Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said yesterday that the country must gradually reduce its reliance on atomic power with the eventual goal of becoming nuclear-free.
Four months after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear accident, the world’s worst since Chernobyl 25 years ago, Kan has repeatedly argued that Japan must focus more on renewable sources of energy.
“By reducing its reliance on nuclear power gradually, we will aim to become a society which can exist without nuclear power,” Kan said at a televised press conference. “Considering the grave risk of nuclear accidents, we strongly feel that we cannot just carry on based on the belief that we must only try to ensure [nuclear] safety.”
Kan earlier announced a full review of Japan’s energy plan, under which atomic power had been set to meet more than half of demand by 2030.
Kan said he wants to make renewables such as solar, wind and geothermal a new “major pillar” of the industrial power’s energy mix.
“If everything goes as scheduled, a renewable energy bill will be discussed in the Diet [legislature] starting tomorrow,” Kan said.
The prime minister, Japan’s fifth in as many years, made the speech at a time when he is under intense pressure to step down from political adversaries who accuse him of having bungled Japan’s response to the tsunami.
Kan has butted heads with plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) over the Fukushima accident.
Kan’s skepticism about boosting nuclear power in the quake-prone nation has also set him on a collision course with pro-nuclear lawmakers, both in the conservative opposition and within his own party.
The earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant, which has suffered meltdowns, explosions and radiation leaks into the air, soil and sea.
With all but 19 of Japan’s 54 reactors now shut, mostly for regular checks, Japan is going through a power crunch in the sweltering summer months, and there are fears that outages could slow the already limping economy.
“There are worries about power supply in Japan,” Japanese Minister of Economy Kaoru Yosano said earlier yesterday. “Manufacturers may well consider moving plants to a country with a stable electricity supply or cheaper labor.”
Anti-nuclear sentiment in Japan has grown since the Fukushima disaster and thousands have since protested at a string of rallies against TEPCO and nuclear power and for a shift toward alternative energy.
Telecoms giant Softbank has announced plans to build 10 solar power plants. Softbank president Masayoshi Son and 36 of Japan’s 47 prefectures launched a council yesterday aimed at boosting renewable sources of energy.
The liberal, mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun yesterday called for a shift toward a nuclear-free society within two or three decades.
It pointed at an ongoing energy saving campaign, in which companies in Japan’s northeast are being asked to cut back use by 15 percent, adding that if it works, it proves that Japan can live without atomic power.
“How about setting a target of reducing [atomic power] to zero within 20 years, to urge people to make their utmost efforts, and to review the plan every few years?” the newspaper suggested in its editorial.
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
RSS