information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
2 Août 2012
August 2, 2012
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120802p2a00m0na015000c.html
FUKUSHIMA -- An overwhelming majority of Fukushima Prefecture residents at a hearing on Japan's future energy policy that the government held on Aug. 1 called for the total elimination of nuclear power stations.
Thirty Fukushima prefectural residents, including those taking shelter outside the prefecture, expressed opinions on atomic energy policy, and 28 of them said the ratio of nuclear power to Japan's total electric power generation should be reduced to zero.
The results highlight a wide perception gap in atomic power policy between the general public and business circles that are calling for continued use of atomic power out of concern about power shortages. The government has been put in an increasingly difficult position in making future energy policy.
In June this year, the government worked out three scenarios in which the ratio of nuclear power to Japan's total power generation would be zero percent, 15 percent and 20-25 percent as of 2030.
At the Aug. 1 hearing held in Fukushima, the attendees who expressed opinions on Japan's future energy policy described their experiences following the outbreak of the crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
Many of them then criticized the government's declaration that the Fukushima nuclear crisis had been brought under control and the decision in June to reactivate the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture. "The government's moves are too hasty," one attendee said.
An overwhelming majority of them criticized the government's stance toward Japan's future energy policy, and called for total abolition of nuclear power stations.
"It's outrageous that the government showed the options of the ratio of Japan's reliance on atomic power while the cause of the nuclear disaster hasn't been clarified yet," one of them said.
Many of them urged the government to implement a more drastic measure to shut down all nuclear power stations than its projected scenario to reduce Japan's dependence on atomic power on a step-by-step basis and eventually to zero by 2030. "All nuclear plants should be shut down immediately," one attendee said.
Goshi Hosono, state minister for the restoration from and prevention of nuclear accidents, said the government respects Fukushima residents' opinions but stopped short of mentioning specific energy policy.
"We take Fukushima people's feelings seriously. The government will work seriously on the issue so as not to give the public the impression that the government held the hearing in order to simply demonstrate it got local residents involved in the policy-making process just as a show," he said.