Japanese in general are growing uneasy about nuclear power. In a poll released last February, 90 percent of the respondents said they were “anxious” about safety issues. But such concerns have done little to slow Japan’s commitment to nuclear technology. Japan has 51 nuclear plants that generate 36.8 percent of the country’s electricity. And with Japan’s energy needs on the rise, says Hajime Furuya, deputy director for nuclear energy at Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, “nuclear power will continue to play a role in Japan’s overall energy policy.” A big role: four new plants are now under construction, and an additional nine will be built by 2010.
Japan has a fairly good nuclear-safety record. Still, the government has moved to toughen standards. After Tokaimura, the Nuclear Safety Division doubled the number of safety inspectors and gave them more authority. Before last year’s disaster, plant inspections took place only with the consent of the power companies themselves, and they weren’t very thorough. “We assumed that the industry obeyed the rules,” said Shigeaki Shiraishi, director of the Nuclear Safety Division. “Now we don’t.”
Critics argue that Japan’s nuclear fancy has more to do with pork-barrel politics than the country’s energy needs. For towns that don’t mind the risk, the plants are an economic bonanza. Tokyo spends heavily to subsidize community projects–a powerful incentive for areas languishing in recession. In the remote coastal village of Higashidoori, in Aomori prefecture, many of the fishermen used to leave town during the off season to find work. But now a new nuclear plant is going up, and Higashidoori is flush with cash. The village is currently receiving $50 million in development money from the government–a huge sum for a town with 8,000 residents. At the construction site, engineers say they’ve prepared for anything–potential leaks and also earthquakes. “We’re very confident about the plant’s [safety],” says assistant manager Noboru Murakami. “Tokaimura doesn’t apply to us.” Everyone in Higashidoori, and throughout Japan, hopes he’s right.
