September 6, 2012
Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd.
President
Yoshihiko Kawai

Today, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) announced their policy position aimed at creating a society without nuclear power.

Considering that Japan has a limited amount of natural resources and it is relying on the foreign countries, the nation should firmly retain the Nuclear Fuel Cycle program, which makes effective use of uranium resources and contributes to environmental conservation. Due to this situation, nuclear power generation and nuclear fuel reprocessing must continue to serve set rules on the grand premise of safety assurance.

There are serious concerns for the possibility of a mountain of significant problems if this policy were to be reflected to the national energy program.   More specifically, in regard to solar power generation, the policy stipulates the introduction of solar power equipment to 12 million houses, including not only all the possible residential houses that could accommodate such installation at present, but also other houses that currently cannot withstand such installation without renovation due to factors such as insufficient anti-seismic strength.   The policy's wind power plan requires the amount of land 2.2 times the size of the entire Tokyo area.   Other impractical energy conservation measures include a ban on heavy oil boilers in principle and a ban on gasoline-powered vehicles entering central business districts.   The possibility of actualizing these plans would be extremely slim.
Furthermore, the policy is estimated to double electricity charges, which would have grave ramifications on the lifestyles of citizens and on the national economy.

Above all, this is deplorable that DPJ decided their policy abandoning nuclear power.   It would seriously betray the trust of the people of Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture and other local communities that have, over a quarter of a century until now, cooperated with the nation's energy policy.

Our nation cannot afford to follow an energy policy for 5 to 10 years only to find that it is a failure. We strongly hope that the matter is put to calm discussions that take reality into account for a better future of the nation.