Public Opinion on Nuclear Energy in Japan
Yesterday’s Asahi newspaper carried the results of the latest public
opinion poll conducted on 16th and 17th April. For nuclear power
plants, it made the point as follows. The middle shows the survey
by Asahi in 2007. The right is the result of the Yomiuri’s recent survey.
| Asahi | Asahi | Yomiuri | |
| 16-17/04/2011 | 2007 | 1-3/04/2011 | |
| To increase | 5% | 13% | 10% |
| To hold | 51% | 53% | 46% |
| To decrease | 30% | 21% | 29% |
| To abolish | 11% | 7% | 12% |
This means that 41% of the people want to decrease the number of nuclear power plants or abolish them. Yomiuri newspaper's survey taken on the beginning of this month is about the same. The Asahi's two surveys tell us that people with doubt about power plants have increased from 28% in 2007 to 41% after the Fukusima nuclear crisis. I think this change is small compared with the gravity of the accidents. A friend of mine, who was staying in Germany shortly after the accident, said to me that specialists on TV news commented in a critical tone with uniformity. But in Japan, almost all specialist on TV screens said more about safety than danger. As if their comments sound like they are lecturing the need of peaceful use of nuclear energy. On April 1, Asahi carried a long interview of Hiroshi Komiyama, former president of Tokyo University. He said TEPCO could put down the atomic reactors disaster even if it would take time, and defended the dependence on nuclear power stations. To tell the truth, he gets an annual income of around 10 million yen as an outside auditor of TEPCO. Asahi's previous opinion differed little from Komiyama. As well as other mass media Asahi has had large advertising revenues from TEPCO. Yesterday, in responding to questions in the Diet, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that the government would verify the nuclear energy policy including the new construction plan of 14 plants decided by the cabinet last year. He used the words, "examine with a clean slate". This is a welcome change. Nevertheless, Makoto Yagi, president of Kansai Electric Power Co., on 14th said nuclear power would remain a valuable energy source after he was named the new chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. Judging from these things, I suppose that Japan will stop to increase nuclear power plants for coming two or three decades, and keep the status quo like business as usual. It needs stronger voices of opposition for Japan to follow Germany.
PS, 20/04/2011
1)According today's editorial, Asahi seeks to reduce dependence
on nuclear energy, but does not intend to abolish it. 20/04/2011
2)Survey by Mainichi carried out on 16th and 17th showed a majority
-- to reduce (41%) + to abolish (13%) -- of citizens are critical
about nuclear power.