Japan Press Weekly

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2024 January 31 - February 6 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Shii calls for putting recovery from New Year’s Day quake first and abandoning nuclear power and Osaka Expo

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Shii Kazuo on February 1 in his interpellation at the House plenary session said that the government should give first priority to the recovery of the quake-hit Noto region and cancel the promotion of nuclear power generation and the 2025 Osaka World Expo.

Shii referred to an evacuation plan in the case of a nuclear accident at the Shika Nuclear Power Plant located on the Noto Peninsula. Under the plan, 150,000 residents living within a 30-kilometer radius from the NPP will be required to evacuate to safer areas by car. Shii pointed out that the latest quake severely damaged roads on the peninsula and proved this plan to be totally infeasible. He said to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, “Considering this, it is unallowable for the government to stick to the reactivation of the off-line nuclear power plant.”

Shii said that based on the JCP’s stance seeking to decommission all nuclear power facilities nationwide, the party demands that the quake-affected Shika and Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPPs be decommissioned without delay.

Shii pointed out that the massive Noto quake caused devastating damage to houses and essential infrastructure, such as roads and water pipes. He said that there are growing voices calling on the government to prioritize post-disaster recovery over the Osaka Expo which spends a huge amount of tax money and resources, including for construction materials, heavy machinery, and manpower. Stating that it is unacceptable to distribute limited resources to the Expo whose period of operation is only half a year, Shii urged PM Kishida to give up on the Osaka Expo.

Past related article:
> JCP Osaka demands cancellation of Osaka Expo to focus on post-disaster recovery [January 12, 2024]