Japanese officials said today they were committed to nuclear power after the prime minister called for a plant to close, but that the target of obtaining half of Japan's electricity from nuclear power by 2030 needed a rethink.
Prime minister Naoto Kan has called for the closure of a nuclear plant in central Japan, citing the risk of another disastrous quake after the Fukushima Daiichi plant, in the northeast of the country, was destroyed by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Nearly 26,000 people were killed or are still missing after the quake and tsunami which triggered the world's biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The plant is still leaking radiation.
The call to shut down the Hamaoka plant signalled a potential shift in energy policy, and while the government says other plants will be unaffected, it could embolden anti-nuclear movements.
Several thousand protesters marched through central Tokyo yesterday to welcome Mr Kan's call to shut down Hamaoka and urging him to push for further closures.
Deputy chief cabinet secretary Yoshito Sengoku said that Japan would remain committed to nuclear power, while trade minister Banri Kaieda, who oversees energy policy, said Japan's target must be reviewed.
"With regard to energy policy ... we will have to rethink this," Mr Kaieda said on Fuji TV, adding that more efforts should go into renewable energy.
Chubu Electric Power Co is leaning towards closing the plant as requested and could make the decision at a board meeting as early tomorrow, media said.
Asked whether he would seek the closure of other nuclear plants, Mr Kan told reporters today: "That won't be the case," adding that Hamaoka had an especially high risk of being hit by a massive earthquake.
Japan last year vowed to boost the share of electricity generation through nuclear power to 50 per cent by 2030 from the current 30 per cent by building at least 14 new reactors.
Government experts put the chance of a magnitude 8.0 quake hitting the Hamaoka area in the next 30 years at 87 per cent, which raises questions over why it was built there in the first place.
Reuters