TOKYO — Tens of thousands of people packed Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park on Monday for Japan’s biggest antinuclear rally since the Fukushima disaster last year, as protests grow against government moves to restart atomic reactors.
Speakers at the demonstration, which broke into three marches through Japan’s capital, included Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda angered nuclear opponents last month when he approved the restart of two reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Ohi plant, which were shut down along with other units for safety checks after the meltdown and radiation release from the wrecked Fukushima station.
A Mainichi newspaper poll on June 4 showed as many as 71 percent of Japanese opposed the restart.
‘‘No to Nuclear Restarts’’ has become the rallying cry of protesters every Friday evening since the end of March in demonstrations outside Noda’s official residence.
Police estimate that 10,000 people protested there on July 6, blocked from entering by a fleet of police buses and dozens of uniformed and plainclothes officers.
Yoyogi organizers, sayonara-nukes.org, said as many as 170,000 people attended Monday’s rally.
National television broadcaster NHK said the figure was 75,000, citing the police.