nuclear-news

The safest management of nuclear plants is to close them – former Japanese P.M.

In his testimony, Mr Kan said Japan’s plant safety was inadequate because the energy policy had been hijacked by the ”nuclear village” – the power companies and pro-nuclear regulators and researchers that worked to promote the industry. 

”Experiencing the accident convinced me that the best way to make nuclear plants safe is not to rely on them, but rather, to get rid of them.”

Nuclear plants ‘far too risky’ for Japan Tokyo http://www.smh.com.au/world/nuclear-plants-far-too-risky-for-japan-20120529-1zhak.html#ixzz1wbiceWvu May 30, 2012 IN AN unusually stark warning during last year’s nuclear crisis, Japan’s then prime minister told a parliamentary inquiry the country should discard nuclear power as being too dangerous, saying the Fukushima accident had pushed the country to the brink of ”national collapse”.

In testimony to a panel investigating the government’s handling of the nuclear disaster, Naoto Kan also warned that the powerful nuclear industry was trying to push Japan back towards nuclear power, despite ”showing no remorse” for the accident.
Mr Kan’s testimony was the most closely watched of the six-month inquiry, which was launched by lawmakers who felt an earlier investigation by the government had papered over problems.

Mr Kan used his appearance to criticise the relatively pro-nuclear stance of the current prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, who replaced him in August. Mr Noda has called for the restarting of Japan’s undamaged nuclear plants to avoid power shortages.
In his testimony, Mr Kan said Japan’s plant safety was inadequate because the energy policy had been hijacked by the ”nuclear village” – the power companies and pro-nuclear regulators and researchers that worked to promote the industry. He said the only way to break their
grip was to form a new regulatory agency staffed by outsiders, such as
foreign experts.
Mr Kan said the accident had brought Japan to the brink of evacuating
Tokyo and that the loss of the capital would have paralysed the
government, leading to ”a collapse of the nation’s ability to
function”. He said the prospect of losing Tokyo made him realise that
nuclear power was too risky and the consequences of an accident too
great to accept.
”Experiencing the accident convinced me that the best way to make nuclear plants safe is not to rely on them, but rather, to get rid of them.”

June 1, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general