May 31, 2019

Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira at a Lower House committee meeting on the economy on May 30 criticized the government for proceeding with secret negotiations with India pertaining to Japan's export of nuclear power plants.

At the request of Kasai, the ministries of foreign affairs and economy released "diplomatic cables" on a nuclear plant project in India. However, a "summery of discussions" in the documents, the most important six pages, has been "blacked out".

According to the cables, the two ministries held nuclear power generation talks with their Indian counterparts on March 26 in Mumbai. At the meeting, along with ministerial officials, 19 other Japanese from the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba Energy Systems, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance were present. What they discussed in the meeting is being held in secret.

JCP Kasai said that it is unacceptable for the government to secretly promote nuclear exports, demanding that the content of the discussion be made public.

Past related article:
> Japan-India nuclear deal should not be ratified: expert [April 13, 2017]