The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will take the initiative in promoting renewable energy so Japan will be less dependent on nuclear power, Yukio Edano said shortly after taking the METI portfolio.
"What we have to do is to create a situation as soon as possible where society can function without nuclear power," Edano, 47, said Monday night during his first news conference in the new post.
But Edano was also cautious, saying he has to wait to see where discussions by the government's energy panel as well as public debate go before deciding whether nuclear power should be completely abandoned.