More and more anti-nuke support

May 11, 2015

Japan Political Pulse: Increasing resistance to nuclear power

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20150511p2a00m0na009000c.html

I recently had the opportunity to see 73-year-old former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for the first time in a while. The heart of our spirited discussion could be summed up in the following comment: "At the grassroots level, there's an increasing move toward abandoning nuclear power." Excerpts from the interview follow:

Mainichi: How has the movement on abandoning nuclear power been going recently?

Koizumi: "It's firmly rooted, firmly rooted indeed. When I go to the movies, concerts and Kabuki performances, men and women of all ages come up to me asking to shake my hand, saying, 'Good luck with eliminating nuclear power.' There was one person who said that thanks to me, they weren't being labelled as left wing or being affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party (when they supported abandoning nuclear power)."

M: There doesn't seem to be as much debate as before.

K: "The mass media is being held back. The nuclear power industry has a far reach -- from iron and steel to construction, machinery, cement, and the (computer) systems market. This support structure is considerable."

M: Have you been giving lectures recently?

K: "I have, about two or three times a week. Next month I'm speaking in Kagoshima, but the venue has changed from the place that was originally scheduled. My father (Junya Koizumi, former director-general of the Defense Agency) is from that area, so I know a lot of people there, but there are some who find it a nuisance for me to come (when the reactivation of a nuclear reactor in the prefecture is approaching)."

M: Going around advocating the elimination of nuclear power isn't easy, is it?

K: "I wouldn't say that. As they say, things in society are like clouds over the moon and wind through the flowers. People leave those they have feelings for and end up with people they don't have feelings for."

--

It seems that the former prime minister, quoting from an old verse saying that what happens in society is beyond our control, has not thrown in the towel.

Last month, the Kagoshima District Court turned down a move to block reactivation of the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima Prefecture. How does Koizumi feel about this?

"It not unexpected," he said. "Since the Ikata lawsuit (against construction of a nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture, which ended with residents losing in a Supreme Court ruling in 1992), the government's intentions have gotten through."

While the former prime minister takes this in his stride, he seems dissatisfied with the Kagoshima District Court's position on new safety standards for nuclear reactors and the judgment of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), and "upped the voltage" on this issue.

"There are a lot of inconsistencies. The very head of the NRA is saying, 'They (the nuclear reactors) might have passed safety standards, but we're not going to call them safe.' But then the government is saying, 'They've passed safety standards; they're the toughest safety standards in the world so we're going to restart them.'

"They haven't made comparisons with the rest of the world. There are many shortcomings if compared with America. Why don't they say it straight? It's a wonder they can lie just like that."

In public opinion polls, there remains solid support for a breakaway from nuclear power.

"There's still a lot of opposition (to nuclear power). The average person knows it. There's an increasing move toward abandoning nuclear power," Koizumi said.

I told Koizumi that I doubted reality would change.

"It'll change," Koizumi replied. "I won't be deterred, though my foes may be legion." The former prime minister was quoting Mencius. Once you had conviction, the thing to do was to advance, even in the face of countless opponents, he was saying.

"Don't get impatient. Don't rely on other people. Don't give up. It's a democratic country so in the end it comes down to the will of the people," Koizumi said.

I asked the former prime minister what he thought of the current administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"I don't want to give an evaluation. But when it comes to nuclear power plants we don't see eye to eye. It's a root problem. If you're asking whether it's all right to leave my mistakes (promoting nuclear power under the Koizumi administration) as they are, that's not right. If you try, you can do it. Considering the changes of the past, I don't think (eliminating nuclear power) is unachievable."

Consider the 1960s, when there was a move from coal to oil, and the 70s, when the premise of relying on oil crumbled. Things can change, and they have to -- that's my conviction. (By Takao Yamada, Special Senior Writer)

May 11, 2015(Mainichi Japan)