Japan Press Weekly

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2015 April 8 - 14 TOP3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

LDP proposes that energy generation depend more on nuclear power

The Liberal Democratic Party on April 7 proposed to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo that Japan increase the share of nuclear power generation by 2030 to the same level as before the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

The ruling party’s recommendation states that Japan needs to generate 60% of its electricity from “baseload” energy sources in order to reach “an internationally-comparable level,” suggesting that at least 20% of the stable energy supplies be covered by nuclear power.

The proposal fulfills Japanese business circles’ demands. In its policy proposal published in January, the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) called for nuclear energy to take up at least 25% of the country’s total power generation in 2030. The Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) also demanded in a recommendation it released last month that the nuclear share be no less than 20%.

The Abe Cabinet in April last year approved a basic energy plan which recognizes nuclear, coal-fired, hydro, and geothermal power as baseload energy sources. By designating nuclear power as the most “important baseload power supply”, it declared that Japan will continue to rely on nuclear power generation.

Japan’s baseload power supplies in 2010 consisted of nuclear (29%), coal-fired (25%), and hydro power (9%). Due to the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, the ratio in 2013 changed to 1% for nuclear, 30% for coal-fired, and 9% for hydro power.

In order to increase the share of nuclear power to 20 %, new nuclear reactors will need to be constructed in addition to authorizing the extension of the nuclear reactor operation period from the present 40 years to 60 years.

Ito Tatsuya, a resident in Fukushima Prefecture and a representative of the national liaison center of residents’ movement against nuclear power plants, said that the LDP’s attempt to meet the demand of big businesses and increase the share of nuclear power to such an outrageous degree will only escalate conflicts with the general public which is overwhelmingly calling for withdrawal from nuclear power generation.