Japan Press Weekly

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2012 September 26 - October 2 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Japan should listen to US: TEPCO’s ex-vice president

Saying, “The Japanese government should carefully listen to the U.S.,” President of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) Hattori Takuya on September 27 criticized a “zero” nuclear power plant strategy which was developed by a governmental council.

He is a former vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

The Energy and Environment Council of the government on September 14 released its Innovative Strategy for Energy and the Environment which proposes that the government commit “all its political resources to reducing nuclear power generation to zero in the 2030s.” However, the strategy failed to be adopted as governmental policy at a Cabinet meeting held on September 19.

Hattori on September 14 issued an official statement saying that giving up the option of nuclear energy “would be an abdication of Japan’s responsibility to the international community.” “Japan thus has the duty to maintain and develop nuclear technology for the sake of global sustainable development.”

The statement also asserts, “Japan should consider for the sake of the U.S.-Japan relationship that the U.S. believes it is essential for stability in the East Asian region that Japan maintain nuclear technology and that the two countries cooperate in its development.”

“The Japanese government should carefully listen to the U.S. from the viewpoint of national security,” Hattori said at a news conference.

Regarding the reason why the Cabinet was unable to authorize the “zero” option strategy, he mentioned protests from prefectures which host nuclear power plants, including Aomori and Fukui, organizations of business circles such as the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, and the United States government.

“The Cabinet decided not to approve the strategy because four U.S. high officials had expressed concerns over Japan’s withdrawal from nuclear power, as I see it,” said Hattori.