Goal of no new reactors in jeopardy
Kyodo
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20130101a4.html
NRA has final reactor say-so: Motegi
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20130101a9.html
U.S. nuke crisis team's Fukushima findings wasted
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20130101a3.html
Summer poll to keep Abe in check
Leader stuck without voter mandate
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20130101a1.html
LDP may use taxes to prop up giants
Electronics firms would get cash injection by selling factories and
leasing them back, inviting moral hazard
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20130101a2.html
--0--
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/ed20130101a1.html
EDITORIAL
Back to the future for Japan?
As the new year kicks off and the coalition government of the Liberal
Democratic Party and Komeito gets into full swing, Japan will see a
drastic change in the direction of policies set by the DPJ government
during its rule of three years and three months. It will not be a new
direction, however, but rather largely a revival of the policy
direction that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe adopted - or tried to adopt
- during his first administration from September 2006 to September
2007.
People will likely soon feel the effects of the new Abe
administration's policies, but it is unclear whether his approach to
the economy will improve their lives.
Due to Mr. Abe's economic policy, which calls for unlimited monetary
easing by the Bank of Japan, financial markets may show positive
signs. But the nation's poorest citizens will likely face greater
hardships due to the Abe administration's social policy, which
embraces the conservative idea of "self-help."
On the diplomatic front, the Abe administration's hawkish stance on
issues involving the Constitution, national security and historical
perspectives may increase friction in Northeast Asia. The Abe
administration may leave these issues on the back burner before next
summer's Upper House election.
But it must not be forgotten that Mr. Abe's top goal is to revise the
Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9. He aims to win the Upper
House election so that the LDP, together with other parties sharing
similar ideological ground, can lay the foundation for constitutional
change. Given his nationalistic call for changing the "postwar
regime," Mr. Abe's policies could change the basic character of
postwar Japan and raise suspicions in the international community
regarding its true intensions.
The nation's policy toward nuclear power generation will likely also
change, reflecting the LDP's close ties with the power industry. The
Abe administration is expected to scrap the DPJ administration's
policy to end Japan's reliance on nuclear power generation in the
2030s.
Trade and industry minister Mr. Toshimitsu Motegi said the new
government will seek to restart offline nuclear power plants once the
Nuclear Regulatory Authority releases new post-Fukushima safety
standards in July. He also hinted that the government will reverse
the DPJ government's decision not to approve the construction of new
nuclear power plants, and made it clear that the government will not
abandon the nuclear fuel cycle project.
The Abe administration's position on nuclear power generation is
extremely regrettable considering the fact that the catastrophe at
Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which
contaminated vast areas with radioactive substances and forced
hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate - including some
160,000 local residents who still cannot return home - made it clear
that operating nuclear power plants in this earthquake-prone country
is inherently dangerous.
Japan's nuclear fuel cycle project has stalled, with the Monju
fast-breeder reactor remaining inoperative despite years of work, and
the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori
Prefecture, plagued by a series of accidents. A decision to continue
the project makes no sense and is deplorable from both an ethical and
safety standpoint. Nuclear waste storage facilities are nearly full
now, and technology to safely store high-level radioactive waste
permanently does not exist. Mr. Abe must understand that continuing
nuclear power generation in Japan will create serious environmental
problems for future generations.
Mr. Abe speaks much about the BOJ setting an inflation target of 2
percent, but says very little about measures aimed at increasing
employment and wages. His policy risks fueling inflation that is not
accompanied by economic gains that will improve people's living
standards. He should come up with measures that will increase
investment in industries closely related to local communities such as
agriculture, tourism, medical- and nursing-care services and
child-rearing support, as well as eco-friendly industries including
the development of green energy sources.
The Abe administration has signaled a clear departure from the DPJ
administration in social policy. The LDP has been playing up reports
of misuse of livelihood assistance for the poor - the last layer in
Japan's social safety net - and is considering lowering livelihood
assistance benefits by up to 10 percent in line with the conservative
"self-help" ideology it advocates. The LDP must realize that the vast
majority of those who rely on social welfare assistance do so because
they cannot find work. Only an estimated 0.3 to 0.4 percent of the
budget for livelihood assistance is misused. The government should
avoid adopting a policy that will make the already tough lives of the
nation's poorest citizens even harder.
On the diplomatic front, the Abe administration is likely to review
or change the 1993 statement issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yohei Kono on "comfort women," who provided sex to members of the
Imperial armed forces during the wars of the 1930s and '40s. The
statement acknowledged that the Japanese military was "directly or
indirectly involved in the establishment and management of the
comfort stations and the transfer of comfort women." Revising this
statement could cause great repercussions not only in Asia but also
in other parts of the world if it is viewed as an attempt by Japan to
whitewash its militarist past.
Such a move would indicate that Japan has become inward-looking and
could lead to its isolation in the international community. Mr. Abe
should realize that a revision of the Kono Statement would harm
Japan's national interests, and leave it intact.
Citizens should closely monitor the policies of the Abe
administration and make their displeasure known if it tries to adopt
policies that will make their lives more difficult or undermine
Japan's dedication to pacifism, which has earned it the respect and
trust of the international community.
The Japan Times: Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013
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