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The Economist: Japan is without nuclear power for first time in 50 years — “A silent majority speaks” — Analysts say anti-nuclear party could soon vault to national prominence

Published: May 3rd, 2012 at 12:18 pm ET
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Power politics in Japan: A silent majority speaks
The Economist
May 5th 2012 print edition

For the first time in half a century, Japan is without nuclear power

[...] by May 5th at the latest, the last of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors will be switched off. Besides those permanently disabled in the Fukushima disaster, the rest have been taken offline for “routine maintenance” and kept that way because there is not enough public confidence in their safety to restart them. [...]

Of course, Japan is not grinding to a halt without nuclear energy. [...]

Opinion polls suggest that the public’s unwillingness to restart the reactors represents a silent rebuke—this is a country not given to mass demonstrations—to the way the authorities have handled the crisis. Until recently, analysts expected the Japanese to lack the appetite for a second year in a row with the threat of blackouts. [...]

Toru Hashimoto, mayor of Osaka

Yet an election may play into the hands not of the LDP, the official opposition, but rather of a nationalist firebrand, Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka. That big city gets its power from Kansai Electric, operator of the plant at Oi in Fukui prefecture that Mr Noda wants to restart. Nevertheless, Mr Hashimoto has loudly protested against the plan. He has called for stronger safety measures and demanded that cities like Osaka, within a 100-km (62-mile) radius of Oi, should have a say on whether they are adequate.

The government is trying to shrug off Mr Hashimoto. But analysts say that his Osaka-based party, though parochial now, could use the anti-nuclear issue as part of a platform to vault to national prominence in a general election. If the election became a vote on Fukushima, neither the DPJ nor the LDP would relish the result.

Published: May 3rd, 2012 at 12:18 pm ET
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9 comments

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May 3rd, 2012 | Category: Japan (Fukushima)
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