The Liberal Democratic Party, which promoted nuclear power during its postwar reign of nearly five decades, launched a special committee Tuesday to draft a new comprehensive energy policy that its members say could lead to a drastic shift in thinking.
"A key point of (discussions) by this committee will be that all energy policies will face a zero-based review," said panel head Ichita Yamamoto, LDP deputy policy research council chairman, at the group's first meeting.
On short-term issues, the panel will discuss how the party deals with a bill to promote renewable energy, which Prime Minister Naoto Kan is eager to pass, and restart nuclear reactors that have been shut down in various parts of the nation either before or amid the current crisis.