JCP Shii urges prime minister to swiftly assist quake victims and review nuclear power plant safety standards

   Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on July 25 made representations to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo urging him to swiftly take necessary measures to assist the victims of the earthquake that hit Niigata Prefecture on July 16.

   The JCP proposals include not only urgent measures such as research to determine who needs public assistance and supplying victims who are unable to go to evacuation centers with food and basic necessities but also providing local governments with personnel and finance, assisting small- and medium-sized businesses in recovering, measures preventing further disasters caused by aftershocks or torrential rains, and assistance to victims to get their lives back to normal.

   In the proposal, the JCP also called for a drastic review of anti-quake measures of nuclear power plants, thoroughly investigate damages caused by the earthquake to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station; determine causes of plant problems, including government responsibility; review anti-quake safety measures of all nuclear power plants; inspect all nuclear-related facilities and review their anti-quake standards.

The JCP made those proposals based on the JCP Dietmembers’ on-site inspections and requests made by the victims as well as local government officials in the quake-hit area. The JCP chair on July 18 visited Kashiwazaki City and Kariwa Village in Niigata Prefecture, encouraged victims, and inspected the nuclear power station.                           - Akahata, July 26, 2007