Japanese Government's 'Consideration of New and Expanded Nuclear Power Plants'... 6 out of 10 Citizens Oppose

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Regarding Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's statement about considering the construction and expansion of nuclear power plants, a survey found that 6 out of 10 Japanese citizens oppose the idea.

Asahi Shimbun reported on the 29th that a telephone poll conducted from the 27th to 28th among 998 voters aged 18 and over (valid respondents) showed that 58% opposed the construction and expansion of nuclear power plants, significantly outnumbering the 34% who supported it. By gender, 66% of women opposed it, compared to 50% of men, indicating higher opposition among women.

Earlier, on the 24th, Prime Minister Kishida stated at the "GX (Green Transformation) Implementation Meeting," which discussed decarbonization policies, "Items requiring political judgment, such as the development and construction of next-generation innovative reactors, have been presented. Please accelerate the review so that a concrete conclusion can be reached by the end of the year regarding various options."

Japanese media interpreted this as a shift from the Japanese government's previous stance of "not considering the construction or expansion of nuclear power plants," which had been maintained since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. Despite public opposition, the Kishida Cabinet is considering nuclear power plant construction and expansion due to concerns over power shortages.

Meanwhile, in this survey, over 80% of voters responded that the relationship between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), whose suspicions have spread following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, "should be severed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.