Japan: push for a referendum on nuclear power

The anti-nuclear side has won all three referendums already held.

Japan group seeks local referendum on nuclear power * Osaka city assembly to decide on nuclear plebiscite

* Osaka mayor anti-nuclear but lukewarm on referendum

* Activists battle apathy a year after Fukushima crisis

By Yoko Kubota TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) – A group of Japanese activists submitted a petition to the western city of Osaka on Tuesday seeking a referendum on scrapping atomic power, a step some hope will boost a campaign that appears to be flagging a year after the Fukushima disaster….. Plebiscites are rare in Japan — three have been held on nuclear power as well as a number of others — and no law exists for a national referendum. But campaigners in Osaka, Tokyo and the western prefecture of Shizuoka are taking advantage of rules that allow for referendums if the local assembly gives the nod.

Osaka, the core of Japan’s second biggest metropolitan area with 2.7 million residents, receives its electricity from Kansai Electric, Japan’s second-biggest utility operating 11 reactors at three plants near the city.

If a plebiscite takes place, residents will vote on whether to scrap Kansai-operated nuclear power plants.

“Deciding such an important issue should be in the hands of the voters,” said Hajime Imai, an organiser of the group.

The role of nuclear power is now under debate by the central government, which has abandoned a pre-Fukushima goal of boosting atomic energy’s share of electricity demand to 50 percent by 2030 from 30 percent before the accident.

The industry is under intense scrutiny, with many reactors undergoing computer-simulated tests to ensure they could withstand a new disaster. Only three of 54 reactors are on stream at the moment.

The activists submitted to Osaka City 55,430 signatures of residents, or 2.1 percent of the city’s population, above the 2 percent required by legal regulations.

CITY ASSEMBLY DIVIDED

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto must now present a motion to the city assembly for a vote on whether a referendum should be held…… The anti-nuclear side has won all three referendums already held. The votes had little direct impact on national policies, although a groundswell of similar ballots could make a difference.

Imai’s group is also collecting signatures for a national referendum, though parliament would have to pass a law in order for such a national vote to take place.

Fukushima shattered Japan’s myth that nuclear energy was cheap, clean and safe, but the absence of a legal framework means a national vote is unlikely.

Opinion polls show about three-quarters of the public favour at least a gradual exit from nuclear power. But enthusiasm for active campaigning is waning and many voters appear to be losing hope that their opinions matter. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/14/refile-japan-nuclear-referendum-idUSL4E8DA21620120214