I was talking with a friend the other day who complained that PM Kan is not demonstrating any leadership. His proof? He’s just saying the same thing everybody else is saying. On the shift away from nuclear power and to sustainable sources such as solar and wind, there’s nothing new there. The same thing everybody else is saying.
My response: If everybody else is saying that, where’s the LDP? With the notable exception of Kono Taro, they’re not saying that. They’re opposing it. (I suspect Kono is staying in the LDP for much the same reason Miki Takeo stayed in: Because every party should have at least one sensible person in it.) What about Keidanren, the big-business federation? They’re on record as opposing it. Even the Keizai Doyukai, which tries to differentiate itself from Keidanren by pretending to be a bunch of thoughtful business executives, has spoken out in opposition. So who’s this “everybody else”? Everybody else is not saying it—which is precisely why it is so important that PM Kan is saying it.
The next day, the Asahi newspaper ran a short table of people in the DPJ—Kan’s own party—who are eagerly lining up to take the helm when Kan steps down. Who are they and what do they think about Kan’s announcement that he intends to shift Japan away from nuclear power? So in rough translation and alphabetical order by family name:
Genba Koichiro (National Policy Minister): The basic idea of reducing our reliance on nuclear power is okay, but we need a major debate on the idea of reducing that reliance to zero. The Prime Minister’s idea is just one person’s opinion.
Kaieda Banri (METI Minister): Energy supply stability is an essential prerequisite to putting the economy on a growth track. We have to make nuclear power safe and use it fully.
Mabuchi Sumio (former MLIT Minister): We need to shake off our dependence on nuclear power, but the economy will take a nose-dive if we lose the 30% of electrical power that nuclear power now provides.
Maehara Seiji (former Foreign Minister): I’m in favor of being nuclear-free 20 years down the road, but the call to get free of nuclear power strikes me as an excess of populism.
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Okada Katsuya (Secretary General): It would be devastating for Japanese living standards if we did not have enough electrical power, so we need to discuss this some more.
Ozawa Sakihito (former Environment Minister): Kan’s call for sustainable energy misses the point. Instead, we should phase out nuclear plant as the necessary sustainable capacity comes online.
Sengoku Yoshito (Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary): Kan’s press conference was very unfortunate. I really wonder about the wisdom of speaking that way about something that is just a personal dream.
Tarutoko Shinji (former Diet Affairs Chief): I don’t have any argument with Kan’s basic policy thrust, but it is up to the DPJ to work out the implementation schedule.
Of course, Kan had said this was a long-term goal to be achieved in an orderly way, but it is a goal he intends to pursue. Instead, these other people want to bottle it up in endless debate until the national disgust with TEPCO, METI, and everyone else fades and the vested interests can get back to business as usual. They are all “we like the idea, but” people who probably think Fukushima was a one-off aberration that will never happen again. They probably think TEPCO is an okay company and all the other power companies are even better and more trustworthy.