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On March 10, intensive deliberations regarding the budget for fiscal 2014 (focusing on disaster reconstruction and energy) took place in Committee on Budget in the House of Councillors. The Chair of the DPJ’s General Research Committee on Energy, Masayuki Naoshima, took to the floor as the first interpellator for the DPJ. Naoshima referred to the following topics: (1) a comparison of the targets for energy saving, renewable energy and cogeneration in the ‘Innovative Strategy for Energy and the Environment’ produced by the DPJ administration, and the Abe administration’s new ‘Basic Energy Plan’, (2) the current state of energy saving in Japan, as well as targets and future measures to be taken, (3) the expansion in use of heat, and distributed generation for combined heat and power, (4) the position regarding nuclear energy in the new Basic Energy Plan, (5) the reason why the government feels forced to restart nuclear power plants, (6) the cost of restarting such plants, and (7) the outlook for Japan’s current account in view of the trade balance deficit.
At the start of his speech, Naoshima referred to the fact that it would soon be three years since the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear accident, and once more expressed his condolences and sympathy. He went on to explain the DPJ’s stance on energy policy following the accident at Fukushima No. 1, stating, “Fukushima must definitely be revitalised. We intend to proceed with this resolution in mind. Such an accident must never be allowed to occur again. In order to ensure this, we need to take measures which envisage the worst-case scenario. If one were to frankly communicate the feelings of the Japanese people following the nuclear accident, I think that these would be that Japan should eliminate nuclear power as soon as possible. At the time [of the accident] a DPJ government was in power. While proceeding with the response to the accident and recovery and reconstruction efforts, we also embarked on a vigorous debate within the party which resulted in the compilation of the ‘Innovative Strategy for Energy and the Environment’.”
Naoshima went on to criticise the new ‘Basic Energy Plan’ recently compiled by the Abe administration, saying, “In January of last year, the Prime Minister, speaking in the House of Councillors Committee on Budget, expressed this opinion: ‘There is no concrete justification for the policy set out by the previous administration, of making it possible to reduce the number of active nuclear power plants to zero by the 2030s.’ This initiated a zero-base review of the DPJ strategy. What appeared as a result was the new Basic Energy Plan, but to be honest I am disappointed [with this plan]. This is because it contains much less concrete justification than our ‘Innovative Strategy for Energy and the Environment’.” He called on the Prime Minister to provide an explanation, stating, “It is now three years since the accident, but no plans have been established with regard to such matters as the amount of energy that will be needed from now on, and how we will proceed with energy-saving measures, renewable energies and cogeneration. Is this really sufficient?” Abe only replied, “I would like to discuss these matters with the ruling parties and to establish targets for energy conservation, renewable energies, the future energy mix and numbers of operational nuclear power plants as soon as possible.” In response, Naoshima pointed out the importance of implementing energy conservation measures on the demand side, and the possibility of raising energy efficiency by such measures as shifting to highly-efficient fossil-fuel power generation, and utilizing distributed cogeneration systems. He urged the Prime Minister to cooperate in implementing such measures, saying, “Energy is the most important issue that Japan faces, and so we should take a bipartisan approach. We would like to go on to actively propose a variety of policies based on our experiences in government.”
With regard to nuclear power plants, Naoshima went on to explain the DPJ’s stance, saying that the party aims to reduce operational nuclear power plants to zero by the 2030s, this stance being based on the following three prerequisites: (1) ensure all nuclear power plants are decommissioned after they have been in operation for 40 years, (2) recommence operation of only those nuclear power plants which have been confirmed to be safe by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, and (3) do not construct any new nuclear power plants. He asked Prime Minister Abe for his opinion regarding this. Abe said that he: (1) would carry out appropriate administration of the current system, under which nuclear power plants can continue to operate after 40 years has passed, if the Nuclear Regulation Authority permits this from an expert standpoint, (2) would proceed to recommence operation of those nuclear power plants which the Nuclear Regulation Authority had accepted as meeting the regulatory conditions, which are the strictest anywhere in the world, and (3) did not envisage the construction of additional nuclear power plants at the present time.
Naoshima commented on the move to recommence the operation of nuclear power plants, pointing out that the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s inspections would necessitate the implementation of expensive additional construction works, and saying, “It looks like the screening of which nuclear power plants should be kept operational and which scrapped is already underway. If the government takes the initiative and properly sets out in their plan how many plants will be used and for how long, then it will be easier for power companies to decide whether they should spend money on nuclear power, or invest in the replacement of fossil-fuelled plants.” The Abe administration’s plan states that “We will develop the best mix over the next three years based on the Basic Plan.”, but Naoshima said, “[The government] should not wait three years but should set out such a policy as soon as possible.”
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