In a poll just released on Friday, almost three-quarters of the companies in Japan stated that they are in support of abandoning nuclear power after looking at the meltdown disaster that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant last year. The majority with those feelings said that alternative sources of energy must be found first, however. Conducted by Reuters, this poll reveals the feelings of distrust the public has right now for nuclear power. Before the last year Fukushima disaster, 30% of Japan’s electricity was generated by nuclear power. As of May 5th, all the nation’s reactors have been shut down for inspections and maintenance, with no planed date of re-activation. Taro Saito, of Tokyo’s NLI Research Institute, has said that companies have already began coping with lack of nuclear power, and have agreed to take part in energy conservation. If the country chooses to live without nuclear power, they will have to rely on thermal power until alternatives are found, which means higher costs and less growth. Saito believes that Japan shouldn’t be thinking about it as a single choice with only two options, either keeping nuclear power or abandoning it. At this point, even the national government has struggled with how much of a role nuclear energy should play in Japan. They don’t want to force its use on the people of Japan, yet there are strong concerns over whether there will be enough of an energy supply for the coming summer months. Source: Sam Daily Times
Sunday 3 February 2013
75% of Japanese companies oppose nuclear power
In a poll just released on Friday, almost three-quarters of the companies in Japan stated that they are in support of abandoning nuclear power after looking at the meltdown disaster that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant last year. The majority with those feelings said that alternative sources of energy must be found first, however. Conducted by Reuters, this poll reveals the feelings of distrust the public has right now for nuclear power. Before the last year Fukushima disaster, 30% of Japan’s electricity was generated by nuclear power. As of May 5th, all the nation’s reactors have been shut down for inspections and maintenance, with no planed date of re-activation. Taro Saito, of Tokyo’s NLI Research Institute, has said that companies have already began coping with lack of nuclear power, and have agreed to take part in energy conservation. If the country chooses to live without nuclear power, they will have to rely on thermal power until alternatives are found, which means higher costs and less growth. Saito believes that Japan shouldn’t be thinking about it as a single choice with only two options, either keeping nuclear power or abandoning it. At this point, even the national government has struggled with how much of a role nuclear energy should play in Japan. They don’t want to force its use on the people of Japan, yet there are strong concerns over whether there will be enough of an energy supply for the coming summer months. Source: Sam Daily Times