Japan Press Weekly

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2018 December 5 - 11 [ECONOMY]

Japan to give up export of nuclear power plant to Turkey

Bearing in mind the cancellation, the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries began discussing with the Turkish government whether to advance on the agreed plan to construct a nuclear power plant in Turkey, Akahata learned on December 4.

The Abe government and its Turkish counterpart in 2013 reached an agreement on Japan’s export of nuclear power plant technology to Turkey. Under the agreement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. was assigned to a project to construct a nuclear power plant consisting of four reactors in the Black Sea region in Turkey with the view of starting the commercial operation in 2023.

Japan’s major reactor manufacturer at the end of July this year submitted to the Turkish government a report on a survey conducted in preparation for the launch of the NPP project. In the report, the construction cost was estimated to be two times higher than the initial estimate of two trillion yen. Based on this report, the Japanese government concluded that it would be difficult to go forward with the project.

The Japanese Communist Party in the Diet repeatedly urged the government to withdraw the planned nuclear power plant technology export to Turkey.

JCP Policy Commission Chair Kasai Akira commented that the Abe administration, which is disinclined to apply any lessons learned from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident has been aggressive in selling nuclear plant equipment and technology abroad in collaboration with Japanese NPP makers and the business community. Kasai said, “The current situation regarding the Turkey NPP project represents the failure of the Japanese government’s pro-nuclear energy strategy.”

Pointing out, “The need to shift from nuclear power to renewable energy is the consensus in the international community,” Kasai stressed that it is necessary to enact a bill establishing a “zero nuclear basic law” as was jointly proposed by the JCP and other opposition parties, and change the government energy policy to one not promoting more nuclear power generation.

Past related articles:
> Abe in Europe busy selling Japan’s nuclear power plants [May 8, 2014]
> People in Turkey also do not want nuclear power [April 16, 2014]
> NPP business puts profit before safety [June 1, 2013]