Nuclear power a key issue in Japan polls

History tells us that even devastating accidents, such as the ones in Chernobyl (Ukraine) and Three Mile Island (the US), could not stop the pace of development of nuclear power. The increasing geopolitical risks associated with energy and the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have compelled countries to re-evaluate nuclear power.

And Japan will continue to use nuclear energy to power its economic development. Even Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said the Fukushima accident does not mean that Japan should abandon the peaceful use of nuclear power. Accidents in nuclear power plants are caused by human errors because of faulty designs, construction and/or operations. Every nuclear power plant accident highlights faults and teaches people to build safer plants by upgrading the safety parameters and technology. The Fukushima accident is no exception.

Japan's close-knit community of academics, bureaucrats, utility officials and financial managers with vested interests in promoting atomic power — in short, the "nuclear village" — will not disintegrate.

In the "nuclear village", many senior officials of nuclear power companies are former government officials, who not only enjoy the status of senior private enterprise managers, but also have professional experience and personal connections with government officials. Such a relationship is bound to force supervision authorities to consider the group's interests more compassionately, leading to unnecessary favors for the nuclear power companies.

In other words, it can lead to the formation of a "community of interests". As long as the "nuclear village", which has dominated the nuclear power industry for more than 60 years, does not suffer a structural damage or is disintegrated, Japan will find it difficult to phase out nuclear power. Besides, as a country that lacks sources of energy, Japan cannot abandon nuclear power if it wants to avoid energy risks and secure its energy supply.

Though the ruling and opposition parties in Japan have differences on nuclear power and vow to defend the interests of the Japanese people, their fundamental purpose is to garner votes to win the general election. The different nuclear power policies put forward by these parties are not in accordance with the essential attribute of nuclear power or its law of development. Instead, they are an attempt to play to public gallery to win popular support.

In this sense, nuclear power has become a political tool in Japan's election. Of course, Japan's "denuclearization policy" or "pro-nuclear policy" will not affect its stance on "diversifying" its energy imports, "developing oil and gas fields in the East China Sea" and the dispute over "the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands".

The author is an associate professor on Japan studies, Nankai University in Tianjin.