110 P. MIDFORD
prompting an emergency shutdown. In March 2016, a judge ordered
both Takahama reactors shut down for not meeting NRA earthquake
safety standards (Johnson 2016). In 2020, four reactivated reactors in
Kyushu Fukui were ordered shut down by the NRA for failing to meet
new standards for withstanding terror attacks (Kyodo 2020). These developments have dealt major blows to efforts to restart Japan’s aging nuclear
power plants, and indicate that restarts will continue to move ahead only
at a glacial pace. Indeed, with most boiler-type reactors in eastern Japan
unlikely to meet NRA safety standards, observers believe that only around
20 of Japan’s 48 intact reactors are likely to be restarted. Consequently,
METI’s goal of relying on nuclear power for 20–22% of nuclear power
in 2030 appears unrealistically high; the Noda administration’s target of
15% appears closer to what is achievable (see the Koppenborg chapter in
this volume).
Behind this glacial pace of restarting nuclear reactors were not only
the NRA’s stringent safety standards, but strong public wariness about
political interference in the process of restarts. Poll results from Asahi
Shimbun and Shimbun, which respectively support and oppose nuclear
power in their editorial pages, show that a stable public opinion majority
opposes restarts, as depicted in Fig. 5.2. 11
An Asahi Shimbun poll from July 2014 asked respondents whether
they thought there would be negative economic consequences from not
restarting nuclear power plants. In answer the public was evenly divided:
43% answered not restarting nuclear power plants would have no negative economic consequences, versus 42% who answered that not restarting
reactors would have negative consequences. Another question in the
same poll asked whether nuclear power could be made safe with proper
management and technology, or whether due to human error nuclear
power could never be made safe, 25% answered that nuclear power could
be made safe, versus 63% who answered that it could never be made safe
(Asahi Shimbun 2014). Clearly, a far larger portion of the public worried
about the safety of nuclear power than worried about the economic
consequences of not restarting nuclear power plants.
prompting an emergency shutdown. In March 2016, a judge ordered
both Takahama reactors shut down for not meeting NRA earthquake
safety standards (Johnson 2016). In 2020, four reactivated reactors in
Kyushu Fukui were ordered shut down by the NRA for failing to meet
new standards for withstanding terror attacks (Kyodo 2020). These developments have dealt major blows to efforts to restart Japan’s aging nuclear
power plants, and indicate that restarts will continue to move ahead only
at a glacial pace. Indeed, with most boiler-type reactors in eastern Japan
unlikely to meet NRA safety standards, observers believe that only around
20 of Japan’s 48 intact reactors are likely to be restarted. Consequently,
METI’s goal of relying on nuclear power for 20–22% of nuclear power
in 2030 appears unrealistically high; the Noda administration’s target of
15% appears closer to what is achievable (see the Koppenborg chapter in
this volume).
Behind this glacial pace of restarting nuclear reactors were not only
the NRA’s stringent safety standards, but strong public wariness about
political interference in the process of restarts. Poll results from Asahi
Shimbun and Shimbun, which respectively support and oppose nuclear
power in their editorial pages, show that a stable public opinion majority
opposes restarts, as depicted in Fig. 5.2. 11
An Asahi Shimbun poll from July 2014 asked respondents whether
they thought there would be negative economic consequences from not
restarting nuclear power plants. In answer the public was evenly divided:
43% answered not restarting nuclear power plants would have no negative economic consequences, versus 42% who answered that not restarting
reactors would have negative consequences. Another question in the
same poll asked whether nuclear power could be made safe with proper
management and technology, or whether due to human error nuclear
power could never be made safe, 25% answered that nuclear power could
be made safe, versus 63% who answered that it could never be made safe
(Asahi Shimbun 2014). Clearly, a far larger portion of the public worried
about the safety of nuclear power than worried about the economic
consequences of not restarting nuclear power plants.