nuclear-news

Confusion in Japan over nuclear policies

Japan grapples with nuclear question, Ft.com 2 Dec 12 By Jonathan Soble in Tokyo Japanese voters hoping to use December’s election to cast a ballot for or against nuclear power – the most emotionally charged issue in the
country since the Fukushima disaster – are getting little help from mainstream politicians.

Over the weekend, Japanese lawmakers across the political spectrum suggested in televised debates that the leading parties had converged on something close to a consensus – but their comments left plenty of room for confusion.

“Saying you can achieve zero nuclear in ten years or something is like
selling bananas in the street,” said Toru Hashimoto, the mayor
governor and founder of the upstart Restoration party, referring to
the way Japanese supermarkets used to sell cheap bananas in front of
their stores to draw in customers.

In September, the Democratic Party of Japan – which polls suggest will
be ousted on December 16 – unveiled a plan to abandon nuclear power by
2040. But it contained big loopholes and Prime Minister Yoshihiko
Noda’s administration watered it down days later by promising
“flexible” implementation.

Since Fukushima, Japan has grappled with whether to abandon nuclear
power, which previously provided 30 per cent of its electricity.Politicians have been seeking to balance unresolved safety concerns
with warnings from business about the high cost of abandoning atomic
energy.

Mr Hashimoto’s comments illustrate how far some parties have travelled
to join the emerging consensus. The former Osaka governor gained
attention after Fukushima as one of the most vocal critics of the
nuclear industry, accusing power companies of “lying” about the need
to keep atomic plants running to avoid electricity shortages.

His Restoration party is polling in second place, slightly ahead of
the DPJ with about 15 per cent support. Its campaign platform promises
to uphold the target for eliminating nuclear power by 2040. But Mr
Hashimoto said at the weekend that the timeline was a “starting point”
for policy rather than a hard-and-fast promise…..
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75d1540c-3c60-11e2-a6b2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2E1TCQFJH.

December 3, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics