Policies should take people's opinion into account

April 10, 2013

LDP Fukushima chapter at odds with headquarters over nuclear policy

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130410p2a00m0na013000c.html

FUKUSHIMA -- The Fukushima prefectural chapter of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remains at odds with LDP headquarters headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over whether to scrap all of the 10 nuclear reactors in the prefecture.

At its regular convention in June 2011, the LDP Fukushima prefectural chapter endorsed its position "not to promote a nuclear power policy." At the LDP national conference of regional secretaries general and policy chiefs on Nov. 22, 2012 -- ahead of the start of official campaigning for the House of Representatives election -- the Fukushima prefectural chapter vowed to put a policy of "abandoning nuclear power generation and decommissioning all of the 10 nuclear reactors" at the top of its campaign platform for the general election. The LDP headquarters then approved of it.

Behind the prefectural chapter's move were bitter experiences top executives of the LDP Fukushima prefectural chapter experienced in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. When an explosion occurred at the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on March 14, 2011, Kenji Saito, chairman of the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly, along with his colleagues, delivered relief supplies to the local chapter's Tsushima branch in Namie, about 28 kilometers from the troubled nuclear power complex. Residents there were taking shelter with just the clothes on their back, and Saito himself was in a business suit. But Self-Defense Force (SDF) personnel standing by in more than 10 SDF vehicles were fully equipped with protective attire, masks and goggles against the threat of radiation.

Saito, 69, recalled his close friend and Namie Mayor Tamotsu Baba, 64, saying suspiciously at the time, "They have been dressed like that since they got here." It turned out later that the Tsushima district was in fact contaminated with high concentrations of radioactive materials. Saito, who had promoted nuclear power generation in the past, regrets the enormous trouble caused to the people of the prefecture and vows never to let anyone to build nuclear reactors again.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abe, 58, plans to re-examine the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)'s policy of phasing out the country's nuclear reactors by the 2030s. Goji Sakamoto, 68, who made a comeback as a lower house legislator after winning the December general election, said, "The prefectural chapter will draw up policies based on the actual circumstances of Fukushima. Because the people of the prefecture are in favor of abandoning nuclear power generation, it is natural that the prefectural chapter should come up with a policy of abandoning nuclear power generation."

Nonetheless, the central government has not made any decision on whether to decommission the Fukushima No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant or reactivate it, leaving the possibility of further controversy.

Acknowledging that he had not had in-depth discussions with LDP headquarters on the issue, Takao Hiraide, 56, secretary-general of the LDP Fukushima prefectural chapter and a Fukushima Prefectural Assembly member, voiced hope that the LDP headquarters will fall in line with the local chapter. "Naturally, I am convinced that Prime Minister Abe and Secretary General (Shigeru) Ishiba fully recognize the prefectural chapter's policy," he said.