "special guest."