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President Kobayakawa repeatedly apologized for failing to prevent the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident that occurred on March 11, 2011 in an interview published in Asahi Shimbun on the 10th. It is necessary to use nuclear power plants, ”he said.
Following the explosion of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant due to insufficient measures against the tsunami, it was decided to dismantle the 10 reactors of the reactors No. 1 (6 reactors) and No. 2 (4 reactors) of Tokyo Electric Power in Fukushima Prefecture.
In addition, Tokyo Electric Power’s Kashiwazaki Gariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata prefecture was shut down.
Tokyo Electric Power, however, is moving ahead with the restart of the seventh nuclear reactor at Kashiwazakigari and the nuclear power plant, which passed the review of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission.
However, the local government disagrees and the reaction of local residents cannot resume the operation due to the castration.
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Celebrates 10th Year of Worst AccidentIn this regard, President Kobayakawa emphasized that nuclear energy is an energy source that does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2), and emphasized that a certain amount of nuclear energy must be used with the premise of guaranteeing safety when considering the stability of the environment. . at long-term price and economic viability.
President Kobayakawa’s opinion is quite far from the general sentiment of the Japanese people towards nuclear power plants.
Based on the results of a postal poll of 1,970 voters aged 18 and over nationwide (based on valid responses), excluding some areas of Fukushima, prior to the 10th anniversary of the recent Great East Japan Earthquake, 68% responded that it should be reduced step by step to zero (fully closed).
8% of respondents said they should be completely abolished immediately, and 76% of all respondents supported “nuclear power plants.”
Considering the fact that the proportion of respondents who wanted to phase out nuclear energy in the same survey in the past was 69% in 2014, 62% in 2016, and 75% in 2018, it can be seen that the number of Japanese citizens who demand the total abolition of nuclear power plants has increased.
For that reason, 60% of those surveyed who wanted to completely destroy the nuclear power plant cited concerns that an accident like the one at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant would be repeated.
Some point out that nuclear power plants are not an inexpensive source of energy, as argued by President Kobayakawa, considering the cost of safety measures and decommissioning to prevent accidents.
According to the estimated cost of handling the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in December 2016, the decommissioning process alone costs 8 trillion yen (about 84 trillion won).
In addition, 7.9 billion yen is expected to be required to compensate residents, 4 trillion yen for decontamination in areas around nuclear power plants contaminated with radioactive materials, and 1.6 trillion yen for the maintenance of a facility. intermediate storage of contaminants. .
The combined cost of handling the accident is 21.5 trillion yen (about 225 trillion won).
Even with the added cost of heightened safety measures after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, the additional budget set by 11 Japanese nuclear power companies as of July last year is estimated to be at least 5.2 billion yen (around 55 trillion won).
On the other hand, President Kobayakawa said about the goal of completing the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the next 30 to 40 years. He said, “I will challenge myself (to achieve the decommissioning goal).”
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