A bill to end nuclear power generation was presented to the House of Representatives September 7, just one day before the closing of the current Diet session. The bill responds to voices of citizens who claim to shut down power plants and it is put on the agenda of the next session. Subsequently on September 14 the government finalized the Innovative Strategy for Energy and the Environment. We, the New Socialist Party of Japan, keep struggling at the time when general elections come soon to let the government terminate nuclear power generation and enact the bill on the agenda.


LET'S HAVE MAJORITY OF PARLIAMENTARIANS VOTE FOR BILL TO ABANDON NUCLEAR POWER!


The bill was submitted to the Diet by 13 presenters as well as by 23 supra-partisan supporting lawmakers of the House of Representatives (excluding the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and Communist Party) with another 67 MPs of the both Houses (as of September 7) signing.


The bill reflects a request of civic movement against nuclear power generation whose initiative is taken by famous writers, including Oe Kenzaburo and Setouchi Jakucho. They are also representatives of a grass root organization, National Network to Enact a Law against Nuclear Power Generation. The network was inaugurated on August 22 this year and the leaders have negotiated with MPs of various political parties to embody the civic campaign in a legal term.


Learn Lessons of Fukushima


Let's look into the bill. The preamble says that, judging from the accident at Fukushima, atomic energy is a dangerous, unstable energy source based on a fabricated safety myth and adds that technologies to process radioactive wastes have not yet been established.


Following the preamble, a purpose of the law is stipulated; to establish principles to give up this energy source and to clarify the role of the state and relevant authorities. It requests the government to compile a basic plan to end the generation and bring the objective to a reality at an earliest time.


The bill provides definitions and basic rules: to establish a stable electricity supply system without relying on atomic energy and such a system should be set up at an earliest period in the Fiscals 2020-25.


It specifies, as for re-operation at the plants at standstill, that operation is prohibited unless the cutting-edge technological knowledge allows.


Technological criteria to incorporate causes of the Fukushima accident have not yet been formulated. And therefore, if a new, right norm is made, that one will be applied to suspension of the power plant at Oi, Fukui Prefecrure, which the Noda government, with an authoritarian force, gave a green light to resume last July.


State Policy Changes


If the bill becomes a law, the state authority will set a basic plan and take an initiative in legislation and policy decisions to seal reactors, to separate electricity generation and transmission and to assure development of local economy and creation of employment at the relevant locations.


Some people worry about the period mentioned as Fiscals 2020-2025, suspecting whether the law could really prevent reoperation. But the sole way to abandon the nuclear operation will be implemented by legislation as a state policy as the industry itself had been encouraged on the basis of laws.


Today we witness historic aspiration of people and civic movements to reject atomic energy. It is opportune to enact a law.


The New Socialist Party of Japan supports the bill as an expression of people's demand spreading across the nation. We are determined to continue struggles to put an end to nuclear power generation.


General elections will be held in 'a few months' as Prime Minister Noda pledged. We must fight so that majority of lawmakers should support the bill to abandon nuclear energy. We must screen every candidate, asking one by one whether he/she favors the bill.


Struggles against nuclear power constitute a campaign to prevent the government from cheating people by way of the said strategy announced on September 14 which says 'nuclear power generation will be made zero in the decade of 2030'.


September 25, 2012