Nukes a "n"cessary evil"?

October 23, 2012

JAL Chairman Inamori backs nuclear energy as necessary evil

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121023p2a00m0na006000c.htm

Kazuo Inamori, chairman emeritus of Japan Airlines Co. (JAL), says a society free of nuclear power is ideal, but Japan needs to rely on nuclear plants for the time being to maintain and improve its high-level lifestyle.

Despite a great desire and hope that Japan should end nuclear power generation in the 2030s, Inamori said nuclear power is a "necessary evil" for the country, where in the past much nuclear data and problems such as nuclear waste have been hidden from the public.

Inamori, 80, who founded Kyocera Corp. and also helped establish KDDI Corp., said he has championed solar energy but has found that solar energy is unlikely to become a major player in domestic power production.

"Unfortunately and sadly, nuclear energy is a necessary evil that we must deal with," he told an Oct. 23 news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ). The chairman added that with regard to nuclear power, which has come under public scrutiny in the wake of the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, "everything should be disclosed to the public honestly."

One of Japan's most prominent business leaders, Inamori also elaborated at the news conference on how he and his JAL team revived the former national flag carrier after assuming the chairmanship in January 2010. JAL has been successful in rehabilitating itself though such factors as Inamori's services without remuneration and the establishment of a management philosophy to change the bureaucratic nature of the airline's leadership structure. The welfare of employees has also been prioritized as JAL has emerged from its collapse in 2010 to be relisted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in September this year.

Inamori further stated that Kyocera's philosophy is a good fit in China, where the ceramics maker has three factories and several thousand employees. None of the employees joined recent anti-Japan protests over the Senkaku Islands dispute, he added. (By Shiro Yoneyama, Staff Writer)