Nuclear exports "heart-wrenching" for Mrs.Abe

December 30, 2013

First lady repeats skepticism of exporting nuclear technology

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201312300045 

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Japan’s first lady again questioned the wisdom of exporting nuclear technology, a pillar of the growth strategy championed by the administration of her husband, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“It remains anybody’s guess if proper maintenance will be provided overseas,” Akie Abe told a TV program on Dec. 29. “I wonder how Japan would cope in case of an emergency.”

Akie Abe, who has called herself an “opposition within the household,” has long been openly skeptical about Japan’s export of nuclear power reactors. An opponent of nuclear power generation, she told a lecture session hosted by a nonprofit organization in June that she sees such exports as “very heart-wrenching.”

“If only alternative energy sources were available, I believe we could do away with nuclear power, although that may be difficult to come by soon,” she told the TV program. “Japan lives by its technological excellence, so I want to hold out hopes for the advent of (alternative energy) technologies.”