TOKYO (AP) Dressed in white hazmat coveralls and carrying a dosimeter, documentary film director Robert Stone ventured into the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant's exclusion zone a year after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns in three reactors.
As he encountered abandoned homes, shops and toppled cars in the scene in his new film "Pandora's Promise," Stone asked a traveling companion, "So, are you still pro-nuclear?"
Stone, a British filmmaker based in New York, confronts viewers with the thorny question of whether nuclear energy should be abandoned because of the Fukushima disaster. His answer is no, because he believes nuclear energy can help solve climate change.
Stone was clear about that when he started making the film before the March 2011 meltdowns at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. He raises the question as he interviews respected environmentalists who are pro-nuclear, and visits Chernobyl and Fukushima himself to see the aftermath of their disasters. He also travels to major cities around the world, carrying his dosimeter and comparing radiation figures.
"As somebody who was making a documentary that is advocating for more nuclear power, going to Fukushima was deeply disturbing and very emotional," Stone told The Associated Press in a recent interview during a visit to Japan to promote his film ahead of its Japanese opening in February.