Japan needs to take serious view of Italy's anti-nuclear power vote
(From The Japan Times June 16 issue)

イタリアの脱原発という選択を受けて

In a referendum June 13, an overwhelming 94 percent of Italian voters rejected Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's plan to have Italy return to nuclear power generation.

Clearly the people of Italy take a serious view of the accidents at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which was badly damaged in the March 11 quake and tsunami.

After the Italian referendum, industry minister Banri Kaieda expressed his intention of continuing nuclear power generation by saying that nuclear power is an important pillar of Japan's energy policy. Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara characterized Italian voters' decision as a product of "mass hysteria."

Japan may have to rely on nuclear power as a short-term policy to secure energy supply, since it cannot import electricity as European countries do. But these factors should not be used as an excuse to maintain reliance on nuclear power.

The Fukushima nuclear crisis has shown the risks of nuclear power generation. It is an unstable provider of electricity, and is costly if indirect outlays, such as accident compensation, subsidies for host municipalities and the costs of disposing of spent nuclear fuel, are included.

Japan should accelerate the development of renewable sources for power generation, which has been slowed for more than 10 years by the policy pushed by the nuclear power establishment. The nation should strive to make full use of geothermal, solar and wind power sources, and to exploit the potential of biomass derived from wood and grass. Japan should also improve energy conservation and insulation of buildings. These efforts will help open a new frontier in technological innovation and create new job opportunities.

The monopoly in the power market must be broken so that small-scale green power generation can flourish. The process to make energy policy decisions must be made transparent to fully expose the moves of the nuclear power lobby.

原発再開の是非を問うイタリアの国民投票で反対票が94％を占めた。福島の原発事故が重く受け止められた結果だ。欧州のように電力を輸入できない日本は、電力供給を短期的に原発に頼らねばならないが、それを依存を続けていく口実にしてはならない。

原発は不安定な電力供給源であり、自治体に対する事故補償や原発受け入れの補助金、使用済み核燃料の廃棄などを含めればコストは高い。原子力関連組織が推し進めてきた政策により遅れていた再生可能エネルギーの開発を急ぎ、節電や建物の断熱の対策を促進すべきだ。

電力市場の独占を解消し、小規模の環境にやさしい発電を促すことも必要だ。エネルギー政策決定に透明性を持たせ、原発推進の圧力団体の動向を明らかにせねばならない。