The Democratic Party of Japan administration had devised a specific plan to wean Japan off nuclear energy, but legislation to put that strategy in motion died when the party lost power in 2012.
The Democratic Party of Japan administration had devised a specific plan to wean Japan off nuclear energy, but legislation to put that strategy in motion died when the party lost power in 2012.
DPJ lawmaker Satoshi Arai said the bill was designed to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear power in light of the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s administration planned to submit the bill to a Diet session in 2013.
The outline of the bill, compiled by DPJ lawmakers and government bureaucrats, called for laying a domestic network of natural gas pipelines to accelerate a shift to thermal power generation and raising power transmission capacities to promote electricity generated from wind and other renewable sources, according to sources.
According to a copy of the outline obtained by The Asahi Shimbun, electric power facilities, natural gas pipelines and oil storage terminals, which were defined as “key energy facilities,” would be developed in preparation for a disaster.
In the basic energy plan adopted in 2010, the DPJ had set a goal of increasing the share of renewable energy to 21 percent of the nation’s electricity generation in 2030.
A group of DPJ lawmakers, including Arai, Banri Kaieda and Akihiro Ohata, and senior officials from the industry, finance and other ministries met about 10 times between spring and autumn 2012 to study necessary measures.
The outline said the government would approve a basic plan with development goals at a Cabinet meeting and provide financial assistance to projects submitted by businesses and authorized by the prime minister.
The industry ministry planned to formulate a basic policy for building natural gas pipelines, including routes, in fiscal 2012 and asked for related outlays in the fiscal 2013 budget.
But everything changed after the DPJ suffered a crushing defeat to the Liberal Democratic Party in the Lower House election in December 2012.
Japan’s 48 nuclear reactors all remain offline for safety checks. The LDP plans to have them reactivated once the Nuclear Regulation Agency confirms their compliance with the new safety standards introduced after the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
In contrast to the DPJ’s definition of “key energy facilities,” the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defined nuclear energy as an “important base-load electricity source” in its draft basic energy plan approved in February.
The industry ministry’s plan for the pipeline basic policy was shelved and the budget request was dropped after Abe took power.
“There are no signs to promote construction of pipelines under a government initiative,” an industry ministry official said.
Under the DPJ’s strategy, a ministry study group in 2012 proposed government assistance to Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s plan to raise power transmission capacities from Hokkaido to the Honshu main island. The study group was disbanded in June 2013.
A ministry official said nothing has been decided on whether the government needs to provide assistance or not.
The Abe administration’s draft basic energy plan, the first to be compiled after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, also dropped the DPJ administration’s numerical goal of increasing the use of renewable energy for the nation’s electricity needs.