Victory celebration: Yoichi Masuzoe and his wife, Masami, raise their arms and shout ‘Banzai!’ with supporters at the new Tokyo governor’s campaign office Sunday night. | AFP-JIJI
by Miya Tanaka / via Japan Times / February 10, 2014 /
The defeat of two anti-nuclear candidates, including former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, in Sunday’s Tokyo gubernatorial election has given the central government a boost of confidence as it prepares to move forward with an energy policy supporting the use of atomic power.
“We plan to compile a feasible and balanced Basic Energy Plan (for medium- to long-term energy policy),” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a Diet committee Monday morning.
Nevertheless, Hosokawa’s attempt to focus attention on nuclear policy — a politically sensitive issue since the Fukushima nuclear crisis started in 2011 — appears to have put more pressure on Abe’s government to refrain from rushing toward endorsing a draft energy plan that has been criticized for its strong pro-nuclear tone.
Abe’s administration initially wanted to approve the plan in January, after unveiling a draft the month before praising nuclear energy as an “important base-load power source.” Base-load power refers to electricity sources that are cheap and stable and can be used continuously through the day.
The draft also said the government will push for restarting nuclear reactors that meet the country’s new safety regulations introduced last July, while effectively leaving open the possibility of building new reactors.