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193762
Fri, 07/08/2011 - 18:57
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Kan apologizes for confusion over restart of reactors+
TOKYO, July 8 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan apologized Friday for causing confusion over the issue of restarting nuclear reactors by suddenly ordering additional tests, a move that exposed his government to further accusations of inconsistency in its nuclear energy policy.
''My instruction was inadequate and came too late, and I feel responsible for this,'' Kan said during talks with ministers as the prime minister drew flak even from within the Cabinet and ruling party over recent flip-flops.
The remarks were made known by national policy minister Koichiro Gemba during his morning press conference.
The government had earlier said sufficient steps had been taken to restart and safely operate two nuclear reactors suspended for checks at the Genkai power plant in Saga Prefecture.
But on Wednesday it said additional safety assessments called ''stress tests'' would be conducted at all nuclear power plants in Japan, causing prefectural and local government leaders to retract or put off decisions to approve the rebooting of the two Genkai reactors in the near future.
The premier, during the plenary session of the House of Representatives on Friday, said there is a ''need to make new rules'' to assure the public about the safety of nuclear reactors.
The Genkai reactors were to have been the first to be reactivated since the start of the country's worst nuclear power crisis in March.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference that the government is now working on a unified view on the restart of reactors.
He said the government will unveil the view as soon as possible but declined to say when.
Prefectural and local leaders have been calling on the central government to take a consistent position on the resumption of reactors, including whether the tests will serve as a precondition for restarting them.
Edano, the top government spokesman, said that he, industry minister Banri Kaieda, and Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of nuclear accidents, are on the same page with regard to measures to heighten assurance over the safety of nuclear reactors, and they will have to explain the unified government view in an understandable way.
''The prime minister has entrusted this matter to us three, so if all of us are in agreement, there should be no problem,'' Edano said.
The government failed to present a view on the matter on Friday.
According to government sources, Edano and the two other ministers proposed that the Genkai reactors should be the first to receive stress tests, but Kan at first rejected it, saying all plants should undergo such tests at about the same time.
However, he later changed his mind and accepted the proposal, the sources said, adding the government is now ready to announce its ''unified'' policy on how to conduct stress tests on Monday.
Kaieda, who visited Saga last month to request resumption of the Genkai reactors, said at a news conference his ministry will inform affected municipalities at an early date about the exact details of the stress tests.
The tests will assess the capacity of nuclear reactors to withstand extreme events, including major earthquakes and tsunami.
How the government handles the issue of whether to resume operation of the Genkai reactors is being closely watched amid fears of an electricity supply shortage.
Of the nation's 54 commercial reactors, 35 are currently not in operation for reasons including regular inspections and the effects of the March disaster, and none has resumed operations in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Edano said, ''Ensuring the safety of nuclear energy is a higher priority than ensuring the supply of energy.''
Other ministers and ruling party lawmakers urged the government to work in sync, as opposition lawmakers grabbed the opportunity to try to undermine Kan's leadership and repeat their calls for a dissolution of the lower house.
Kan said during Friday's Diet session he has ''absolutely no plan'' to dissolve the lower house to put to a vote the issue of the country's possible departure from nuclear power generation.
Among Cabinet members, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said he asked Kan during the morning talks to coordinate the matter with relevant ministers, while National Public Safety Commission chief Kansei Nakano said he told Kan it is ''no good giving the impression that the Cabinet is not unified.''
From within Kan's Democratic Party of Japan, Secretary General Katsuya Okada called into question Kan's instruction, saying, ''Conducting the tests and restarting the reactors are two separate issues. It's unfortunate discussions about these matters are being mixed up.''
Kan has already been facing calls for his immediate resignation.
The premier said last month he is ready to quit after overseeing Diet passage of three key pieces of legislation including a bill to promote the use of renewable energy sources and sought the opposition camp's support.
But the prospect of cross-party cooperation remains uncertain after Kan told the Diet on Friday that the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito party, which were the ruling coalition before DPJ came into power in 2009, were to be equally blamed for the nuclear crisis.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan apologized Friday for causing confusion over the issue of restarting nuclear reactors by suddenly ordering additional tests, a move that exposed his government to further accusations of inconsistency in its nuclear energy policy.
''My instruction was inadequate and came too late, and I feel responsible for this,'' Kan said during talks with ministers as the prime minister drew flak even from within the Cabinet and ruling party over recent flip-flops.
The remarks were made known by national policy minister Koichiro Gemba during his morning press conference.
The government had earlier said sufficient steps had been taken to restart and safely operate two nuclear reactors suspended for checks at the Genkai power plant in Saga Prefecture.
But on Wednesday it said additional safety assessments called ''stress tests'' would be conducted at all nuclear power plants in Japan, causing prefectural and local government leaders to retract or put off decisions to approve the rebooting of the two Genkai reactors in the near future.
The premier, during the plenary session of the House of Representatives on Friday, said there is a ''need to make new rules'' to assure the public about the safety of nuclear reactors.
The Genkai reactors were to have been the first to be reactivated since the start of the country's worst nuclear power crisis in March.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference that the government is now working on a unified view on the restart of reactors.
He said the government will unveil the view as soon as possible but declined to say when.
Prefectural and local leaders have been calling on the central government to take a consistent position on the resumption of reactors, including whether the tests will serve as a precondition for restarting them.
Edano, the top government spokesman, said that he, industry minister Banri Kaieda, and Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of nuclear accidents, are on the same page with regard to measures to heighten assurance over the safety of nuclear reactors, and they will have to explain the unified government view in an understandable way.
''The prime minister has entrusted this matter to us three, so if all of us are in agreement, there should be no problem,'' Edano said.
The government failed to present a view on the matter on Friday.
According to government sources, Edano and the two other ministers proposed that the Genkai reactors should be the first to receive stress tests, but Kan at first rejected it, saying all plants should undergo such tests at about the same time.
However, he later changed his mind and accepted the proposal, the sources said, adding the government is now ready to announce its ''unified'' policy on how to conduct stress tests on Monday.
Kaieda, who visited Saga last month to request resumption of the Genkai reactors, said at a news conference his ministry will inform affected municipalities at an early date about the exact details of the stress tests.
The tests will assess the capacity of nuclear reactors to withstand extreme events, including major earthquakes and tsunami.
How the government handles the issue of whether to resume operation of the Genkai reactors is being closely watched amid fears of an electricity supply shortage.
Of the nation's 54 commercial reactors, 35 are currently not in operation for reasons including regular inspections and the effects of the March disaster, and none has resumed operations in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Edano said, ''Ensuring the safety of nuclear energy is a higher priority than ensuring the supply of energy.''
Other ministers and ruling party lawmakers urged the government to work in sync, as opposition lawmakers grabbed the opportunity to try to undermine Kan's leadership and repeat their calls for a dissolution of the lower house.
Kan said during Friday's Diet session he has ''absolutely no plan'' to dissolve the lower house to put to a vote the issue of the country's possible departure from nuclear power generation.
Among Cabinet members, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said he asked Kan during the morning talks to coordinate the matter with relevant ministers, while National Public Safety Commission chief Kansei Nakano said he told Kan it is ''no good giving the impression that the Cabinet is not unified.''
From within Kan's Democratic Party of Japan, Secretary General Katsuya Okada called into question Kan's instruction, saying, ''Conducting the tests and restarting the reactors are two separate issues. It's unfortunate discussions about these matters are being mixed up.''
Kan has already been facing calls for his immediate resignation.
The premier said last month he is ready to quit after overseeing Diet passage of three key pieces of legislation including a bill to promote the use of renewable energy sources and sought the opposition camp's support.
But the prospect of cross-party cooperation remains uncertain after Kan told the Diet on Friday that the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito party, which were the ruling coalition before DPJ came into power in 2009, were to be equally blamed for the nuclear crisis.
