Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), the "third force" emerging as a serious challenger to the political status quo, unveiled a watered-down version of its election platform Thursday devoid of a definitive road map for phasing out nuclear power.
Instead, the party merely stated in a separate document that nuclear power plants are to "fade out by the 2030s" — the same goal that Prime Minister Noda's Democratic Party of Japan has included on its platform.
When Nippon Ishin founder and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto agreed to merge parties with pronuclear former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's short-lived party in late November, Nippon Ishin's nuclear phaseout clause disappeared, prompting speculation the omission would become permanent.