02/04 Kan to review energy policy on nuclear reactors

2011/04/02PrintShare Article

Construction of the Oma nuclear power plant in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, has been suspended. (Yoshiaki Ishige)
Editor's note: We will update our earthquake news as frequently as possible on AJW's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AJW.Asahi. Please check the latest developments in this disaster. From Toshio Jo, managing editor, International Division, The Asahi Shimbun.

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Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Thursday the government will review its basic energy policy that includes increasing the number of nuclear reactors by 14 from the current 54 by 2030.

"Based on the examination results of the current accidents (at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant), we need new discussions about nuclear power and other energy policies," Kan said at a joint news conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Kan also said that after the nuclear crisis is settled, the government will discuss whether to maintain the current system of depending on private companies, including Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, for all of the nation's electricity supply.

"It is necessary to hold discussions about how electric power companies are operated, including the point of whether current private companies should be maintained," Kan said.

Kan and Sarkozy earlier Thursday held talks at the Prime Minister's Official Residence about nuclear power generation and other issues.

Before that meeting, Kan held discussions with Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii, who later quoted the prime minister as saying the government wants to review plans to construct new nuclear reactors.

Of the 14 planned new reactors under the basic energy plan approved by the Cabinet in June last year, two are currently under construction.

However, the crisis at Fukushima plant has shattered the public's confidence in the safety of nuclear power plants.

"It is unavoidable to review the (basic energy) plan," a senior official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.