information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
8 Mai 2014
May 8, 2014
Koizumi, Hosokawa to stay out of politics in anti-nuclear crusade
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201405080047
By IZUMI SAKURAI/ Staff Writer
Former prime ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Morihiro Hosokawa have officially established an organization to abolish atomic power, but say they will avoid being directly involved in politics.
With gubernatorial elections later this year certain to focus on the nuclear energy issue, however, it might prove difficult for the team not to campaign for anti-nuclear candidates.
“Japan is an earthquake-prone country, and the government has not taken effective measures to protect nuclear power plants from terrorism,” Koizumi said in front of more than 300 people during the inauguration ceremony of the Japan Assembly for Nuclear Free Renewable Energy in Tokyo on May 7.
Koizumi, 72, added that it is a “blatant lie” that nuclear power is safe, cost-effective and clean energy.
Citing the crushing defeat of Hosokawa, 76, in the Tokyo gubernatorial election in February, Koizumi said, “We lost a battle but are standing up with an unyielding spirit to create a nuclear-free country.”
Hosokawa, who serves as the representative of the nonprofit, general incorporated association, said 60 percent of Japanese oppose bringing reactors back online and 80 percent support the eventual abolishment of nuclear power.
“It is utterly wrong for the current government to push for the restart of nuclear power plants. It contradicts Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s promise that his government will lower the country’s dependence on nuclear energy,” Hosokawa said.
“We must turn to renewable energy to create a society without fear of radiation contamination.”
The co-founders of the organization include philosopher Takeshi Umehara, writer Jakucho Setouchi, scholar Donald Keene and Katsunobu Sakurai, mayor of Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture.
About 30 influential people, including celebrities such as actress Sayuri Yoshinaga and Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke, also listed their names as official supporters.
During the symposium on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, Reiko Yukawa, a music critic and one of the co-founders of the organization, proposed that the group commit itself to supporting candidates who oppose nuclear power in the Fukushima Prefecture gubernatorial election in November and other local elections. The nuclear issue is also likely to be contested in the July race for Shiga Prefecture’s governorship.
After the talk, however, Koizumi told reporters that he is wary to get involved, saying “Elections can cause power struggles and friction” within the group.
Hosokawa agreed, saying that the aim of the group is to create a national-level movement to abolish nuclear power.
The organizers said that the group’s first commitment will be organizing events to screen anti-nuclear films and small-scale discussion meetings for residents living close to nuclear power plants.
May 7, 2014
Three months after his defeat in the Tokyo gubernatorial race, former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa has teamed up once again with fellow ex-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to renew their effort to abolish nuclear power, even as the central government takes steps to revive it.
On Wednesday, the pair, joined by prominent scholars and activists, launched a council against nuclear power called Japan Assembly for Nuclear Free Renewable Energy.
“The Japanese people have a spirit sturdy enough to overcome even the most adversarial situations,” Koizumi said at the launch. “It’s a wonderful idea to create a country that relies on renewable energy and I am confident that we can make a better society.”
Donald Keene, an American-born scholar of Japanese literature who obtained Japanese citizenship a year after the March 11 disasters, is among the founders.
In February, the two retired prime ministers joined forces to steer the central government away from nuclear power generation, via Tokyo’s gubernatorial election.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is the third-largest shareholder of Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants as well as the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex, which is currently undergoing inspection by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for reactivation.
But the pair’s anti-nuclear platform in the race wasn’t enough to prevent former health and welfare minister Yoichi Masuzoe from winning. Masuzoe had the backing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition ally, New Komeito.
There has been wide speculation that Hosokawa and Koizumi will attempt to influence regional elections by putting up or endorsing anti-nuclear candidates.
Fukushima Prefecture, which hosts the crippled No. 1 nuclear power plant, will elect a new governor in October, for instance. In Shiga Prefecture, Gov. Yukiko Kada, who has just announced she will not seek re-election in July, signed an agreement last year with plant operators in neighboring Fukui Prefecture, home to 15 nuclear reactors, requiring the operators gain public approval to build any new atomic power plants.
But Hosokawa and Koizumi said they would stay away from politics, whether on the local or national stage, and denied they would even support any anti-nuclear candidates in political campaigns.
“We are pushing for a national campaign for the zero nuclear option,” Hosokawa said after the launch event. “We do not wish to become involved in any political activities.”
Even if they were to involve themselves in any such elections, it remains to be seen how much sway the Koizumi-Hosokawa alliance would have. Governors cannot veto a decision to bring a reactor back online, for instance. What governors do have the power to do, however, is withhold permission to build a nuclear power plant on a new site.
Last month, the Abe government authorized a new Basic Energy Plan that specifies the importance of nuclear energy as a long-term source of electricity. It was a complete reversal of the pledge to phase out atomic power made by the Democratic Party of Japan government in power at the time of the Fukushima meltdowns.
Under the new plan, reactors taken offline after the Fukushima No. 1 disaster will be restarted following safety inspections by the NRA, and the possibility of building new plants has not been ruled out. Abe hopes to see the Kawauchi nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture restarted this summer.
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