Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at Ozawa ‘school’ on need to end nuclear power

Koizumi speaks at Ozawa ‘school’ on need to end nuclear power, Asahi Shimbun ,By TATSURO KAWAI/ Staff Writer, July 16, 2018

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wondered if he was in the right place, appearing at an event for a longtime political rival.

Koizumi was guest lecturer on July 15 at a Tokyo hotel for a political “school” organized by Ichiro Ozawa, the head of the opposition Liberal Party.

“I thought there must have been a mistake because I never expected to be invited here,” Koizumi said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

The two political veterans, who were once on opposite sides in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, have come together in a high-voltage pairing to work toward eliminating nuclear energy in Japan.

In his speech, Koizumi reflected on his long past with Ozawa.

“In the political world, there is a frequent shift in who is one’s friend or foe,” Koizumi said.

His main theme of the lecture was to work against nuclear energy.

Koizumi reiterated that point when he met with reporters after the speech and said, “In order to build momentum for a national movement to do away with nuclear plants, it will be important for politicians like us who have been called conservative to raise our voices.”

Ozawa said he was heartened by Koizumi’s comment and added, “I and the other opposition parties have all made zero nuclear plants our most important policy objective. It is an extremely strong backing to have an individual who once served as prime minister and (LDP) president to talk to the people about doing away with nuclear plants.”

Koizumi also expressed displeasure that his former political protege, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had not done more on nuclear energy policy.

It is extremely regrettable that the opportunity is being wasted because if the prime minister moved toward zero nuclear plants, the ruling and opposition parties would come together to make that a reality,” Koizumi told reporters. ……….http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201807160020.html