26 K. HASEGAWA
Japan’s Curious Political
Stability After the Accident
Remember what had happened after the 1986 Chernobyl accident.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union, confessed “the
accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station was graphic evidence, not
only of how obsolete our technology was, but also of the failure of the
old system” (Gorbachev 1996, p. 189). From the accident in April 1986,
it was only five and a half years until the collapse of the Soviet Union in
December 1991 following the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
The accident was a remarkable incident in world history that marked a
major turning point that helped precipitate the end of the Cold War in
Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union “by literally knocking the
country off its tracks” (Gorbachev 1996, p. 189). What changes have the
Fukushima disaster caused for Japan’s energy policies and those elsewhere
throughout the globe? 1
In July 2011, Germany adopted an energy shift policy that included
abandoning all 19 nuclear reactors by the end of 2022. Switzerland also
decided to abandon new nuclear reactor construction and close all 5 reactors after 50 years of operation, which means all reactors will be shut
down by 2034. In East Asia, in January 2017, the new government of
Taiwan decided to abandon all 6 reactors by 2025, and to this end a new
law was passed (Chou 2018). In June 2017, the new Korean President,
Moon Jae-in also declared to implement denuclearization over the next
40 years. Both South Korea and Taiwan are dependent on oil imports,
like Japan. In South Korea, 30% of electricity is provided by nuclear
power, which is similar to Japan’s dependence before the Fukushima accident. In Taiwan, 19% of electricity is provided by nuclear power. In both
cases, changes of government and the role of strong political leadership
seem to have played a critical role in bringing about policy shifts toward
denuclearization. Thus, denuclearization, and promoting renewables and
energy efficiency are the new mainstream worldwide after the Fukushima
accident. But, how about in Japan?
By contrast, politically, the current Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
government in Japan has curiously enjoyed stable public support and won
all five national elections of the lower house and the upper house since it
returned to power with the change of government in December 2012.
The right-wing Abe administration is the one of front runners of the
Japan’s Curious Political
Stability After the Accident
Remember what had happened after the 1986 Chernobyl accident.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union, confessed “the
accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station was graphic evidence, not
only of how obsolete our technology was, but also of the failure of the
old system” (Gorbachev 1996, p. 189). From the accident in April 1986,
it was only five and a half years until the collapse of the Soviet Union in
December 1991 following the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
The accident was a remarkable incident in world history that marked a
major turning point that helped precipitate the end of the Cold War in
Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union “by literally knocking the
country off its tracks” (Gorbachev 1996, p. 189). What changes have the
Fukushima disaster caused for Japan’s energy policies and those elsewhere
throughout the globe? 1
In July 2011, Germany adopted an energy shift policy that included
abandoning all 19 nuclear reactors by the end of 2022. Switzerland also
decided to abandon new nuclear reactor construction and close all 5 reactors after 50 years of operation, which means all reactors will be shut
down by 2034. In East Asia, in January 2017, the new government of
Taiwan decided to abandon all 6 reactors by 2025, and to this end a new
law was passed (Chou 2018). In June 2017, the new Korean President,
Moon Jae-in also declared to implement denuclearization over the next
40 years. Both South Korea and Taiwan are dependent on oil imports,
like Japan. In South Korea, 30% of electricity is provided by nuclear
power, which is similar to Japan’s dependence before the Fukushima accident. In Taiwan, 19% of electricity is provided by nuclear power. In both
cases, changes of government and the role of strong political leadership
seem to have played a critical role in bringing about policy shifts toward
denuclearization. Thus, denuclearization, and promoting renewables and
energy efficiency are the new mainstream worldwide after the Fukushima
accident. But, how about in Japan?
By contrast, politically, the current Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
government in Japan has curiously enjoyed stable public support and won
all five national elections of the lower house and the upper house since it
returned to power with the change of government in December 2012.
The right-wing Abe administration is the one of front runners of the