On Jan. 1, Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), held press interviews on the outlook of the business community and, at one point, the discussion turned to nuclear energy.
Nakanishi is also the chairman of Hitachi Ltd., a major supplier of nuclear technology, and he said that the commercial possibilities for nuclear energy in Japan, for both "clients," meaning power companies, and "vendors," meaning plant manufacturers such as Hitachi, were increasingly limited. If clients can't make a profit, then neither can vendors, and that will continue to be the case as long as the public is opposed to nuclear energy. The industry can't force nuclear power on the citizens of a democracy.
Major media were presumably represented at the interviews, but only one outlet, All-Nippon News Network (ANN), reported Nakanishi's nuclear-related comments. Jan. 1 was a newspaper holiday, which means that no newspapers were published on Jan. 2, but there was still no other mention of his remarks on Jan. 3. On Jan. 5, journalist Hajime Takano commented on this lack of interest to former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on the latter's web channel for his East Asian Community Institute. The head of Hitachi, a key company in nuclear technology, had said that the business of nuclear energy is impossible without public support. Since nuclear energy is national policy, the ramifications are huge, Takano said, and yet no other major media had covered the remarks or ANN's report. Were they afraid of upsetting the government?
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.