Japanese Prime Minister Opposed Nuclear Phase-out

BRUSSELS - March 16, 2016 - PRLog -- Shinzo Abe said Japan "cannot do without" nuclear power, speaking at the press conference to mark the fifth anniversary of the earthquake and disaster at the Fukushima NPP. The accident happened in the north-eastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The head of the Japan's government noticed that Tokyo will continue to develop peaceful nuclear energy programmes and will keep on putting the NPPs back to operation. Power plants operation was suspended due to the Fukushima accident. The head of the Cabinet Shinzo Abe highlighted that safety compliance is of paramount importance in guaranteeing the safe running of NPP.

'Our country does not possess sufficient natural resources. The need to secure energy supply and the existing economic problems and climate change issues mean we cannot turn away from using nuclear power. We will certainly decrease our reliance on nuclear power to the extent that it's possible. In any case, ensuring the compliance with NPP safety regulations is a top priority for us. There's nothing more important to us than restoring citizens' trust towards nuclear power.'

The head of the Japanese government talked about this topic in connection with the announcement on March 9 made by a court decision, which ordered to suspend operation of the 3rd and 4th units of Takahama NPP located in Fukui Prefecture. The reason for the trial was the concerns of local residents, who were extremely worried about the possibility of recurrence of the Fukushima accident on the territory of their region. It is they who filed a lawsuit in court last year. As a result, the 3rd unit of Takahama NPP was stopped today at about 8 pm local time. The national broadcaster, NHK, announced this, citing data from the operator of a nuclear power plant. It is noteworthy that the decision to stop the operation of NPP on the public complaint was made in Japan for the first time.