Japan Press Weekly

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2023 February 15 - 21 [POLITICS]

Kasai calls for use of Japan's abundant renewable energy sources

Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on February 15 criticized the Kishida government for failing to utilize Japan's advantages of having a significant quantity of renewable energy sources.

Kasai said that Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, as an excuse about the nation's reliance on nuclear power generation, keeps saying that Japan doesn't have enough sites suitable for renewables as it is a mountainous country surrounded by the sea. Kasai, however, added, "In fact, Japan is very rich in resources for renewables. It is the government itself which has been failing to utilize the nation's natural advantages.”

The Ministry of Environment last year published an estimate which shows that Japan's potential renewable energy sources have seven times as much quantity as the country's annual energy generation and will have twice as much if taking into account the feasibility of renewable energy projects.

Kasai said, "Various problems associated with nuclear power generation have been left unresolved. The government should decide to do away with nuclear energy and instead utilize Japan's abundant renewable energy sources," demanding a shift toward promoting renewables.

He also demanded that the Cabinet decision to construct additional nuclear power plants and to approve the use of over 60-year-old nuclear reactors be retracted.