Japan unlikely to build new nuclear plants after crisis, Kan tells FT
May 25, 2011
The nuclear crisis triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami has made it difficult for Japan to build new atomic power plants, Prime Minister Naoto Kan suggested in an interview with the Financial Times citing the experience of the United States after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident.
Kan was quoted Tuesday by a Japanese government official as telling the British newspaper that Japan will depend less on nuclear energy and focus more on natural energy and energy-saving efforts in light of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi complex.
Kan mentioned the aftermath of the Three Mile Island case, which has seen the United States build no new nuclear power plants since then.
Speaking before attending the Group of Eight summit in France from Thursday, Kan expressed confidence the Fukushima Daiichi crisis can be brought under control by January at the latest in line with the timetable set by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Kan said he will tell his G-8 counterparts that Japan will overcome the challenges set off by the March 11 disaster and rebuild, and hopes the nuclear crisis will serve as a lesson for the G-8 to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants worldwide.
He also touched on the closely watched process of picking the successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund managing director who was arrested and indicted over an alleged sexual assault of a maid at a New York hotel.
Kan said that although many predecessors were from Europe, he does not think the IMF post is an exclusive right for the continent. His comments came as there is a move to pick the next IMF chief from among emerging economic powers.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 25, 2011)
Kan was quoted Tuesday by a Japanese government official as telling the British newspaper that Japan will depend less on nuclear energy and focus more on natural energy and energy-saving efforts in light of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi complex.
Kan mentioned the aftermath of the Three Mile Island case, which has seen the United States build no new nuclear power plants since then.
Speaking before attending the Group of Eight summit in France from Thursday, Kan expressed confidence the Fukushima Daiichi crisis can be brought under control by January at the latest in line with the timetable set by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Kan said he will tell his G-8 counterparts that Japan will overcome the challenges set off by the March 11 disaster and rebuild, and hopes the nuclear crisis will serve as a lesson for the G-8 to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants worldwide.
He also touched on the closely watched process of picking the successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund managing director who was arrested and indicted over an alleged sexual assault of a maid at a New York hotel.
Kan said that although many predecessors were from Europe, he does not think the IMF post is an exclusive right for the continent. His comments came as there is a move to pick the next IMF chief from among emerging economic powers.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 25, 2011)
