Subject: [cwj 36] Japan sticks by nuclear energy despite German decision
From: Corporate Watch in Japanese <cwj@corpwatch.org>
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 11:25:26 -0700
Seq: 36
Thursday, June 15, 2000 Japan sticks by nuclear energy despite German decision TOKYO, June 15 (AFP) - Japan will stick to its nuclear power program despite a German decision to shut down the country's 19 nuclear power stations, a government official said Thursday. "We will study Germany's decision, but it will not directly affect our nuclear power program," said the official from the trade ministry's nuclear power industry bureau. "Nuclear power generation is very important for our country in terms of stable energy supply, support for economic growth and contribution to a cut in global warming," said the official, who declined to be named. "We will continue promoting our nuclear energy program on condition that we will maintain a strict safety system on nuclear power plants across the nation," he said. Japan relies on 51 reactors to produce about one-third of its electricity. The German government and energy companies reached agreement to gradually shut down the country's 19 nuclear power stations, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Thursday. Under the deal, Germany will close down its nuclear plants after a life-span of 32 years, becoming the first leading economic power to officially renounce the use of nuclear energy. Nuclear power presently accounts for some 30 percent of all German energy use. While the Japanese government has repeated its pledge to keep its nuclear power program, the nation's energy advisory committee is now working on recommendations for energy policy. The recommendations are likely to include a cut in the number of nuclear power plants planned for construction and greater use of alternative energy sources, including wind and natural gas, the Kyodo News agency said. In March, trade minister Takashi Fukaya said plans to build 16-20 new nuclear power plants by March 2011 would be abandoned, admitting a major accident which exposed hundreds of people to radiation had forced a cutback. Fukaya blamed an accident last September at a uranium plant in Tokaimura, 120 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Tokyo, in which a critical reaction exposed 439 people to radiation and killed two workers. The committee, which includes three members opposed to the government's nuclear energy policy, plans to submit the recommendations early next year, Kyodo said. On Wednesday, Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd. repeated its demand for compensation and the removal of British nuclear fuel which arrived here with fake quality control data. Britain is refusing to order the mixed plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel be shipped back to the reprocessing plant in Sellafield, northwest England, from where it was sent last year. FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Corporate Watch in Japanese is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability, human rights, economic democracy and social justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. ------------------------------------- Corporate Watch in Japanese Transnational Resource and Action Center (TRAC) P.O. Box 29344 San Francisco, CA 94129 USA Tel: 1-415-561-6472 Fax: 1-415-561-6493 Email: cwj@corpwatch.org URL: http://www.corpwatch-jp.org ------------------------------------- ______________________ The Corporate Watch in Japanese http://www.corpwatch.org/japan (CWJ) mailing list is a moderated email list in English designed to connect activists campaigning against Japanese corporations and investments around the world. * To unsubscribe from the CWJ mailing list, send an email to majordomo@jca.apc.org with text "unsubscribe cwj". To subscribe to the CWJ mailing list, send a message to majordomo@jca.apc.org with the text "subscribe cwj" * The CWJ mailing list is NOT intended for wide distribution. If you would like to post messages from this list somewhere else, we ask that you first contact us at cwj@corpwatch.org ______________________