Japan Press Weekly

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2012 May 30 - June 5 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Anti-NPP DPJ members will pay the price: TEPCO union head

The chair of a labor union of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said on May 29, “Those who have betrayed us will pay the price,” referring to lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Japan who call for an end to the nation’s dependence on nuclear power generation.

The remark was made by the TEPCO union head, Arai Yukio, during his speech as a guest at a meeting held by a labor union of Chubu Electric Power Co. in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture.

The Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers’ Unions of Japan (Denryoku Soren) has provided a strong support base for the DPJ in elections.

However, frustrated by the ruling party’s failure to obtain an in-house agreement on the restart of offline nuclear reactors, Denryoku Soren at its meeting last September ended its election policy to “mainly” endorse DPJ candidates.

On May 16, accompanied by the federation-backed DPJ Upper House members, Kobayashi Masao (former TEPCO executive) and Fujiwara Masashi (former official of the Kansai Electric Power Co. union), President Taneoka Seiichi, and other Denryoku Soren senior officials met with DPJ secretary-general Tarutoko Shinji, calling for “special consideration” on the reactivation of nuclear power plants.