Koizumi calls for Abe to drop nuclear power

Koizumi calls for Abe to drop nuclear power

TOKYO - Former premier turned anti-nuclear advocate Junichiro Koizumi has challenged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to drop nuclear power as an energy source.

Speaking at his first major press conference on Tuesday since quitting politics in 2009, he said: "If the Prime Minister decides to do so, it can be done. It all depends on his judgment and insight."

In the past few months, Mr Koizumi has been giving talks to large audiences around the country, calling for an end to nuclear energy generation in Japan.

Not only opposition parties but also a large number of government lawmakers have expressed support for his stance.

Appearing on television recently, Mr Abe blasted Mr Koizumi's no-nuclear energy position as "irresponsible", without identifying his former political mentor by name. When Mr Koizumi stepped down as premier in 2006, he had endorsed Mr Abe as his successor.

Mr Koizumi argues that Japan cannot rely on nuclear power as it will not be able to solve the problem of spent nuclear fuel.

"Those who think Japan will be able to settle the problem of how to dispose of nuclear waste are too optimistic and irresponsible," he said on Tuesday.

Mr Abe told Parliament recently that Japan already has the technology to store spent nuclear fuel deep underground.

But Mr Koizumi said no local authority would ever agree to host such a dangerous site.

As for what Japan should do if it decides to abandon nuclear energy, he said he was confident that experts would come forward to draw up a "good plan".

"It is not something one party or one lawmaker can come up with. We should seek the wisdom of experts and respect their conclusions," he said.

Mr Koizumi's call could not have come at a worse time.

Mr Abe is poised to approve the restarting of nuclear plants, provided they pass inspections by Japan's nuclear watchdog. All 50 commercial nuclear reactors are currently shut down for maintenance or awaiting safety checks.

Less than two weeks ago, the Prime Minister visited Istanbul for the second time this year to seal a deal for Japan to build a nuclear plant for Turkey, in partnership with France.

Japanese public opinion turned against nuclear energy after the March 2011 tsunami crippled the Fukushima nuclear plant, which began spewing radiation and forced thousands of people living nearby to be evacuated.

Mr Koizumi has admitted that the Fukushima crisis, which remains unresolved, changed his perception of nuclear power as a low-cost and safe source of energy, a policy he promoted while in power from 2001 to 2006.

His view on the use of nuclear energy also changed after a visit in August to Finland's Onkalo underground repository for spent nuclear fuel where he was told radioactive waste has to be sealed off for 100,000 years.

Accused of doing an about-face on nuclear energy policy, he told an audience in Yokohama last week: "It is natural to change one's opinion. Do not hesitate to mend your ways."

A survey by the leading Asahi Shimbun daily published on Tuesday said 60 per cent of the Japanese people support Mr Koizumi.

Mr Abe has not heard the last of his former mentor, who is due to release a book on his anti-nuclear drive by the year end.


Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.