August 16 and 17, 2011
The Liberal Democratic Party was established on November 15, 1955 after a merger of the Liberal Party and Democratic Party. This new party published a political platform paper stating, “We will take special measures to promote science and technology in preparation for a change in industrial structure centering on peaceful uses of atomic power.”
In its “Founding Declaration” published on the same day, the LDP appreciated the development of nuclear energy being led by the United States. It stated, “With the development of nuclear science, the history of all mankind is adding a new page from day to day.”
The first thing the newly-born LDP did was enact the so-called three atomic energy laws: the atomic energy basic law, the act for establishment of the atomic energy commission, and the act for establishment of the atomic energy agency under the prime minister’s office. This was only one month after the founding of the LDP.
Prototype of ‘community of interest’ benefiting from atomic energy
In May 1954, the Cabinet installed a preparatory committee for the peaceful use of atomic energy with Vice-LDP President Ogata Taketora, former vice president of Asahi Shimbun, as committee head. Industrial Minister Aichi Kiichi, Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (former Keidanren) President Ishikawa Ichiro, Professor at University of Tokyo Kaya Seiji, and President of former Tokyo University of Education Fujioka Yoshio also took part in the committee. That constituted the prototype of the “community of interest” consisting of politicians, bureaucrats, business leaders, academics, and mass media representatives.
Keidanren in April 1955 launched an unofficial gathering facilitated by Yomiuri Shimbun’s owner Shoriki Mastutaro, following the U.S. government offer of supplying Japan with enriched uranium.
Following the advice of this business gathering, the government in May decided to accept the U.S. proposal and passed down this decision to the next government which came into power in November 1955 with the emergence of the LDP.
In January 1956, the LDP government set up the Atomic Energy Commission, and Shoriki Matsutaro of Yomiuri Shimbun became the first chairman of the commission.
Hidden obligation
The LDP in 1975 published a book commemorating the 20th anniversary of its founding which boasted of the party’s role in enacting the nuclear-related laws as well as establishing an agency, an institute, and a state-run corporation promoting nuclear energy. It praised itself for having arranged the smoothest way to embark on the road to the peaceful use of atomic energy.
However, the book did not mention the party’s hidden obligation which was to formulate a structure to implicitly obey the United States in the field of energy policy.
Key player Nakasone
Former Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro was the key player in installing the structure of Japanese subordination to the U.S. in the nation’s energy policy.
In October 2006, during his lecture on the 50th anniversary of Ibaraki Prefecture’s atomic energy industry, Nakasone mentioned that at the last stage of the U.S. occupation of Japan he directly requested GHQ Commander Douglas MacArthur and U.S. Special Envoy John Foster Dulles to not ban Japan from researching and developing nuclear power when concluding a bilateral peace treaty.
In 1953, Nakasone, a young Lower House member at that time, went to the United States and, as he recalls in his book, participated in a seminar by Henry Kissinger, who later became the U.S. Secretary of Defense, as well as “closely observed the progress of U.S. research on the peaceful use of atomic energy.”
After returning to Japan, Nakasone actively worked for the launch of nuclear power generation in Japan. During the last phase of discussions on a draft budget at the Lower House in March 1954, he took the lead in having three conservative parties (the Liberal Party, Kaishinto, and the Japan Liberal Party) submit an amendment to the draft which included Japan’s first budget allocation for nuclear power generation. The revised budget was bulldozed through the Lower House and then enacted.
Agreement with US prioritized
After the budget approval, Nakasone took initiatives in the Diet to establish related legislation for promotion of atomic energy, including the Atomic Energy Basic Law.
The U.S. and Japan in November 1955 signed their first atomic energy agreement with the U.S. offer of enriched uranium to Japan.
During the Diet deliberation on the basic law in December 1955, Nakasone stated that the Diet needs to approve the ratification of the bilateral agreement as soon as possible so that Japan would be able to purchase nuclear reactors from the U.S. Insisting on the need to enact the basic law, he said, “The Diet should of course present to the Japanese public an outline of the nation’s nuclear energy policy before the ratification of the Japan-U.S. agreement.”
This shows Nakasone’s stance was that the basic law should be hastily enacted for the sake of prioritizing purchase of U.S. nuclear reactors.
The 1956 white paper on nuclear energy stated that the government will change its nuclear technology development plan from a small-scale and long-term to large-scale and short-term scheme by accepting support from abroad.
(To be continued)
In its “Founding Declaration” published on the same day, the LDP appreciated the development of nuclear energy being led by the United States. It stated, “With the development of nuclear science, the history of all mankind is adding a new page from day to day.”
The first thing the newly-born LDP did was enact the so-called three atomic energy laws: the atomic energy basic law, the act for establishment of the atomic energy commission, and the act for establishment of the atomic energy agency under the prime minister’s office. This was only one month after the founding of the LDP.
Prototype of ‘community of interest’ benefiting from atomic energy
In May 1954, the Cabinet installed a preparatory committee for the peaceful use of atomic energy with Vice-LDP President Ogata Taketora, former vice president of Asahi Shimbun, as committee head. Industrial Minister Aichi Kiichi, Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (former Keidanren) President Ishikawa Ichiro, Professor at University of Tokyo Kaya Seiji, and President of former Tokyo University of Education Fujioka Yoshio also took part in the committee. That constituted the prototype of the “community of interest” consisting of politicians, bureaucrats, business leaders, academics, and mass media representatives.
Keidanren in April 1955 launched an unofficial gathering facilitated by Yomiuri Shimbun’s owner Shoriki Mastutaro, following the U.S. government offer of supplying Japan with enriched uranium.
Following the advice of this business gathering, the government in May decided to accept the U.S. proposal and passed down this decision to the next government which came into power in November 1955 with the emergence of the LDP.
In January 1956, the LDP government set up the Atomic Energy Commission, and Shoriki Matsutaro of Yomiuri Shimbun became the first chairman of the commission.
Hidden obligation
The LDP in 1975 published a book commemorating the 20th anniversary of its founding which boasted of the party’s role in enacting the nuclear-related laws as well as establishing an agency, an institute, and a state-run corporation promoting nuclear energy. It praised itself for having arranged the smoothest way to embark on the road to the peaceful use of atomic energy.
However, the book did not mention the party’s hidden obligation which was to formulate a structure to implicitly obey the United States in the field of energy policy.
Key player Nakasone
Former Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro was the key player in installing the structure of Japanese subordination to the U.S. in the nation’s energy policy.
In October 2006, during his lecture on the 50th anniversary of Ibaraki Prefecture’s atomic energy industry, Nakasone mentioned that at the last stage of the U.S. occupation of Japan he directly requested GHQ Commander Douglas MacArthur and U.S. Special Envoy John Foster Dulles to not ban Japan from researching and developing nuclear power when concluding a bilateral peace treaty.
In 1953, Nakasone, a young Lower House member at that time, went to the United States and, as he recalls in his book, participated in a seminar by Henry Kissinger, who later became the U.S. Secretary of Defense, as well as “closely observed the progress of U.S. research on the peaceful use of atomic energy.”
After returning to Japan, Nakasone actively worked for the launch of nuclear power generation in Japan. During the last phase of discussions on a draft budget at the Lower House in March 1954, he took the lead in having three conservative parties (the Liberal Party, Kaishinto, and the Japan Liberal Party) submit an amendment to the draft which included Japan’s first budget allocation for nuclear power generation. The revised budget was bulldozed through the Lower House and then enacted.
Agreement with US prioritized
After the budget approval, Nakasone took initiatives in the Diet to establish related legislation for promotion of atomic energy, including the Atomic Energy Basic Law.
The U.S. and Japan in November 1955 signed their first atomic energy agreement with the U.S. offer of enriched uranium to Japan.
During the Diet deliberation on the basic law in December 1955, Nakasone stated that the Diet needs to approve the ratification of the bilateral agreement as soon as possible so that Japan would be able to purchase nuclear reactors from the U.S. Insisting on the need to enact the basic law, he said, “The Diet should of course present to the Japanese public an outline of the nation’s nuclear energy policy before the ratification of the Japan-U.S. agreement.”
This shows Nakasone’s stance was that the basic law should be hastily enacted for the sake of prioritizing purchase of U.S. nuclear reactors.
The 1956 white paper on nuclear energy stated that the government will change its nuclear technology development plan from a small-scale and long-term to large-scale and short-term scheme by accepting support from abroad.
(To be continued)
