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Yujiro Oiwa

【#270】Rapid Nuclear Phase-out to Destroy National Security and Livelihood

Yujiro Oiwa ／ 2014.10.30 (Thu)


October 27, 2014

　　　　　On October 28, 2011, following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals published its opinion advertisement titled "Japan Should Not Abandon Nuclear Power Generation" on major newspapers. Noting that tsunami triggered the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, our opinion ad warned that any rapid nuclear phase-out would threaten national security and livelihood. The warning is now growing more realistic. Without being shaken by emotional arguments, Japan now must restart nuclear plants from the viewpoint of national security.

Nuclear plant shutdown causing immeasurable economic losses
　　　　　Since the March 2011 disaster, electric rates have risen 30% for the industry sector and 20% for the residential sector. But these hikes have been limited with nuclear plants being assumed to restart operation, indicating that further hikes would be unavoidable if nuclear plants remain halted longer. Annual fuel imports for power generation have increased by around 3.7 trillion yen from fiscal 2010. Overall annual fuel imports have expanded by around 10 trillion yen from calendar 2010, amounting to 5.7% of gross domestic product as seen during oil crises. Electricity surcharges under the fixed feed-in tariff system for utilities' purchase of electricity generated with renewable energy are now expected to reach some 650 billion yen in fiscal 2014 and increase further later. Carbon dioxide emissions through fossil fuel power generation amid the nuclear plant shutdown have increased by 143 million tons amounting to more than 10% of Japan's total CO2 emissions.
　　　　　Such increases in economic costs have exerted pressure on national livelihood, reduced Japanese firms' international competitiveness, and led some small companies to go bankrupt. Companies have stepped up overseas investment, resulting in a domestic investment drop threatening employment in Japan. These economic cost hikes could reverse the current economic recovery under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Abenomics economy-boosting policy.

Restart nuclear plants based on law
　　　　　The Nuclear Regulation Authority came into being in response to the passage of the NRA establishment bill through the House of Councillors on June 20, 2012, as proposed by the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito. At a meeting on July 18, 2014, to analyze the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident's details that had been left as unclear by government and Diet panels for investigations into the accident, the NRA adopted a draft interim report concluding that the loss of electricity sources at the first reactor of the plant was caused by tsunami rather than the earthquake. The report endorsed the justifiability of the policy of restarting nuclear plants after the reaffirmation of their safety, which the government has maintained since the DPJ Noda administration.
　　　　　Nevertheless, former Prime Minister Naoto Kan from the DPJ has added fuel to opposition to the planned restart of the Sendai nuclear power plant that the DPJ administration-established NRA has reaffirmed as safe based on law. Some groups are raising unreasonable opposition to the restart. These groups and Kan engage in antisocial actions. The government should take a resolute attitude of fulfilling its responsibility for leading the restart of nuclear plants based on law.

Yujiro Oiwa is a JINF Planning Committee Member and Professor at Tokyo International University.