December 23, 2022

The government on December 22 at a meeting of its Green Transformation Implementation Council chaired by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio decided on a policy that will promote the construction of new nuclear power plants and extend the maximum operating life of nuclear reactors beyond 60 years. The government has so far said that it will reduce Japan’s dependance on nuclear power as much as possible. With the new policy, the government made a U-turn in its stance.

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kasai Akira, who heads the party’s taskforce on nuclear power generation, climate change, and energy policy issues, issued a statement demanding the retraction of the government’s new nuclear energy policy.

Kasai pointed out that in Japan, one of the world’s most quake- and tsunami-prone countries, the new policy promoting nuclear power generation into the future will jeopardize not only the people’s lives and property but also the economy and society. He said, “Nevertheless, the government decided on the new policy at the council consisting mainly of people representing the business circles, the nuclear power industry, and power companies. The government avoided holding Diet discussions and holding a referendum on this issue. This is totally unacceptable.”

Kasai noted that the government cited the need to ensure a stable supply of electricity and to achieve Japan’s decarbonization as an excuse to make the best use of nuclear power generation. He said that nuclear power plants are inflexible and cannot ramp up and down rapidly their outputs in response to a frequent change in electricity demand. He continued to say that the government should seek to realize the stable power supply and a low-carbon society by such means as introducing a demand response program, which is widely used in Europe to help each nation manage its electricity demand, and improving energy saving measures.

Kasai pointed out that the promotion of nuclear power generation will continue producing used nuclear fuels and other nuclear wastes and will impose a huge negative legacy on future generations. He said that the government should adopt an energy policy promoting the full utilization of energy saving measures and strong promotion of renewables.

Kasai appealed for the need to strengthen public movements to change the Kishida government which pushes forward with nuclear power generation as if the Fukushima disaster never happened to one protecting people’s lives and safety.