Unsustainable Energy Plan

As had been assumed, the Cabinet led by Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, decided new Basic Energy Plan on Friday, which abandoned ultimate elimination of nuclear power generation in Japan. It defined nuclear power as an important “base load” power resource for the nation, and paved the way to add new nuclear power plants. Future zero policy determined by former administration by Democratic Party of Japan was abolished. Just three years after the catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan turned its course from getting rid of dependence on nuclear power to traditional addiction to nuclear power. It is just like a failure in detoxification.

The plan clearly states that nuclear power is so important that halted nuclear plants will be resumed, if they are confirmed their safety. It praised nuclear generation as with cheap cost, stable and available through night and day. While dependence on nuclear power, which occupied thirty percent of all power resources, would be reduced as much as possible, exact ratio did not determined to preserve a possibility of increasing nuclear power plants.

This policy shift is extraordinarily quick, concerning the magnitude of the accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The United States spent more than thirty years to decide to add new reactors after the severe accident in Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in 1979. Considering the less damage of TMI accident than in Fukushima and great size of U.S. land, which is twenty-five times bigger than Japan, it is apparent that Abe Cabinet was in a hurry to determine the plan. It is likely that it tried to do it before human damage reported after the accident in Chernobyl was coming up.

Dishonesty of the government is shown in its negative attitude against other power resources. While the plan laid out a goal to excess the DPJ plan that explored twenty percent of renewable energy in 2030, actual percentage was not determined. Although people in “nuclear village” in Japan believe that developing nuclear power is necessary for improvement of science and technology, cultivating sustainable energy is not recognized as scientific evolution. While thermal power was also defined as important base load power resource, the plan mostly ignored its consequence on environment.

This is a great moral hazard for sufferers of Fukushima accident. People in Fukushima protested to the decision in front of Prime Minister’s resident in Tokyo. The plan also ignores social cost of nuclear accident, actually existing in Japan in terms of decontamination, compensation, dismantlement of broken reactors. New energy policy is not sustainable at all.