Japan Press Weekly

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2018 March 7 - 13 [POLITICS]

4 opposition parties submit bill to withdraw from nuclear power generation

The Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party, and the Liberal Party on March 9 jointly submitted to the House of Representatives a bill to enable a transition to renewable energy and the closure of all nuclear power plants in Japan.

This action took place in response to a call from the CDPJ.

The bill points out that the emphasis on the safety of nuclear power by the government and utilities had led to the “safety myth” that an accident at a nuclear power plants is inconceivable. Criticizing the successive governments’ pro-nuclear power generation policy as a blunder, the bill states that to achieve a shift to renewable energy and the abolition of all NPPs will open a vista for the future.

In order to achieve this, the four party-submitted bill seeks to set up a government organization to promote a government policy on the withdrawal from nuclear power generation. In addition, as a goal, the bill aims to increase the share of renewable power in Japan to more than 40% by 2030.

At a press conference after the submission, CDPJ policy research council head Nagatsuma Akira expressed his determination to work with others to enact the bill.

JCP Policy Commission Chair Kasai Akira stressed that a bill to delegitimize nuclear power policy was presented to the Diet for the first time in Japan’s parliamentary history, which is significant. Explaining the reason why the JCP agreed on the joint submission, Kasai said that the bill prohibits both permanent and temporary operations of nuclear reactors, which coincides with the JCP position.

Kasai pointed out that seven years have passed since the 2011 nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, but efforts to bring the accident under control still continue. The JCP lawmaker said, “Not only the government but also politicians are required to play a role in preventing a recurrence of such an accident. The JCP will work jointly with other opposition parties to pass the bill in the current Diet session.”