Two days after he said he wanted to phase out nuclear power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan appeared to step back from the statement on July 15, saying he had only been sharing his personal thoughts.
Two days after he said he wanted to phase out nuclear power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan appeared to step back from the statement on July 15, saying he had only been sharing his personal thoughts.
Asked at a ministerial meeting whether the statement had reflected Cabinet policy, Kan said he had presented his own views on energy policy rather than the view of his government, according to one person who was present.
At a news conference on July 13, Kan had issued a dramatic statement saying he would take steps to reduce the nation's dependency on nuclear power to zero in the future.
Kan did not discuss specific measures to achieve the goal, but he did not appear to be thinking in terms of an immediate policy change. He said he was determined to discuss and plan the process of decommissioning all nuclear power plants in Japan while he was still in office.
The statement caused consternation in both the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference on July 14 that the prime minister was only sharing a personal hope that could only be realized in the far future.
Edano said that, since eliminating Japan's nuclear power industry could not be approached from a short-term perspective, Kan's July 13 statement did not represent the government view on energy policy. He said Kan had merely been saying that steps toward that goal should be considered when discussing energy policy.
Asked whether the next administration would base its energy policy on Kan's view, Edano said only that he thought a reduced reliance on nuclear power was a common goal shared by members of both the DPJ and other parties.
Kan's anti-nuclear statement was not discussed or approved by his Cabinet.
The government is still in the process of formulating a plan for power supply and demand, which is expected to be unveiled at the end of this month. Kan's aides is believed to have argued that his nuclear statement would not be convincing without the specifics that are likely to be covered by that plan, but Kan decided to go straight to the public.
Tatsuo Hirano, the reconstruction minister, said July 14 that he was working to lower the country's dependence on nuclear power but admitted he had been surprised by Kan's talk of "phasing out nuclear power."
DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada also distanced himself from Kan's statement, saying substantive discussions supported by expert evidence were needed before formulating an energy strategy that was fundamental to the country's future.
But, despite his colleagues' caution, Kan appears to see a much more expansive role for himself. At the Group of Eight summit in France in late May, he argued that it was the country's responsibility to expand the use of renewable energy. On July 13,he proposed a full review of nuclear power policies, given the scale of the disaster facing Japan.
Sources say he is very conscious of history's verdict on his response to the emergency facing Japan and appears to see achieving major changes in energy policy as a defining achievement in his political career.
Meanwhile, the LDP and opposition party New Komeito struggled to respond to Kan's far-reaching statement.
Both parties have previously promoted nuclear power, but found it difficult to come out strongly against Kan's idea of phasing out the industry because of current public opinion. Instead, they focused on criticizing Kan for not specifying measures to achieve his goal.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, head of the LDP, said July 14 that Kan's July 13 statement was a totally unilateral action and had ignored the democratic process.
He said Kan's proposal was merely intended to ingratiate him to voters by tapping into growing public fears of nuclear power. The LDP took a strongly pro-nuclear stance during its half century in power before the DPJ's election victory in August 2009.
Asked whether the LDP supported the idea of phasing out nuclear power, Tanigaki only said the party needed to discuss the issue further.
New Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi said on July 13 that he wondered whether the prime minister had just wanted television airtime. He said Kan had not presented any specifics on how to end reliance on nuclear energy.
However, with the public now favoring a gradual shift from nuclear power following the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis, both the LDP and New Komeito are also leaning toward reducing the role of the industry.
The parties' lawmakers are split on whether to advocate a complete elimination of nuclear energy or continued but reduced reliance on nuclear power.
The LDP, in particular, has close connections with the electric power industry, making it difficult for the party to shift its policy.
Some Diet members are still discussing the possibility of Kan putting the LDP on the spot by calling a snap election and making the resulting election a referendum on nuclear policy.
On July 5, the LDP established a task force led by Ichita Yamamoto, a LDP member who has few connections with the power industry, to review the party's past nuclear policies. The panel is expected to present a new energy policy in early August.
Some opposition lawmakers are hoping that, with Kan expected to step down in the near future, his successor as DPJ president and prime minister may backpedal on his strident anti-nuclear stance.
There have also been voices in the LDP calling for the party to delay Diet deliberations on and eventually kill the special measures bill on renewable energy sources on which the prime minister has been focusing.
Masashi Waki, chairman of the LDP's Diet affairs committee in the Upper House, said the party may submit a censure motion against Kan in the Upper House in mid-August when the renewable energy bill arrives in the Upper House. Opposition parties control a majority in the Upper House. Waki said they might not have time to discuss the bill.