- (Saturday) During his testimony before the Diet’s Fukushima investigative panel, former minister Banri Kaieda said, “It took time to get the understanding of the prime minister,” (over an hour) of his responsibilities during a nuclear emergency. On the evening of March 11, Kaieda was told by Tepco officials of the extreme situation at F. Daiichi, so he immediately told Kan they needed to declare an emergency and establish the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters under the prime minister. Kan responded, “On what grounds?” Kan assigned Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano to study the regulation putting Kan in charge – the Law on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness. Kan then left to attend a routine meeting of Diet party leaders! In an attempt to protect his former boss, Kaieda said that communications between the Prime Minister’s, Tepco, and Fukushima Daiichi were poor and chaotic. When asked whether or not Tepco was actually planning to abandon F. Daiichi on March 15, Kaieda said, “I clearly recall three words President Shimizu said when he telephoned me. ‘No. 1 power plant,’ ‘No. 2 power plant’ and ‘evacuation.’ There was never any mention of leaving some workers at the plant.” Kan subsequently assumed the worst, resulting in his ordering Tepco to not abandon the facility. TEPCO board chairman Tsuneshisa Katsumata told the panel last Monday that “there is no truth” in the claim that the utility asked the government for permission to pull all its workers from the nuclear plant. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
- (Saturday) The issue of whether or not to restart the Oi nukes has become international. The Wall Street Journal says they expect the Tokyo government to say “yes”. However, they believe the Oi nukes will not be restarted before peak summer electricity demand hits because of the obscure, politically charged process common to Japan. Before restarting, the government has said it will consult local communities and then make a final Cabinet-level decision. However, it is unclear as to what communities ought to be included in the process. Communities hosting the nukes, to be sure. But how far beyond that? While the Oi town officials have given their consent, officials of neighboring Kyoto and Shiga prefectures are loudly opposing the restart. Perhaps the loudest is Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto, whose city is more than 100 kilometers distant. Should all of them be in the approval process? That has yet to be decided. Mr. Noda and the three Cabinet members assigned to make decision are likely to press ahead with restart, regardless. “If nuclear plants are not restarted, they will turn become liabilities, instead of assets,” Yoshito Sengoku, a senior member Democratic Party of Japan said recently, “Even for accounting reasons, it’s difficult to exit from nuclear power.” But, the political risks run high. “There could be an accident the day after the restart. Any politician who authorized the restart would be forced into resignation,” said Tomoko Murakami, nuclear expert at the pro-business Institute of Energy Economics. “There may not be a restart — not just for months, but for years,” she added. (WSJ – Asia)
- (Saturday) Meanwhile, the government is considering local rolling blackouts this summer, if voluntary reduction in consumption fails. And it might. The government says if a blackout is unavoidable, it will last for around 2 hours and that it will only be imposed once a day. A metal processing company in Osaka says if rolling blackouts take place, they will seriously affect production. The company says it has already reduced the number of air conditioners in the factory and made workers weld in the morning and evening when it is cooler. The company says it has done everything to save electricity, and is considering shifting some of its production to Thailand. (NHK World)
- (Sunday) Businesses in Western Japan are confused about the government’s recent waffling relative to this summer’s impending power crunch. At first Tokyo said voluntary reduction in consumption and electricity supplied from other regions would be enough. Now, the government has extended its request for voluntary reduction to neighboring regions so that there will be sufficient power from other utility companies to compensate. This means Chubu Electric customers will also have to cut back. To reduce consumption, Toyota (a Chubu customer) will bring in eight natural gas generators and install further cogeneration systems at 12 other sites. This will reduce their power intake by nearly 13%. But small-to-medium businesses can’t afford such costly measures. Many Chuba customers wonder why they have to make sacrifices? President Yoshiomi Yamada of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) said: “Why was Chubu Electric chosen to provide [replacement] power? I also don’t understand how the decision was made.” Meanwhile, businesses in the Kansai region have their problems, too. “We are really confused [over conservation measures] as [we have no idea] whether the Oi plant will be restarted,” said Akihiro Nikkaku, president of Toray Industries, Inc. Other companies that moved to western Japan after last year’s tsunami are now considering returning to the east. For example, Lion Corp. is going to move part of its detergent production from Osaka Prefecture (Kepco’s service area) to a factory in Chiba Prefecture, which is in Tepco’s service area. “As few politicians have experience in business, they don’t understand our sense of crisis and urgency,” said Yasuchika Hasegawa, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
- Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto continues to keep himself in the spotlight. Nuclear disaster management minister Goshi Hosono met with Kansai area officials on Saturday to explain the government’s reasons for wanting to restart Oi units #3&4. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tsuyoshi Saito joined him and said, “The economy and people’s lives cannot be sustained if all the country’s nuclear reactors stop operating.” Hosono then explained why Tokyo is confident in the safety of the Oi nukes. Hashimoto responded, “I expect the new nuclear regulatory agency will put together comprehensive safety standards. Until then, the reactors should not be allowed to resume full operations.” Hashimoto also suggested that if the Oi reactors are restarted, they should only be used to avoid power shortages and blackouts. He wants them shuttered if neither happens. In support of Hashimoto, Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka of Wakayama Prefecture, much further from Oi than Osaka, accused Tokyo of being too hasty in pushing for restarts, “Politicians should wait for the green light from experts, but they are taking the initiative.” Osaka and Wakayama are not on Japan’s west coast, but are in-fact located on the eastern coast. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
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