nuclear-news

Outrage in Japan over the nuclear industry’s crooked “AstroTurf” manipulations of public opinion

Scandal Taints Japan Nuclear Sector, WSJ By CHESTER DAWSON, AUGUST 13, 2011 SAGA, Japan—The Fukushima Daiichi accident was a big setback for nuclear power in Japan. But the industry’s hamfisted efforts to maintain support in the aftermath of that disaster may have an even bigger impact in eroding the public’s confidence in the sector.

After a series of disclosures in recent weeks painting government regulators and electric utilities as collaborating to stage-manage public community forums on local nuclear power, efforts to restart idled Japanese nuclear reactors have screeched to a halt.

The controversy was sparked by recent revelations by a whistleblower at utility Kyushu Electric Power Co. that it sought to short-circuit debate at a June community event convened in the southwestern prefecture of Saga to discuss restarting a pair of nuclear reactors that had been shut for routine maintenance. Public outrage has been fanned by subsequent acknowledgment by the governor of Saga that he privately advised utility executives on soliciting pro-nuclear support.

That has led to Japanese government investigations that have uncovered a nationwide pattern of attempts to manipulate the public’s opinion about nuclear power by Japan’s biggest electric utilities. Some of those power companies then pointed the finger back at regulators for having covertly urged such efforts in the first place.

The “AstroTurf”—or fake-grass-roots—campaigns, which ranged from packing events with supporters to planting questions and orchestrating email drives, have now badly backfired, sparking public outrage that has made it difficult to restart any reactors taken down for regular maintenance checks over the past five months.

The fact that the symposium I participated in turned out to be just a tool for promoting nuclear power leaves a very bad taste in my mouth,” said Yoshinobu Hirata, 49, a part-time rice farmer and former municipal official, who was one of a handful of local residents invited to the government-sponsored event in June. “It will take a lot of time for Kyushu Electric to heal the wounds in the local community.”……

August 13, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties