July 2, 2025

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Yamashita Yoshiki at an open forum on June 23 stated, “The world should cooperate in combating climate change from the scientific standpoint.”

The “open forum on climate change and energy policy” took place under the auspice of the Japan Youth Conference, a general incorporated association. Lawmakers from six ruling and opposition parties, including the JCP, responded to questions from young participants. The Liberal Democratic Party was absent.

Asked about the government’s basic energy plan which calls for the maximum use of nuclear power and the continued use of coal-fired power generation, Yamashita criticized the plan for hindering global efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Noting that the U.K. has ended its reliance on coal-fired power generation and Germany has departed from nuclear power generation, and that they are significantly increasing their renewable energy usage, he said that Japan should also promote a transition to renewables from coal and nuclear power.

In contrast, representatives from the Democratic Party for the People, the Komei Party, and the right-wing populist party “Sanseito” expressed their support for the government plan.

In response to the question, “What do you think about the participation of young people in the decision-making process on countermeasures against global warming,” Yamashita answered, “I totally agree. Youth involvement is essential.”

When a participant pointed to differences among political parties in their energy policies, Yamashita responded, “Discussions on the nation’s energy policy should be based on science-backed objective data. If we do so, we should be able to reach an agreement.” He pointed out, “Money from the nuclear and fossil fuel industries has a major influence on the government’s energy policy,” and demanded that political donations from businesses and interest groups to influence political decision making be completely abolished.

Past related article:
> JCP urges gov’t to remove nuclear power generation from new basic energy plan [December 19, 2024]
> Japan may become biggest perpetrator of global climate change [April 2, 2024]