<p>Pope Francis expressed concern about future energy sources as he comforted victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster on Monday, noting a call by Japan's Catholic bishops to abolish nuclear power outright.</p>.<p>Around 18,000 people died or were classified as missing after the so-called Triple Disaster, when a massive earthquake set off a tsunami - in some places 30 meters high - destroying a wide swath of Japan's northeastern coast and triggering a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.</p>.<p>Radiation from the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl forced hundreds of thousands to flee the area and thousands will never return.</p>.<p>"Important decisions will have to be made about the use of natural resources, and future energy sources in particular," the pope said in an address to survivors in downtown Tokyo.</p>.<p>"Until social bonds in local communities are re-established, and people can once more enjoy safe and stable lives, the Fukushima accident will not be fully resolved," Francis said.</p>.<p>"This involves, as my brother bishops in Japan have emphasized, concern about the continuing use of nuclear power; for this reason, they have called for the abolition of nuclear power plants," he said.</p>.<p>In a statement released following the Fukushima disaster, Japan's Catholic Bishops Conference said the cessation of all nuclear power generation in the country was "imperative" given the country was disaster prone.</p>.<p>Resource-poor Japan has long pushed nuclear power as a solution despite being one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations. All nuclear power plants were shut after 2011 but several have since been re-opened.</p>.<p>Francis listened intently as Toshiko Kato, the head of a Catholic kindergarten in Miyako City, told him: "Along with the rest of the town, my home was swept away by the tsunami."</p>.<p>Several Japanese Catholic officials at the meeting said Francis had repeatedly expressed a desire to go to see the disaster zone first-hand, but scheduling would not permit the trip so they brought some survivors to Tokyo to meet the pontiff.</p>.<p>Teenager Matsuki Kamoshita, who was eight years old at the time of the accident, said radiation was still being emitted and demanded the truth from adults about the long-term effects of radiation.</p>.<p>"It will take many times longer than my lifetime to restore the contaminated land and forests. So, for us who live there, adults have a responsibility to explain without concealing anything about radioactive contamination, exposure, and possible damage in the future. I don’t want them to die before us, having lied or not admitting the truth," he said.</p>.<p>Despite the sombre nature of the meeting, held in a convention centre in downtown Tokyo, a chamber orchestra played a tango in honour of the Argentinian-born pope to greet him as he walked in and he later thanked them for it.</p>.<p>Francis, who is making the first trip by a pontiff to Japan since 1981, used visits over the weekend to the only cities ever hit by atomic bombs - Hiroshima and Nagasaki - to underscore his campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. He reiterated his belief that their possession is indefensibly perverse and immoral and their use a crime against mankind and nature.</p>.<p>After meeting with the Fukushima survivors, Francis met with Emperor Naruhito. He is also scheduled to talk with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day.</p>
<p>Pope Francis expressed concern about future energy sources as he comforted victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster on Monday, noting a call by Japan's Catholic bishops to abolish nuclear power outright.</p>.<p>Around 18,000 people died or were classified as missing after the so-called Triple Disaster, when a massive earthquake set off a tsunami - in some places 30 meters high - destroying a wide swath of Japan's northeastern coast and triggering a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.</p>.<p>Radiation from the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl forced hundreds of thousands to flee the area and thousands will never return.</p>.<p>"Important decisions will have to be made about the use of natural resources, and future energy sources in particular," the pope said in an address to survivors in downtown Tokyo.</p>.<p>"Until social bonds in local communities are re-established, and people can once more enjoy safe and stable lives, the Fukushima accident will not be fully resolved," Francis said.</p>.<p>"This involves, as my brother bishops in Japan have emphasized, concern about the continuing use of nuclear power; for this reason, they have called for the abolition of nuclear power plants," he said.</p>.<p>In a statement released following the Fukushima disaster, Japan's Catholic Bishops Conference said the cessation of all nuclear power generation in the country was "imperative" given the country was disaster prone.</p>.<p>Resource-poor Japan has long pushed nuclear power as a solution despite being one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations. All nuclear power plants were shut after 2011 but several have since been re-opened.</p>.<p>Francis listened intently as Toshiko Kato, the head of a Catholic kindergarten in Miyako City, told him: "Along with the rest of the town, my home was swept away by the tsunami."</p>.<p>Several Japanese Catholic officials at the meeting said Francis had repeatedly expressed a desire to go to see the disaster zone first-hand, but scheduling would not permit the trip so they brought some survivors to Tokyo to meet the pontiff.</p>.<p>Teenager Matsuki Kamoshita, who was eight years old at the time of the accident, said radiation was still being emitted and demanded the truth from adults about the long-term effects of radiation.</p>.<p>"It will take many times longer than my lifetime to restore the contaminated land and forests. So, for us who live there, adults have a responsibility to explain without concealing anything about radioactive contamination, exposure, and possible damage in the future. I don’t want them to die before us, having lied or not admitting the truth," he said.</p>.<p>Despite the sombre nature of the meeting, held in a convention centre in downtown Tokyo, a chamber orchestra played a tango in honour of the Argentinian-born pope to greet him as he walked in and he later thanked them for it.</p>.<p>Francis, who is making the first trip by a pontiff to Japan since 1981, used visits over the weekend to the only cities ever hit by atomic bombs - Hiroshima and Nagasaki - to underscore his campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. He reiterated his belief that their possession is indefensibly perverse and immoral and their use a crime against mankind and nature.</p>.<p>After meeting with the Fukushima survivors, Francis met with Emperor Naruhito. He is also scheduled to talk with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day.</p>