|
 A ratio of between 15 to 20 percent for nuclear power was floated as
a starting point by some members of a panel set up under the
country's industry ministry, compared to about 29 percent in the
year before the Fukushima disaster, the worst release of nuclear
radiation since Chernobyl in 1986.
The government has declared nuclear power to be an important
baseload source for electricity but getting an agreement on how much
it contributes will be hard. Public opinion remains consistently
opposed to restarting the nation's reactors, even after massive
increases in power tariffs.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe supports the atomic industry and wants to
restart units that have been certified as safe by a beefed up
regulator, although he also says he wants to reduce reliance on the
energy source as much as possible.
Manufacturers and the nuclear industry say reactors are needed to
cut energy costs.
Issei Nishikawa, the governor of Fukui prefecture where more than a
dozen reactors are located, said he wants the government to take a
clear stance on nuclear power.
"Stating whether nuclear power is necessary and important would help
decide the energy mix, and without this (commitment), it is
difficult to deal with (restarts)," he said.
In a previous framework policy agreed in 2010, Japan was aiming to
increase nuclear power to more than 50 percent of its energy by
2030. Anywhere near that level is unlikely with the cleanup at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant expected to take decades and faced
with constant delays.
"There is a mountain of issues, including contaminated water,
decommissioning, compensation and contamination," Abe said in
parliament on Friday in response to a question from a member of the
opposition.
[to top of second column] |
"When I think of the victims still living in difficult evacuation
conditions I don't think we can use the word 'settled'," to describe
the Fukushima plant," he said.
The government needs to set the power mix by early June when a Group
of Seven meeting is scheduled, Hiroya Masuda, an advisor at Nomura
Research Institute and a member of the panel said.
Climate change is likely to be discussed at the G7 meeting, and
Japan would need to have clear energy mix goals to discuss its
carbon emissions targets.
Two nuclear plants have received safety clearance from the nuclear
regulator, but there is no clear timetable on when they will
restart.
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori and Mari Saito; Editing by Aaron
Sheldrick and Tom Hogue)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
