Nukes in the spotlight but not so for Fukushima evacuees

January 15, 2014

Editorial: Nuclear power a major point of contention in Tokyo gubernatorial race

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20140115p2a00m0na005000c.html 

The issue of nuclear power has emerged as a major point of contention in the upcoming Tokyo gubernatorial race as former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa announced on Jan. 14 that he will throw his hat in the ring on an anti-nuclear power platform.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has insisted that Japan should end its reliance on atomic power, has pledged to extend all-out support to 76-year-old Hosokawa. Former Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, 65, has also affirmed his candidacy in the race, clashing head-on with Hosokawa. Others who intend to run include Kenji Utsunomiya, 67, former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations who also calls for the elimination of atomic power, and Toshio Tamogami, 65, former chief of staff at the Air Self-Defense Force.

The official campaign for the election kicks off on Jan. 23 and voters go to the polls on Feb. 9. Vote counting will start immediately after polling stations are closed.

Since the election will pick the leader of Japan's capital, candidates should have thorough debate on the nuclear power issue, which is a major theme in national politics. It is hoped that a variety of candidates will run in the election, heightening Tokyo voters' interest in the race and spurring policy discussions during the campaign.

Hosokawa, who had retired from politics, has been interested in the country's energy policy. When he declared his candidacy, the former prime minister said the issue of nuclear power will determine the fate of Japan. His alliance with Koizumi, who is skillful in dispatching messages that impress the public, will have a huge impact on his election campaign.

Critics argue that the nuclear power issue should not be a point of contention during the gubernatorial race, with some saying that it is not an issue suitable for a local election.

However, questions should be raised over such arguments. The election to pick the leader of the capital is not just one of ordinary local elections. It is of great significance to debate the pros and cons of the nuclear power policy in Tokyo, which consumes the largest amount of electrical power of all local bodies even though it does not host a single nuclear plant.

Despite the outbreak of the unprecedented disaster at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, the nuclear power policy was not sufficiently debated in the two post-disaster national elections. This is because both the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which took over power after winning the December 2012 general election, and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which was in government at the time of the nuclear accident, were reluctant to make the issue a point of contention. The governor and the metropolitan assembly blocked a move to hold a local referendum in Tokyo on the pros and cons of restarting idled nuclear reactors.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is a major shareholder in Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled nuclear power station. As Koizumi points out, the outcome of the election will have a huge impact on the direction of national politics. Tokyo, characterized by an excess concentration of the population, central government functions and industry, is the perfect place to debate the nuclear power issue as a major point of contention in elections

.

In the campaign, Hosokawa should discuss specific energy policy, including power supply and the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel, rather than simply calling for the elimination of atomic power. His ability to convince Tokyo voters that the capital can do without nuclear power, just as Koizumi says, will be tested during the campaign.

Response to the aging of the population and measures to prevent powerful natural disasters from devastating the capital are also important issues during the gubernatorial race. The number of elderly people aged 75 or over will likely reach 2 million in Tokyo in 2025, and a magnitude-7 earthquake occurring directly beneath the metropolitan area is estimated to leave up to 23,000 people dead. Candidates should not disregard important issues other than nuclear power as they aim to take the helm of the capital's administration.

Major political parties have decided which candidates they will support even though they were initially swaying. The gubernatorial election should be an opportunity for the whole nation to think about challenges that Japan faces through discussion on policies that the capital should pursue.

January 15, 2014(Mainichi Japan)

Fukushima evacuees show tepid response to Tokyo gubernatorial candidates' nuclear policies

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140115p2a00m0na012000c.html 

Japan's nuclear power policy has come under the spotlight following former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa's announcement of his candidacy in next month's gubernatorial race, but for many Fukushima Prefecture residents who have evacuated to Tokyo the race bears little meaning for them.

As of December last year 8,048 people who evacuated in the aftermath of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and ensuing nuclear disaster were living in the capital. Around 1,100 of them reside in Shinonome Jutaku, a residential complex for civil servants in the capital's Koto Ward. Most of these residents are from Fukushima Prefecture.

On Jan. 14, the day Hosokawa announced his intention to run in the gubernatorial election, around 20 elderly residents had a get-together. One of them intently read a Fukushima newspaper, but no one brought up the Tokyo race.

"I'm anxious because I don't know how long I'll have before I'm told to leave. If I had some reassurance that I could stay here a long time I could plan out my life, but as it is I can't even buy furniture," said evacuee Kozo Misawa, 71. His home is in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant and within an area still under government evacuation orders.

Since the nuclear disaster, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has been offering metropolitan government-managed housing and housing for civil servants free to disaster evacuees. In September last year it extended the original three-year accommodation period by another year. Shinonome Jutaku is considered "temporary housing" and could be subject to additional extensions, but for now residents are only assured they can stay through March next year.

What Misawa wants is stability in his life. He feels that Hosokawa's anti-nuclear stance is just a ploy to get votes.

"I wish he'd first focus on the many other issues (like how to support evacuees)," says Misawa.

A 38-year-old woman who evacuated with her husband and child is similarly worried about how long she can stay in the complex.

"After my child starts going to school, it won't be easy to switch to another one. Honestly, I'd prefer the candidates in the gubernatorial race to talk about what they'll do for evacuees, rather than about nuclear power plants," she said.

Many evacuees, keeping the option of returning to Fukushima on the table, have not changed their registered addresses to Tokyo and so cannot vote in the election.

Hisako Sanpei, 59, who evacuated from Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, to the city of Machida, is one such evacuee.

"Until now, Tokyo used as much electricity from the Fukushima power plant as it liked. This (gubernatorial race, in which nuclear power is an issue) will provide a good chance for people in Tokyo to think about their responsibility for having used that power and the dangers of nuclear plants," she says. On her inability to vote, she says, "It's frustrating because we're here living in Tokyo. Even if it's small, my one vote could bring change."

In June last year, the Science Council of Japan proposed that evacuees be given the same residential rights as they have at their registered homes. Hosei University professor Harutoshi Funabashi, who was involved in putting together the proposal, commented, "Many evacuees cannot decide whether to change their registered address, due in part to the national government's vague policies. It's absurd that almost three years after the start of evacuations the evacuees don't have the right to vote in the areas they have evacuated to. If nuclear power policy is to become an issue in the gubernatorial race, I hope they'll also look at this and other situations that evacuees face."