The transport ministry has admonished a taxi company in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, for denying service to a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker due to his opposition to nuclear power.
The transport ministry has admonished a taxi company in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, for denying service to a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker due to his opposition to nuclear power.
On Jan. 7, an aide to Masatoshi Akimoto, a newly-elected Lower House lawmaker from Chiba’s No. 9 constituency, called the taxi company to request a car so his boss could visit the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga for an inspection.
The employee in charge of dispatching taxis used the Internet to look into Akimoto’s stance on nuclear energy issues. The employee then told the aide the taxi company’s main customers are associated with the nuclear power industry. He then said, “We are rejecting people who take an anti-nuclear stance (and are seeking to abolish nuclear power plants).”
The transport ministry called the denial of service unlawful after being contacted by Akimoto. Ministry officials told the company its policy was in violation of the Road Transportation Law, which stipulates that taxi companies are required to accept all customers, with a few exceptions. The company was instructed to change its policy.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also criticized the taxi company at a Jan. 15 news conference, saying, “There is not justification whatsoever for what happened.”
It is extremely unusual for a taxi company to refuse fares on the basis of a person’s stance on a political issue.
The taxi company later told The Asahi Shimbun, “The employee in charge of dispatching taxis apparently thought that by accepting customers who take an anti-nuclear stance, our company will lose jobs.”