Industry minister Yukio Edano said Thursday the energy plank in the Liberal Democratic Party's platform for the upcoming election includes a section that could undermine the independence of the new nuclear regulatory body.

On its pledge to decide whether to restart all of the country's nuclear reactors within three years, Edano said: "the Nuclear Regulation Authority will make judgments independently from politics. If politicians indicate when to reach a conclusion on resumption, it will contradict the idea of ensuring the body's independence."

He said it was the LDP's idea to give the body independent status in the first place.