Japan Press Weekly

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2014 April 9 - 15 [POLITICS]

Environmental NGOs raise protest against Abe’s basic energy plan

A number of Japan’s environmental NGOs on April 11 issued statements in protest against the new basic energy plan the Abe Cabinet approved earlier on the day.

The basic energy plan, the nation’s mid- and long-term policy on energy, designates nuclear power as an “important base-load power source”, declaring that the Abe government intends to continue to rely on nuclear power.

Kiko Network in its statement pointed out that the Abe government expressed its intention to stick to dependence on nuclear power generation without reflecting on lessons learned from the calamitous Fukushima nuclear accident. It criticized the plan as “anachronistic”.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Japan’s statement states, “The new plan sets no numerical target for promotion of the use of energy from renewables, the most potential energy sources. Such a plan fails to publicize Japan’s spirit of innovation domestically and internationally.”

Citing that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had consented to decreased dependence on nuclear power, WWF Japan demanded government measures to do so.

In the basic plan, the government stated that suspension of operations of nuclear power plants has caused negative impacts on measures against global warming and the Japanese economy, which has contributed to a critical eye turned on Japan despite its leading role in global efforts on climate change.

FoE Japan in its statement condemned the government for keeping the same position on nuclear power generation even after the Fukushima accident in March 2011.

Lawyer Hayakawa Mitsutoshi, who also serves as senior director of the Citizens’ Alliance for Saving the Atmosphere and the Earth (CASA), said, “I’m speechless about the government stance. The Japanese government in 2012 withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol and in November last year announced lowering of the target for control on greenhouse gas emissions from the initial target. This provoked criticism from the global community. The government, however, showed no remorse for that. It should revise the plan in accordance with public discussion.”

Past related articles:
> Gov’t intends to revive ‘safety myth’ of nuclear power: Shii [April 5, 2014]
> Environmental NGOs criticize Japan’s new CO2 target [November 16, 2013]