Antinuke lawyer refused taxi ride to Monju reactor

 January 16, 2014

Taxi company under fire for refusing ride to anti-nuclear lawmaker

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201401160046 

By SAWAAKI HIKITA/ Staff Writer

The transport ministry has admonished a taxi company in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, for denying service to a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker due to his opposition to nuclear power.

On Jan. 7, an aide to Masatoshi Akimoto, a newly-elected Lower House lawmaker from Chiba’s No. 9 constituency, called the taxi company to request a car so his boss could visit the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga for an inspection.

The employee in charge of dispatching taxis used the Internet to look into Akimoto’s stance on nuclear energy issues. The employee then told the aide the taxi company’s main customers are associated with the nuclear power industry. He then said, “We are rejecting people who take an anti-nuclear stance (and are seeking to abolish nuclear power plants).”

The transport ministry called the denial of service unlawful after being contacted by Akimoto. Ministry officials told the company its policy was in violation of the Road Transportation Law, which stipulates that taxi companies are required to accept all customers, with a few exceptions. The company was instructed to change its policy.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also criticized the taxi company at a Jan. 15 news conference, saying, “There is not justification whatsoever for what happened.”

It is extremely unusual for a taxi company to refuse fares on the basis of a person’s stance on a political issue.

The taxi company later told The Asahi Shimbun, “The employee in charge of dispatching taxis apparently thought that by accepting customers who take an anti-nuclear stance, our company will lose jobs.”

Taxi firm in 'nuclear city' refuses to provide car to anti-nuclear lawmaker

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140115p2a00m0na004000c.html 

TSURUGA, Fukui -- An employee of a taxi company here refused to provide a car to Liberal Democratic Party House of Representatives legislator Masatoshi Akimoto because the ruling party lawmaker stands against nuclear power, it has been learned.

According to Akimoto and the taxi firm, the lawmaker's secretary called the company on Jan. 7 to make a reservation for a taxi which Akimoto wanted to use for his tour of nuclear facilities in the city sometime in the second half of this month.

A company official in charge later found through the Internet that Akimoto was in fact insisting on breaking with nuclear power generation. The official then called the lawmaker's office to say that the company was not in a position to provide taxi services to anti-nuclear people because many people related to the nuclear industry use taxis there. The city of Tsuruga hosts the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor and the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant.

The taxi company apologized to Akimoto although it said its employee had acted on his own judgment. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Chubu District Transport Bureau in Nagoya confirmed the fact and urged the taxi company to prevent similar misdeeds.

Akimoto advocates a policy of gradually reducing the country's reliance on nuclear power and withdrawing from the nuclear fuel cycle program.

The company told the Mainichi Shimbun, "It is not our company's policy to refuse to take reservations. There was a lack of guidance for employees." Akimoto said, "That's something that should never happen."

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has recognized that the Tsuruga nuclear plant sits on an active fault, while the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor has had a string of problems including skipping on equipment inspections. Therefore, there are no prospects that the nuclear facilities will be reactivated in the near future. The situation is such that the regional economy in Tsuruga, which is dependent on nuclear power projects, has slipped into stagnation.

January 15, 2014(Mainichi Japan)