This is a part 1 of series in which I collected some of my past tweets and retweets (in Japanese @chuoni_blog). I also added comments and references with them.
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Nonconfidence Resolution Was Let by Pro-Nuke Politicians! We are sick and tired of these pro-nuke politicians playing their own games without thinking of our health and lives. Let's continue to strength anti-nuke public opinions and put pressure on the politicians. Reference from Tokyo Shinbun's article on 6/3/11 (Tokyo Shinbun is now an only reliable mainstream newspaper in Japan). [Tweeted on 6/6/2011]
<Comment>
This blog, of course, is very critical of the Naoto Kan Administration that has done amazingly hazardous interventions in this national crisis since 3/11, but we are even more skeptical when it comes to other politicians who do anything to stop Kan who recently started showing increasing interest in renewable energies over nuke power. Yes, there are tons of politicians and business leaders decades in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Business Federation who have devoted their lives and energies into expanding nuke power for decades. So their stance is completely different from us, ordinary people who are asking to abolish nuclear power. These politicians are using our anger and trying to have Naoto Kan step down his PM position in their political battle. At the end, pro-nuke politicians in the ruling Democratic Party decided not to vote for the nonconfidence resolution because they realized that we are not stupid to buy into their game to have Kan down. Let me tell you it won't change much or it will even get worse if Naoto Kan steps down now. There are unfortunately no other candidates who can step up to reflect what we really want and need in the crisis. Mainstream conservative media and cooperate industries are calling for a grand coalition between the historically pro-nuke conservative Liberal Democratic Party and the ruling Democratic Party, which in our opinion, will be a fascist-ish administration who shuts down all the necessary policies to protect our health and lives. What we urgently need is to expand and strength anti-nuke public opinion and democratize the parliamentary government system by abolishing the single-seat districting system and increasing numbers of congress members.
<Reference>
Tokyo Shinbun (6/3/2011): "Shadow of the Pro-Nukes Behind the Nonconfidence Resolution: Connections to the Nuclear Industry in Both Ruling and Opposition Parties" (translated summary)
Pro-Nukes Behind the Nonconfidence Resolution
How come this Nonconfidence Resolution against Naoto Kan has become increasingly powerful recently? "We can't deny the shadow of the nuclear industry behind the political game. The prime minister, the first kind who was involved in grass-roots activism, seems to have busted taboos of the nation."
"The more Naoto Kan leans towards reexamination of the nuclear power policies, the stronger the opposition grows against him in the Liberal Democratic Party, Komei Party, and even within the ruling Democratic Party."
For example, on May 6 the prime minister ordered to stop the Hamaoka Nuclear Plant, on May 18 he expressed the need to consider separation between generation and transmission of electricity, on May 24 he built the commission on accident investigation, and on May 25 he talked about his plan in increasing renewable energies to 20% in the entire power sharing by 2020.
Meanwhile, conservative Liberal Democratic Party and Komei Party are making them look like working hard on post-disaster reconstruction, but "these parties have attacked the prime minister's lean towards anti-nuke. Nobuteru Ishihara, Chief Secretary of LDP (who boldly stated that the 6/11 anti-nuke rally was just a hysteria by ordinary people!), accused Naoto Kan on considering separation of generation and transmission of electricity, and on moving forward with stopping the Hamaoka plant without carefully considering the fact that 30 % of energy source comes from nuclear plants in Japan." Ishihara basically admitted that nonconfidence resolution was submitted due to the prime minister's distancing from the nuclear power industry.
Within the ruling Democratic Party, people around "Ichiro Ozawa, who has a very close relationship with the nuclear power industry" started working on the nonconfidence resolution in the beginning of May, which was joined by Kozo Watabe, who was described as "very active pro-nuke in his local Fukushima area since he was in the Liberal Democratic Party."
Hiromasa Yonekura, the chairman of the Japan Business Federation, has also stood in the way of Naoto Kan. Yonekura has said "(PM's) Decision on stopping the Hamaoka plant is proving that Kan's thought process is a black box", "(Idea of separating generation and transmission of electricity is) something to do with the fact that the PM is only concerned about compensation, and his true motivation is still unclear" and "(expansion of renewable energy is) just setting a goal which doesn't get us anywhere."
The article on Tokyo Shinbun continues to say, "Though many of us know that the Liberal Democratic Party and Komei Party both have much responsibility on the Fukushima Accident, these parties still trying to cover up what they did in the past by accusing the Kan administration."
Tight Connection to the Nuclear Industry within Both Ruling and Opposition Parties
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Nuclear Industry: In 1954, former PM, Yasuhiro Nakasone, allocated national budget into development of nuclear power plants for the first time in the Japanese history in the name of "peaceful use of nuclear power." In 1955, the Atomic Energy Basic Law was enacted in the year that LDP was born. At the time of the Kakuei Tanaka administration in 1974, the Power Source Siting Laws enabled to build rapidly increasing nuclear plants by giving out compensations to deprived local communities. In the record from 2009, there is a list of chairmen, presidents, and vice presidents from electric companies who funneled political donations to LDP. Tokio Kano, a former vice president of the Policy Research Council at the LDP, is also a former vice president of TEPCO, and he was a leader at LDP in expanding the nuclear power industry.
Democratic Party and the Nuclear Industry: Gaishi Hiraiwa, a former president and chairman of TEPCO, was also a former chairman of the Japan Business Federation, between 1990 to 1994. Hirasawa also supported Ichiro Ozawa from Democratic Party, at the time of his establishing "John Manjiro Group (a grass-roots group that bridges cultural activities between Japan and the United States)." Kaoru Yosano has made comments to advocate on TEPCO, and he worked at Japan Atomic Power Co. The useless labor union, Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers Union of Japan, has also supported the Democratic Party. Democratic Party has politicians like Masao Kobayashi (a former TEPCO related union member) and Masashi Fujiwara (a former Kansai Electric Power related union member). "Electric companies and its unions together have pressed forward for expansion of nuclear power."
"Prime Minister Naoto Kan has created a huge group of enemies described above by setting his goal to shift nuclear power to renewable energies. As a result, Naoto Kan is about to be thrown away, and his seemingly sound ideas will be called off probably soon. The pro-nuke politicians have been going with their scenario on stepping Kan down by making this crisis all look like his responsibility."
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Lack of Energy was All Lie!! Electric Companies and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Worked Together On Controlling Public Information All In the Goal of Maintaining Nuclear Power Plants! Thank You Tokyo Shinbun for Publishing This Article!! [Tweeted on 5/12/11]
<Comment>
This is an awesome article by Tokyo Shinbun! The reporter Kei Sato appears to be a reliable journalist that we rarely see in mainstream newspapers. True journalists must stand with ordinary people against systems and authority that exploit us.
<Reference>
Tokyo Shinbun (5/12/2011): "Object to the Lacking Energy Campaign!" (translated summary)
"After the decision to tentatively stop the Hamaoka nuclear plant came out, the Lacking Energy Campaign started again………(This campaign by electric companies started right after the earthquake that made citizens feel anxiety over not having enough electricity due to crippled nuclear plants)…. It is a lie that we will not have sufficient electricity in the summer because the Hirano Thermal Power Station will be in full operation again by mid-July. What we can see from this campaign is to make us believe we rely on nuclear power, and there are politicians and electric companies who still cannot let go of the nuclear power industry."
TEPCO estimated that the supply of electricity in the summer time will be about 52,000,000 kW, only 1,000,000 kW of which will be supplied from western Japan (and only a tiny part comes from the Hamaoka Nuclear Plant that is located in the western Japan). The Hirano Thermal Power Station can produce 3,800,000 kW, and TEPCO's hydroelectric power plant can supply maximum 10,500,000 kW. Maximum forecasted demand of summer-time electricity is 55,000,000 kW can be easily met as stated above.
TEPCO continues to scare us by making a big deal about lack of electricity so that we believe we rely on nuclear power plants.
The government, unfortunately, is also supporting the Lacking Energy Campaign with TEPCO. Planned blackouts that were conducted after the earthquake and tsunami is nothing but a threat and lie. "Public opinions right after the earthquake were still leaning towards pro-nuke sentiments due to the planned blackouts." "The government did not disclose the existence of hydroelectric power plants, and kept talking about scary blackouts in the wider areas that can happen anytime due to the damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima."
According to the NPO Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, even if we stop all the nuclear power plants in Japan, we can be supplied with enough electricity. In western Japan where a half of energy is supplied by nuclear power, hydroelectricity power plants and home generation of electricity can be sufficient to meet their entire demand. Director of the NPO group said about the Lacking Energy Campaign by TEPCO and the government, "It clearly is a propaganda to keep nuclear power plants in operation except for the Hamaoka reactor. It is obvious that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and electric companies have worked side by side on this."
