Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan opposing nuclear power are finding themselves increasingly isolated and frustrated as the party appears set to return to pushing for nuclear power under the new administration.
Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan opposing nuclear power are finding themselves increasingly isolated and frustrated as the party appears set to return to pushing for nuclear power under the new administration.
"There are now no venues where we can have our voices heard," said one of four DPJ members who attended a study meeting earlier this month on the nuclear accident. "I wonder if the party has the will to grapple with the nuclear accident as a political party."
A project team to address the impact of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, set up under the previous administration, was abolished after Yoshihiko Noda replaced Naoto Kan as prime minister.
Satoshi Arai, former state minister in charge of national policy, and Upper House member Kuniko Tanioka are among DPJ members opposing nuclear power. Arai headed the project team, which the party formed in April.
The team, comprising about 30 members, held 34 general meetings on the issue.
Many members called for tougher conditions on allowing the restart of nuclear reactors that were undergoing regular safety checks.
In August, the project team proposed that contaminated land in the vicinity of the crippled nuclear power plant be nationalized. It also called for the establishment of a Diet panel to investigate the cause of the nuclear accident.
Arai boasted of his team's achievements.
"We pushed for measures to deal with the nuclear accident, giving the Kan administration a supportive push," he said. "Ours is the most successful project team."
A different project team that deals with power supply issues was formed under the Kan administration, led by Masayuki Naoshima, a former industry minister known for his pro-nuclear power stance.
The project teams related to energy issues--one led by a nuclear skeptic and another by a nuclear power advocate--appeared to be intended to strike a balance within the party.
But these project teams were abolished after the Noda administration took power.
Instead, a new project team was set up to discuss the restart of nuclear reactors and comprehensive energy issues, with a tilt toward the promotion of nuclear power.
The team's head is Akihiro Ohata, a former industry minister known as a strong proponent of nuclear power. Ohata was involved in the design of nuclear power plants when he worked for Hitachi Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of nuclear facilities. He led a shift in the DPJ's stance toward nuclear power to one of promoting it in 2006 when the party was in opposition.
The party's apparent return to nuclear power promotion reflects the intent of Seiji Maehara, chairman of the DPJ Policy Research Committee.
In the Lower House Budget Committee on Sept. 26, Maehara argued for moving the restart of nuclear reactors cleared for regular maintenance to the year-end, instead of from next spring to summer, which Noda referred to as the timing of the resumption in an interview with a U.S. newspaper on Sept. 20.
DPJ nuclear opponents say that they were ostracized from the policy decision-making process because Maehara was intent on shifting to the promotion of nuclear power.
Arai and other former project team members asked Noda and other party top officials to revive the project team looking into the impact of and issues surrounding the nuclear accident.
They are also considering calling for the departure from nuclear power generation in meetings of other project teams and the DPJ members.
But it remains unclear if they can win wide support to their cause or even regain a voice.