Nuclear energy looks set to dominate gubernatorial elections outside Tokyo as local government consent is key to bringing nuclear plants back online or building new ones.
Nuclear energy looks set to dominate gubernatorial elections outside Tokyo as local government consent is key to bringing nuclear plants back online or building new ones.
The issue has already been raised by candidates in
In Yamaguchi Prefecture, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe represents in the Diet, there is controversy over a proposal to construct a new nuclear plant in Kaminoseki.
The official campaign for the Yamaguchi gubernatorial race began Feb. 6, with voting scheduled for Feb. 23.
A vacancy in the post emerged when Shigetaro Yamamoto resigned in January for health reasons.
When the Democratic Party of Japan was still in control of the central government, Yamamoto declared he would not approve an application to extend a land reclamation license for the proposed nuclear plant site. However, after the Abe administration took over power, Yamamoto shifted position and said last March that he would hold off on a decision for a year.
In the gubernatorial election two years ago, Tsutomu Takamura, a former DPJ Lower House member, lost out to Yamamoto. Takamura is running this time on a platform that opposes the nuclear plant construction plan.
The Japanese Communist Party candidate, Naoko Fujii, is also calling for an immediate end to nuclear power.
Takamura said, "Even the people of Tokyo have begun to raise doubts about whether they should be satisfied with nuclear energy policy in which (the central government) forces dangers and burdens on isolated rural areas."
On Feb. 1, Takeo Kawamura, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party's Election Strategy Committee, called for support for Tsugumasa Muraoka, who is being backed by both the LDP and New Komeito.
"While attention was focused on the Tokyo gubernatorial election because two former prime ministers have campaigned together, interest will also focus on the Yamaguchi gubernatorial election since it is Abe's home prefecture," said Kawamura, who also represents a district in the prefecture. "We must produce a suitable result."
He touched upon the fact that Morihiro Hosokawa, a former prime minister, is running in the Tokyo election while calling for an immediate end to nuclear power generation. Hosokawa is backed by Junichiro Koizumi, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 and remains hugely popular.
Muraoka, seeking to avoid having the nuclear issue come down to the local level, said, "The central government should think about energy policy because it involves the entire nation."
The Abe administration is moving to gain approval to resume operations at nuclear plants before summer when electricity demand peaks.
Later this year, gubernatorial elections will be held in Ishikawa and Ehime prefectures, which both host nuclear power plants.
As local government support is vital to restarting nuclear reactors, those elections could have a major effect on whether operations can resume.
Campaigning for the Ishikawa election will officially begin Feb. 27. The incumbent, Masanori Tanimoto, will be seeking a record-tying sixth term. The prefectural chapters of the LDP, New Komeito and the DPJ have all pledged support for Tanimoto. Even the prefectural chapter of the Social Democratic Party, which has voiced its opposition to nuclear energy in Ishikawa, has come out in support of Tanimoto.
A decision on resuming operations at the prefecture's Shika plant, operated by Hokuriku Electric Power Co., is awaiting the results of a study about whether a fault lies directly under a nuclear reactor.
Tanimoto has taken the position of leaving all political decisions on plant operation resumption to the central government.
He said the central government policy of resuming operations at nuclear plants where safety has been confirmed was "a realistic approach."
Two candidates expected to run against Tanimoto are planning to come out squarely against nuclear energy.
One prospective candidate is Yuichiro Kawa, an Ishikawa prefectural assembly member who bolted from the DPJ after the prefectural chapter decided to back Tanimoto. Kawa plans to argue for a switch in energy policy away from nuclear power to natural energy sources.
"Nuclear energy policy is not only a matter for the central government, but is also a local matter," Kawa said.
The JCP candidate, Yoshinobu Kimura, is also expected to call for an immediate end to nuclear power generation.
Employees of electric power companies will follow the results of the elections closely.
One worker at Tokyo Electric Power Co. said: "Even if the central government has decided on such a major policy issue, the local governors have authority over the details. The backlash would be huge if we lost."
Nuclear energy will also be a key issue for the Shiga Prefecture gubernatorial election, scheduled for July.
The incumbent, Yukiko Kada, was critical of the 2012 decision to resume operations at the Oi nuclear plant in neighboring Fukui Prefecture.
"There are those who say local governments should not comment on nuclear energy policy, but will the central government protect people's lives and the environment?" she asked. "It was unable to protect Fukushima Prefecture. Voters should decide if nuclear energy policy should become a theme of the election."
Kada has not yet announced whether she will seek a third term.
The Fukushima gubernatorial election will be held in autumn. Governor Yuhei Sato has also not yet said whether he would seek a third term. It also remains unclear if energy policy will become an issue in that campaign. The Fukushima prefectural assembly unanimously passed a resolution after the 2011 nuclear accident calling for all reactors in the prefecture to be decommissioned.
Sato has also come out in favor of that position.
(This article was compiled from reports by Sunao Gushiken, Daiji Higuchi, Tatsuya Gunji and Teruhiko Nose.)