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2011 April 20 - 26 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Tokyo’s local legislators invited to TEPCO’s nuclear plant

Assembly members of political parties (except the Japanese Communist Party) of a Tokyo local government were invited to one of TEPCO’s nuclear power plants free of charge. This practice succeeded in having at least one assemblyman come out in favor of nuclear power generation at an assembly session.

Akahata on April 20 reported that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) invited Tokyo’s Taito Ward Assembly members to its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture on October 30, 2008. Those who accepted the TEPCO invitation were all of the ten Liberal Democratic Party ward assembly members, three Komei members, all of the nine Democratic Party of Japan members, and three independent members.

TEPCO even paid for their return Bullet Train tickets to Niigata and their lunches.

Four JCP ward assembly members refused to go, saying, “We refuse to help TEPCO propagate the ‘safety myth’ of nuclear plants. We will visit nuclear plants for critical research at our own expense.”

Ito Mantaro, Democratic Party member of the Taito Ward Assembly and one of the members visiting the plant, at an Assembly environment committee meeting in 2009 argued that it is necessary to make the effort to “shift energy production to nuclear power generation from thermal power generation.”

TEPCO’s Tokyo branch representative said, “We invited them for a visit in order to encourage assembly members to clearly understand the safety of nuclear plants.”