Prime Minister Naoto Kan's plan to shift Japan toward renewable energy in light of the Fukushima disaster faces resistance from politicians who have been compromised by their close ties to utilities, an opposition lawmaker said.
Kan has pledged to reduce the nation's reliance on nuclear power after the March 11 megaquake and tsunami wrecked Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear station, causing radiation to leak into the air, sea and soil and three reactor meltdowns.
The push for renewable energy — including a bill in the Diet to subsidize electricity from wind, solar and geothermal sources — will meet resistance because politicians don't want to anger the utilities, Taro Kono, a lawmaker for the Liberal Democratic Party who supports phasing out nuclear power, told reporters Tuesday.