Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Fukushima Meltdown PM Kan: "we need a society that has no nuclear power”
Japan’s Ex-Leader Reverses Stance on Nuclear Power
Rita Robinson | June 7, 2013
“Will we survive ourselves?” That’s the question Japan’s former prime minister, who resigned after the nuclear reactor meltdown in Fukushima, posed during an unprecedented visit to Southern California this week to oppose nuclear power.
In San Diego for a panel discussion on Tuesday, Naoto Kan admitted he favored nuclear power as a source of clean energy before the March 11, 2011, nuclear disaster, which was precipitated by a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Resigning five months later, Kan said he was “terribly embarrassed” by his stance, which reflected the position of regulators that nuclear power could be controlled, and couldn’t be farther from that belief today.
“There is only one way to effectively, 100 percent deal with this risk of mass destruction,” Kan said through an interpreter, “…and the most important thing that I realized was we need a society that has no nuclear power.”
...
Other nuclear power experts, now also voicing dissent, joined Kan. The former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, said he resigned last July because the commission refused to consider the damaging ramifications of natural disasters that Fukushima demonstrated.
He said that most U.S. reactors cannot meet modern safety standards ...
Rita Robinson | June 7, 2013
“Will we survive ourselves?” That’s the question Japan’s former prime minister, who resigned after the nuclear reactor meltdown in Fukushima, posed during an unprecedented visit to Southern California this week to oppose nuclear power.
In San Diego for a panel discussion on Tuesday, Naoto Kan admitted he favored nuclear power as a source of clean energy before the March 11, 2011, nuclear disaster, which was precipitated by a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Resigning five months later, Kan said he was “terribly embarrassed” by his stance, which reflected the position of regulators that nuclear power could be controlled, and couldn’t be farther from that belief today.
“There is only one way to effectively, 100 percent deal with this risk of mass destruction,” Kan said through an interpreter, “…and the most important thing that I realized was we need a society that has no nuclear power.”
...
Other nuclear power experts, now also voicing dissent, joined Kan. The former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, said he resigned last July because the commission refused to consider the damaging ramifications of natural disasters that Fukushima demonstrated.
He said that most U.S. reactors cannot meet modern safety standards ...
http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/2013/06/07/japans-ex-leader-reverses-stance-on-nuclear-power/