July 17, 2011
Prime Minister Kan Naoto on July 15 said that his announcement to create “a future society which does not depend on nuclear power” is just a “personal view.” Harsh criticism following his initial comment from cabinet members and the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party sheds light on how completely the two biggest parties, the Democratic Party of Japan and the LDP, are out of touch with public sentiment which is demanding the reduction in the number of nuclear plants and their eventual shutdown.
After Kan’s call for a society with no dependence on nuclear power, cabinet ministers one after another denounced his comment, saying that the remark does not represent government policy. Shortly after the prime minister’s comment, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sengoku Yoshito said that this was “merely his personal wish.” The next day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio stated, “The Prime Minister only stated a hope that might come true in some distant future,” while emphasizing that the government has a clear policy to restart operations of suspended nuclear reactors once their safety is assured.
DPJ Secretary General Okada Katsuya explicitly stated that the prime minister’s remark is different from the party’s policy stance.
Meanwhile, LDP President Tanigaki Sadakazu on July 14 criticized Kan’s comment, saying that the prime minister only “played to the gallery without thinking about the public need.” The LDP leader warned that the remark created further distrust in industrial circles, and because of this distrust, a large number of corporations are about to leave this country and a significant hollowing-out of industry is on the point of beginning.
Tanigaki’s statement is the same as that of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren). On the same day, the Japan Business Federation made a proposal calling for the immediate resumption of suspended nuclear reactors’ operations on the grounds that an unstable energy supply will accelerate the hollowing-out of Japan’s industry.
After Kan’s call for a society with no dependence on nuclear power, cabinet ministers one after another denounced his comment, saying that the remark does not represent government policy. Shortly after the prime minister’s comment, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sengoku Yoshito said that this was “merely his personal wish.” The next day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio stated, “The Prime Minister only stated a hope that might come true in some distant future,” while emphasizing that the government has a clear policy to restart operations of suspended nuclear reactors once their safety is assured.
DPJ Secretary General Okada Katsuya explicitly stated that the prime minister’s remark is different from the party’s policy stance.
Meanwhile, LDP President Tanigaki Sadakazu on July 14 criticized Kan’s comment, saying that the prime minister only “played to the gallery without thinking about the public need.” The LDP leader warned that the remark created further distrust in industrial circles, and because of this distrust, a large number of corporations are about to leave this country and a significant hollowing-out of industry is on the point of beginning.
Tanigaki’s statement is the same as that of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren). On the same day, the Japan Business Federation made a proposal calling for the immediate resumption of suspended nuclear reactors’ operations on the grounds that an unstable energy supply will accelerate the hollowing-out of Japan’s industry.
