Members of the Abe Cabinet have repeatedly hinted that the government will change the policy on energy and electric power set by the Democratic Party of Japan government. Trade and industry minister Mr. Toshimitsu Motegi said the government will review the DPJ government policy of ending in the 2030s the nation's reliance on nuclear power generation when the Abe administration writes a new, long-term basic policy on energy.

The DPJ adopted the zero nuclear power policy after hearings and deliberative polls were held nationwide. During the campaign for the Dec. 16 Lower House election, the Liberal Democratic Party said only that it would make a decision on whether to restart nuclear reactors within three years. At the very least, therefore, the Abe government should listen to public opinion on nuclear power generation if it tries to change the current policy.

If Japan increases the weight of renewable energy sources in an attempt to reduce or end its reliance on nuclear power, electricity rates may rise, causing difficulty for consumers and enterprises. But if one considers the huge costs incurred by the 3/11 accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate — including some 160,000 people who still can't return to their homes — and the fact that decontamination of vast areas of land is proceeding far slower than hoped, it doesn't make any sense to continue nuclear power generation in this quake-prone country.