Nuclear Fuel Cycle (Public Domain)
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Two Former Japanese Prime Ministers Try to Shake Up Japanese Politics to Kill Nuclear Energy
Japan may have enacted a fascist state secrecy law which
outlaws independent reporting on Fukushima … but there might be some hope yet.
Specifically, two former Prime Ministers are speaking out on Fukushima and Japan’s energy future.
EneNews gave an excellent
roundup last week:
Kyodo, Jan. 14, 2014: Former
Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa
said Tuesday he will run in the upcoming Tokyo gubernatorial election
with an antinuclear agenda after securing the backing of popular former
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi [...] The move [...] could have
game-changing impact on the race for the helm of the Japanese capital
[...] “I have made my decision to run in the Tokyo governor election,”
Hosokawa told reporters after meeting Koizumi. “I have a sense of crisis
myself that the country’s various problems, especially nuclear power
plants, are matters of survival for the country.” [...] Koizumi
indicated
the main focus of the election will be whether to pursue nuclear power or not,
calling the election “a war between the group that says Japan can grow
with zero nuclear power plants” and the group that says it cannot. [...]
Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 14, 2014: [...] “I have a sense of crisis that various problems facing Japan today, especially the issue of
nuclear power generation, will endanger the existence of our country,”
Hosokawa said, explaining the reason for his candidacy. [...] Koizumi
said the Tokyo gubernatorial election will be a contest between pro- and
anti-nuclear forces. “My belief is that
Japan will be able to do without nuclear energy.
Hosokawa also has the same belief. That is the biggest reason for my
support of him,” he said. [...] Koizumi told reporters, “I expressed my
respects to Hosokawa from the heart. I will do my utmost so that
Hosokawa wins the election.” Koizumi said the Tokyo gubernatorial
election could have “the biggest influence ever on national politics.” “
If
the Tokyo metropolitan government shows that it can go without nuclear
power generation, it will certainly be able to change Japan,”
he said. Koizumi also said, “If Hosokawa becomes Tokyo governor, he will
have a major influence that could shake national politics on the issues
of energy and nuclear power generation.” [...]
Wall St. Journal,
Jan. 14, 2014: [Former Prime Ministers Hosokawa and Koizumi] are
expected to stir up the gubernatorial race and bring the energy debate
back into the national spotlight. That will likely dismay of the
administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which would rather not have
the divisive issue become an election focal point. [...] Mr. Hosokawa
said [...] “I have a sense of crisis that
our nation’s survival is at stake over nuclear power.”
Read More Here
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Protests Grow in Japan: "We Want to Bring Our Message to the World to Stop Nuclear Power Plants"
democracynow·
Published on Jan 17, 2014
http://www.democracynow.org
- Recent moves by the Japanese government to restart the country's
nuclear power plant facilities have been met by growing protests "I
think this is a problem of the world, not just of Japan," Kato Kaiko
told Democracy Now! at a protest outside the Prime Minister's private
residence in Tokyo. She describes how there is increasing expectation
that voters will decide which candidate to choose in the upcoming
election based on their position on nuclear power.
Watch our entire special broadcast from Japan at
http://www.democracynow.org/topics/japan......
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