Despite the seriousness of the Fukushima disaster, Japan should continue using nuclear power because there isn't another energy source that can replace it and because the nation has a responsibility to further its global development using the lessons learned from the crisis, says energy expert Kenji Yamaji.
It is also critical that the government establish a fully independent regulatory authority to help regain public trust in nuclear power, said Yamaji, director general of Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, a Kyoto-based organization that develops environmental conservation technologies.
"The country has to hand down to the world what it learned from the Fukushima accident, such as safety measures and accident management techniques," Yamaji said in a recent interview with The Japan Times.