Related News
74% of Japanese favor nuclear power phase-out
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
NEARLY three-fourths of Japanese voters want to see a gradual phase-out of nuclear power, a newspaper poll showed today, the latest sign of concerns about atomic safety as the country struggles with the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
The survey by the Asahi newspaper, however, also showed that 51 percent agreed reactors now off-line for inspections should be restarted if they met government safety standards, compared with 35 percent who were opposed, although the percentage opposed was higher in regions hosting reactors.
The survey coincided with yesterday's referendum in Italy where almost 95 percent of votes cast favored blocking a nuclear power revival in the earthquake-prone country.
Three months after a massive earthquake and tsunami, workers are trying to stabilize reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi plant. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the area around the plant.
Trade ministry officials have warned that all of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors might be shut down by next April if communities objected to operating plants due to safety concerns.
But experts say the economic costs are too high to pull the plug on all the plants despite the public's concerns. Before the quake, nuclear power supplied about 30 percent of Japan's electricity needs.
Unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who has promised to step down in coming months after coming under fire for his handling of the nuclear crisis, has pledged to overhaul the regulation of nuclear power and announced new safety steps.
Kan also pledged last month to boost renewable energy to at least 20 percent of Japan's electricity supply in the 2020s, about double the current level, and aims to cut the costs of solar power generation by one-sixth by 2030.
Sixty-five percent of respondents to the Asahi survey said they were willing to accept higher electricity rates to promote renewable energy sources, compared with 19 percent who were not.
The survey by the Asahi newspaper, however, also showed that 51 percent agreed reactors now off-line for inspections should be restarted if they met government safety standards, compared with 35 percent who were opposed, although the percentage opposed was higher in regions hosting reactors.
The survey coincided with yesterday's referendum in Italy where almost 95 percent of votes cast favored blocking a nuclear power revival in the earthquake-prone country.
Three months after a massive earthquake and tsunami, workers are trying to stabilize reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi plant. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the area around the plant.
Trade ministry officials have warned that all of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors might be shut down by next April if communities objected to operating plants due to safety concerns.
But experts say the economic costs are too high to pull the plug on all the plants despite the public's concerns. Before the quake, nuclear power supplied about 30 percent of Japan's electricity needs.
Unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who has promised to step down in coming months after coming under fire for his handling of the nuclear crisis, has pledged to overhaul the regulation of nuclear power and announced new safety steps.
Kan also pledged last month to boost renewable energy to at least 20 percent of Japan's electricity supply in the 2020s, about double the current level, and aims to cut the costs of solar power generation by one-sixth by 2030.
Sixty-five percent of respondents to the Asahi survey said they were willing to accept higher electricity rates to promote renewable energy sources, compared with 19 percent who were not.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
