Yesterday we held a press conference on board the Solo after it arrived. It was attended by about 36 press outlets including most of the major Japanese press and a number of international press outlets based in Tokyo.
The press conference room on board the Solo was standing room only with TV cameras everywhere. The 18 member international crew was a bit overwhelmed by all the people swarming onto the boat after more than 60 days at sea with no other human contact but each other.
Afterward, we held a crew update meeting attended by the staff of Greenpeace Japan, the boat crew and those of us who are here from Greenpeace international.
This morning, a number of Greenpeace staff boarded trains to go north to Aomori, Japan where the dump ship is to arrive early Tuesday.
Last night, however, those who already there, a campaigner and a number of local activists from near Sellafield nuclear facility in Britain and COGEMA in France were told by their hotel, the only one near the arrival harbour, that they could not stay there after that night. When asked why, the owner said it was because the Japanese plutonium company told them not to allow Greenpeace or others opposed to their plutonium trade to stay there. We've been fighting with them, the government and the company ever since. Fortunately, we have been working quite closely with local Japanese people opposed to their home being used as a nuclear storage site and they have been quite helpful and supportive.
There have been a number of local and regional protests around the arrival of the nuclear waste shipment up in Aomori, Japan and more are expected. Today is a national election day and it is believed that the nuclear waste ship, which could easily have arrived in port before today, was held offshore to try to protect elected officials from being unseated by angry local people.
The crew of the Solo will finally be able to get off the boat and spend some shore leave time on land. They are eager for a change of scenery after such a long voyage.
More later from Japan. Sayonara. Blair.