The article by Yoko Sakurai that appeared on the front page of the Nikkei newspaper on August 6th, 2018, is an article that all Japanese citizens who can read print should read.
All Japanese citizens who read this article should bow their heads to the thought that here is a true patriot, a woman, and our senior.
The emphasis in the text other than the headline is mine.
The Kan Naoto administration and its twin
In July, amid abnormally high temperatures exceeding 41 degrees in some areas, the government passed a cabinet decision on the Fifth Basic Energy Plan (the Fifth Plan) with a view to 2030 and 2050.
The Japan-US Nuclear Agreement, which would expire in 30 years, was also automatically extended.
In this context, the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission announced that it would "reduce the amount of plutonium held" under its new guidelines. Chairman Yoshiaki Oka expressed concern about the current plutonium amount exceeding 47 tons.
Although this is a complex matter for the general public to understand, it is a critical issue regarding whether Japan will continue to provide a stable supply of electricity, which is the foundation of a rich and secure lifestyle.
A look at energy policy reveals something surprising.
The policies of the LDP-Komeito coalition government are the same as those of the former Democratic Party of Japan government under Naoto Kan.
The LDP-Komeito coalition government inherited the basic policies of the Kan administration and continues to follow them to this day.
Its energy policy, which is identical to the Kan administration's anti-nuclear power ideology, has already failed.
The Fifth Plan, which was supposed to look to the future of our country, is itself unfeasible.
The Fifth Plan calls for increasing the use of renewable energy from solar and wind power to 22-24% of all power sources by 2030, making it a primary source of power in a way that satisfies the two requirements of becoming economically independent without government subsidies or preferential treatment and becoming a trump card for decarbonization.
Solar power accounts for 4.4% of the total, and wind power is 0.6%.
Renewable energy is important as the primary power source of the future, and I believe we should focus on R&D (research and development) as one of the pillars of national strategy.
However, from the perspectives of meteorology and economics, it is tough to make fluctuating sources of power like solar and wind power the primary source of power shortly.
Can we see a way forward in the next 10 years or so?
Experts are pessimistic about this.
Renewable energy should be positioned as a goal for the distant future. On the other hand, nuclear power is a source of power that can be supplied immediately.
However, the Fifth Plan does not address this issue head-on.
It merely states that the government will reduce dependence on nuclear power to the greatest extent possible and then restart nuclear power plants after improving safety.
The draft plan had indicated a target of 20-22%, but this has been deleted.
Considering this with the aforementioned policy of reducing plutonium, Japan will inevitably have to increase its reliance on fossil fuels such as coal to compensate for the unstable supply of renewable energy.
In addition to its plans to operate 200 of the world's most advanced nuclear power plants, China has also announced that it will build 200,000 kW small modular reactors (SMRs) at 143 locations to reduce the use of coal for local heat supply drastically.
While China and the rest of the world strive to build their countries based on advanced nuclear power energy, will Japan be the only country to abandon this approach completely?
Japan's nuclear power policy is literally being torn down from its roots.
Japan has imported uranium for nuclear power fuel from the United States and other countries and has been extracting plutonium by processing the uranium fuel used in nuclear reactors.
The nuclear fuel cycle reuses atomic fuel in the prototype fast breeder reactor Monju (in Fukui Prefecture) and ordinary light water reactors (plutonium-thermal).
Japan's nuclear policy is based on this.
However, it has been decided that Monju will be decommissioned.
The only way to maintain the nuclear fuel cycle is to use plutonium-thermal.
Only four nuclear power plants that have restarted can be plutonium-thermal.
Each of these plants consumes 0.4 tons of plutonium per year.
Once the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture, expected to be completed in three years, begins operating, it will extract 8 tons of plutonium per year from spent nuclear fuel.
As a result, there is discussion about not reprocessing spent nuclear fuel or limiting reprocessing to fulfill the Nuclear Power Commission's "promise" to reduce plutonium stockpiles.
The Nuclear Commission's policy could end the nuclear power industry by severing Japan's nuclear fuel cycle.
This is exactly what Kan is trying to do.
This is exactly what Kan is trying to do.
It overlaps perfectly with Kan's plan.
He is making the people pay a considerable burden for renewable energy, failing in nuclear power policy, relying disproportionately on fossil fuels such as coal, and turning Japan into a major emitter of CO2.
Why is our country being pushed down this foolish path?
As the Japan-US Nuclear Agreement was automatically extended, information such as "Japan's plutonium stockpile of 47 tons", "enough for approximately 6,000 atomic bombs", and "the risk of nuclear proliferation" was flying back and forth, both from the Japanese side and the American side.
However, this information is not accurate.
The 47 tons of plutonium that Japan possesses is reactor-grade plutonium, and its composition and purity are significantly different from that of weapons-grade plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons.
The United Kingdom and France have reprocessed and stored about 36 tons of Japan's plutonium.
In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors are stationed at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, and Japan is under strict control.
It is scientifically and physically impossible for Japan to build an atomic bomb.
There is nothing wrong with Japan's possession of plutonium.
The only way to solve the problem is to operate the reprocessing plant and complete the nuclear fuel cycle.
Despite this, Japan has cowered in the face of inaccurate or deliberately misleading information.
When it was announced that the Japan-US Nuclear Agreement would be automatically extended, the media immediately reported "concerns in the international community."
NHK commentator Noriyuki Mizuno even went so far as to claim that "China and North Korea have pointedly named Japan as a country with the potential to develop nuclear weapons" (in the August 1st edition of "Jiron Kouron").
This kind of information aims to force the reprocessing plant to close, destroy the nuclear fuel cycle, and bury Japan's nuclear power industry as a whole.
The Abe administration, which is responsible for Japan's energy policy, should be aware that Japan's future is in danger due to anti-nuclear power information, and work to rebuild its energy policy.
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Op. 77 (1987 Remastered Version) : II. Adagio
